How many times have you run away from something, be it a situation, a problem, or a competition, that you were

afraid of being beat at? In the timeless classic To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the thought of even doing so never crossed these brave and adventurous characters minds. Some of the characters in this book are Scout, a 9 year old girl brave enough to fight her own battles, yet curious and free spirited. !em, Scout"s ## year old brother who was so protective over her that he"d do anything to keep her safe, yet he let her figure things out for herself. $tticus, !em and Scout"s father, a lawyer in %aycomb &ounty, and to the children' the smartest man alive. $nd finally, (oo )adley. *he +creepy, old man who lived in the house across the street and watched the children as they played, and even though he had horrible rumors spread about him, he lived with it because he knew he wasn"t a bad guy. *his story is about racism, fear, courage, and adventure. (ut true courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to proceed in spite of it. -irst, while playing out side, the children discovered the man in the house across the street. &urious, they began to pry. *hey watched him, as he was watching them. $nd they began to make games out of it. $t one time in the story, they wrote him a note and using a fishing pole, they attempted to place it on his window sill. $nother time, they created a game where they act out his life as if they were him. .anting to know more, they asked %iss Stephanie, a neighborhood gossip, about (oo and what he was like all his life. She told them nasty rumors and horrifying things that she had believed he did. *hings such as cutting his parents with scissors, killing domestic animals, etc. $ll of the things told by %iss Stephanie would have scared any child into never attempting to see (oo again, but the -inch children were different. Instead of running away, they simply

became more curious, because despite how horrible things seem, they always see the good in people. $lso, %rs. )obinson, during the court case, was directed off of her rout to work because (ob /well was spitting at her and calling her names. %r. /well was currently in a situation where he absolutely hated *om )obinson, her husband, and wanted him found guilty in the case. (ecause %rs. )obinson passed his house everyday, he saw her as open game to harass. -or a while she did give in and walk the e0tra couple miles to take the long way to get to work, but one day %r. Link 1eas, %rs. )obinson"s employer, stepped in and helped her fight the battle. He yelled at %r. /well and threatened to sue, and from that moment on %rs. )obinson was able to take the short way to work again. 2ow, Link 1eas new very well that (ob /well had been cra3y lately and could have came back and hurt one of them, but he stood up for her anyways, because they were friends and sometimes you 4ust know the right thing to do, weather you"re scared or not. -inally, another character who shows courage and plays a very big role in this book would be $tticus -inch. 2ow, $tticus was the lawyer assigned to *om )obinson"s case because !udge *aylor knew that he was the only chance of *om getting freedom. He knew very well that defending a black man in the town of %aycomb could be dangerous. %any people began to dislike him, and his children were harassed and made fun of at school. He could have stopped being a lawyer, or he could have backed out of the case and given it to someone else. (ut $tticus -inch was one of the smartest and bravest people in %aycomb and he was willing to fight for *om )obinson"s freedom. $fter the case, when *om was found guilty, $tticus was approached by (ob /well and harassed even further. %r. /well spat in his face and told him that he was going to +get him if it

took the rest of his life., $tticus could have ran away in fear, and he could have backed out of the appeal then, but he didn"t because he knew that was a sign of weakness. Instead, his clever retort was +I wish (ob /well didn"t chew tobacco., *his shows that $tticus is fine with the way things are, and %r. /well doesn"t scare him. .ithin fear, lies bravery, and only ones with true courage can fight through the toughest times. (ack then, blacks were dirty people. /verybody discriminated, and nothing was ever truly +fair,. (ut throughout the time in which this book is based to now, society has made a huge change for the better. /veryone is e5ual, and there is less discrimination, but even though that"s how it is over all, there"s always going to be that little bit of self pity in the black man, and self confidence in the white in a battle between races. If scout were here to see society as it is today, she would be proud and in a way I believe she would thank her father and know that somewhere in the world, there"s a little girl 4ust like she was that is looking up to their father, knowing that he can make a difference.