Morals of Racism & Courage in "to Kill a Mockingbird"

Morals of racism & courage in "To Kill a Mockingbird" are brought out by motifs of blind spots & blindness with Atticus Finch's character. Jem & Scout's childhood experiences & Ms. Dubose overcoming her morphine addction.

In "To Kill a Mockingbird" Jem & Scout's childhood display themes of courage. In chapter 1 Jem is dared by Dill to go up to the Radley house & touch it. This is a frightening dare however, because there are many rumours in Maycomb about the Radleys & their history. Such rumours exist as for example; Boo Radley is a "phantom" and how he comes out at night when the moon is down, and peeps in the neighbor's windows. All of this however isn't true. We do not discover that until later, towards the end of the book when Boo saves Jem & Scout from getting stabbed by Bob Ewell. Jem gets dared to go to the Radley house in chapter 1.

"I'm going," said Jem, "don't hurry me." He walked to the corner of the lot, then back again, studying the simple terrain as if deciding how best to effect an entry, frowning and scratching his head. Then I sneered at him. Jem threw open the gate and sped to the side of the house, slapped it with his palm and ran back past us, not waiting to see if his foray was successful. Dill * I followed on his heels. Safely on our porch, panting and out of breath we looked back. The old house was the same, droopy and sick, but as we stared down the street we thought we saw an inside shutter move. Flick. A tiny, almost invisible movement and the house was still."

This quote shows how courageous Jem is for coming over one of his biggest fears, the Radley Place. He was courageous enough to step through the gate of the Radley's, and show Dill that he is no wimp. After running back to their porch, the Radley place still seems frighting, & someone in there moves. Someone knew Jem came up to the house.

The character of Atticus Finch portrays bravery. He stands up to racism & fights for what he believes in. He is told to shoot the dog Tim Johnson because he has rabbies & is walking around the neighborhood, reading to kill. "Atticus pushed his glasses to his forehead; they slipped down, and he dropped them in the street. In the silence, I heard them crack. Atticus rubbed his eyes & chin; we saw him blink hard. In front of the Radley gate, Tim Johnson had made up what was left of his mind. He had finally turned himself around, to pursue his original course up on our street. He made two steps forward, then stopped & raised his head. We saw his body go rigid."Atticus can hardly see where he is supposed to shoot. He was given the opportunity to shoot the dog though, because he is "Old One Shot". The town depends on Atticus for he is the one who kills the evils inside them & protects them