Unwavering Courage by Taylor

Unwavering Courage by Taylor - February 2015 Scholarship Essay

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”. These words, from the literary hero Atticus Finch, are timeless. When Atticus's relentless courage is coupled with the innocent, but profound, actions of a young narrator, the book To Kill a Mockingbird is a timeless, must-read for all generations across time. Although much of the power in this book stems from the naive observations of Scout, it is the books ability to repeatedly, but inconspicuously, show the impact a families’ courageous acts of kindness, self-preservation, parenting and humanitarianism that make this book essential to any high school language arts curriculum.

Scout's eight-year-old narration is the book's primary method of making the reader question racism, prejudice, tolerance and gender-bias in a palatable method. As Scout grapples with these complex issues, it automatically leads the reader to the same struggles. After all, how does a person logically explain racism, hate, bias and the importance of seeing things from another's point of view? The answer is that it is very difficult to rationalize and discuss these topics logically because they defy logic. Scout's upbringing and age make it impossible for her to fathom societies' role in perpetuating hate towards someone based on what she considers an arbitrary trait. The beauty of what this does for readers is demonstrated in the scene outside of the jailhouse. When Scout, unknowingly, derails the men’s goal of harming Tom, it is because of this innocence that the adults realize the futility of even attempting to explain themselves.

Although Scout's innocence prevails in the beginning, Atticus' courageousness extends to his family as well and often, a parent has to have courageous conversations with their child (ren). Atticus believes in the power of education and knowledge and does not shy away from being honest and open, as appropriate, with his children. His wisdom and ability to parent as a single-man in this time-period is yet one more subtle way that Harper Lee challenges conventional misperceptions and stereotypes. Atticus supports Scout's 'tomboy' tendencies and forces the reader to think about gender and the stereotypes that, all though improved, still define what it means to be male and female in today’s society.

In addition to challenging the status quo regarding parenting and gender, Atticus's actions and words challenge beliefs surrounding what it truly means to be accepting and tolerant. Talk is cheap and although most of us know this, Atticus clearly shows us just how powerful one-person's commitment can be to fostering change in a community. Fear is often at the root of inaction and although Atticus was fearful, he consistently demonstrated the ability to not let his fear cripple him. His belief that 'most people are good once you get to know them' permeates his every action and word leaving the reader with no choice but to trust him. There is no hypocrisy, a trait often attached to some of our most proclaimed abolitionists, suffragists and human rights advocates. Therefore, there is less room for doubt or distrust when grappling with these critical concepts. High school students are perhaps the first group to pick-up on idiosyncrasies and by the end of To Kill a Mockingbird, there is no doubt that Atticus can represent an obtainable ideal and although there is a loss of innocence conveyed in this story, the unwavering courage helps restore our ability to believe in the overwhelming goodness of people.