Paragraph on structure (chapters nine-11)

In chapters nine to eleven in the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, the way in which these chapters are structured, allows author, Harper Lee to interweave the ideas of “real courage” and to develop them through the course of the chapters. Through the novel, “real courage’ is described, not a physical courage but it is being able to stand up and fight for something, even if the person believes that they will not succeed. This form of courage is highly regarded in relation to the character of Atticus, therefore it gives importance to the underlying ideas of the novel. Beginning in chapter nine, it describes how the ‘Tom Robinson Case’ that Atticus has taken up, is taking a toll on his life and family. “I guess it ain’t your fault if Uncle Atticus is a nigger-lover, besides, but I’m here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family-” (page 92) This is what cousin Francis tells Scout, illustrating the idea that even Atticus’ family does not approve that he is willing to defending a black man. Stating that it would bring disgrace to the family for he has no change of winning the case and it wasn’t right to be seen to defend a negro with such compassion. However, Atticus is unchanged and is willing to take the case and fight for Robinson, for as he explains to Scout, “Just because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try and win” (page 84). In chapter 10 it moves onto the realization that Atticus, to his children’s surprise has a skill, but one he is not proud of. When the children discover that Atticus is a ‘great shot’ they question why he is not proud of his talent. It is when Miss Maudine explains to the children that “if your father’s anything, he’s civilized in his heart.. I think maybe he put his gun down when he realized that God had given him an unfair advantage over most living things” (page 109). This is continuing on from the ideas expressed in chapter nine, in which, It depicts Atticus’s civilized, respectful and determined personality, but it is not yet that the reader fully understands the idea of “real courage”. Therefore, chapter eleven works as a conclusion for these three chapters, in which it makes clear what the ideas from the previous two chapters were leading up to. When Atticus reflects on Miss Dubose’s death, he describes her as a great lady and tells his children, “I wanted you to see what real courage is…it is when you know that you’re licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what…. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew.” (page 124). This idea of having no chance of ‘winning’ before you start, but trying anyway, is linked together by the structure of the three chapters which allows Lee to show Atticus’s view of “real courage” in three different circumstances, making the idea clear and understandable to the audience.