Tuesday, December 15, 2009

True Courage


We talked quite a bit in class about true courage. What is your own personal definition of courage? Who is the most courageous character in the book? Why is he or she the most courageous?

65 comments:

  1. I think that true courage is when you do something while knowing the consequences of your actions and you do it while no one is watching, and you have the choice to say no and just leave. - HPotterninja14

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  2. Courage is doing something you would not normally do. Also, it is knowing the consequences and still going through with the act. Atticus is a very courageous man. He knew the consequences of defending Tom Robinson, but he still decided to defend him.
    -Maverick3-

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  3. HPotterninja14 is right, courage is having the choice, the choice to say no with no harm done. However, if Atticus had said he wouldn't defend Tom, then Atticus would have had to live with his conscience for the rest of his life.
    -Maverick3-

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  4. Personally I think that true couarge is when someone does something without anybody asking them to and does it because they think it is the right thing to do.
    - Sporty chick#00

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  5. True courage is doing something that other people would not normally do. There are many small courages throughout daily life. Also, like the people before said, courage is knowing the consequences and still going through with your actions,
    -PinkPrincess

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  6. The most courageous man in the book is Atticus because he understood the consequences that he and his family would have to endure if he defended Tom Robinson. Despite this he still had the courage to do this because he knows it was the right thing to do.
    Michael Scott

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  7. I believe that courage isn't really something you can define. It's more than just doing the right thing. It's more than just performing or going through with tough decision. Courage is different based on each situation.

    Ninja23

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  8. Courage is doing something in a dangerous or bad situations that other poeple would not do. The most courageous man in To Kill a Mockingbird is Atticus. Despite scrutiny from the people of Maycomb, Atticus did his duty, and defended Tom Robinson, even when it out him and his children in danger.-Mr. Der

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  9. I think true courage does not mean that you have no fears. I think true courage is when you have a fear or many of them and you still are brave enough to stand agains them

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  10. I would have to agree with Micheal Scott and HPotter that true courage comes when you actually know the consequences of the actions you are about to commit.
    Sunny13

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  11. I think that HPotterninja14 and Maverick3 are right when they say that courage invovles doing the right thing when their is a choice. I would like to add that the choice they have to make is seldomly in their own best interests.
    -Yoda

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  12. I agree with you Michael Scott. Atticus understood what he had to do and knew the consequences he had to face. He was brave in the trial and showed true bravery by not fighting bob ewell back and always respected everyone. He did these things because they were right, and this shows true courage.
    RickyBobby827

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  13. i agree that courage is doing something while knowing the consequenses but doing it anyway. but i also think that there are certain levels of courage.

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  14. Thomas Edward Burnett Jr. (May 29, 1963 – September 11, 2001) was the vice president and COO of a Pleasanton, California, medical devices company, Thoratec Corporation. At the time of his death, Mr. Burnett resided in San Ramon, California.[1] He died at age 38 in the September 11, 2001 attacks on board United Airlines Flight 93.

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  15. “Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose.”

    Gossip Girl

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  16. Courage is not backing down from something you believe in. Courage is doing the right thing. Atticus Finch is very courageous in many aspects of the word. Just by defending a black man, he is a courageous man.
    Po

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  17. Burnett graduated from Thomas Jefferson Senior High School in Bloomington, Minnesota in 1981 after leading the football team to the state semi-finals as their starting quarterback.[1] His football jersey, #10, is now retired at his former high school.

    Burnett studied economics at Saint John's University in Minnesota. After two years, an injury shortened his football career and he transferred to the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.[1] He was named President of the Alpha Kappa Psi Fraternity, then later graduated with a B.S. degree in Finance. He went on to earn a MBA at Pepperdine University

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  18. I like what Yoda said about how courageous acts are seldomly for the person's own best interests. I think that truly courageous acts are done in the hope that other's will benefit from their actions.

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  19. I think courage is doing something you know is right, even if it means endangering your own life.

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  20. United Airlines Flight 93
    On September 11, 2001, while on board Flight 93, he was able to call his wife four times on an airphone after the hijackers took control of the plane.

    Burnett and other passengers had been in communication with people via airphones and learned that the World Trade Center had been hit using hijacked airplanes. Burnett was among the passengers who decided to fight the hijackers hand-to-hand.

    Burnett called his wife, Deena, and reportedly told her, "We're all going to die, but three of us are going to do something." He is survived by his wife and three young daughters: Halley, Madison, and Anna Clare. He is also survived by a biological daughter, Mariah, that he and his college girlfriend gave up for adoption in 1985. (Mariah Mills now has a relationship with Deena and her three half-sisters.)

    Deena Burnett co-authored a book entitled Fighting Back: Living Life Beyond Ourselves. The book is published by Advantage Inspirational and was released in July 2006. Fighting Back recounts the difficulties in getting the FBI to release cockpit voice recorder tapes from United 93 to the public, and includes Deena Burnett's thoughts on the nature of heroism.

    Burnett was posthumously awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award in 2002. Also in that same year, a street in Pleasanton, California, where he worked for Thoratec Corporation, was renamed Tom Burnett Lane, commemorating his heroic efforts on Flight 93 that fateful day of September 11, along with his fellow passengers. There is also a memorial called Hero's Garden at Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management in Tom's honor.

    Recently, Deena has remarried to Rodney Bailey and he has a son named Tanner Bailey. They currently reside in Little Rock, Arkansas.

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  21. Courage is making a choice to do something that will help others. LIKE TOM BURNETT AND THE REST OF THE PASSENGER'S ON FLIGHT 93, they made the choice to take their own lives and crash the plane that was headed toward Washington DC that would have killed hundreds or thousands of people. The most courageous character in TKaM in my eyes in Atticus. He defended Tom Robinson and believed in him when no one else in Maycomb County wanted to even give him a trial.

    - PEN15Commander

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  22. I think that there are many types of courage. There is the courage where you go into a deadly situation, although there is another type of courage, which is if you get a good grade on a test that you cheated on, it takes courage to tell the teacher you cheated. I beleive thats courage also.
    Green backpack

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  23. In my opinion courage is doing something that most other people wouldn't. With this definition I think Atticus has the most courage because most people wouldn't have defended Tom, but Atticus did showing how much courage he has!

    -Yesss;)

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  24. PEN15Commander
    Courage is JUMPING IN FRONT OF A BUS TO SAFE A LITTLE KID WITHOUT HESITATING!

    Click on this link http://www.freefoto.com/images/2030/02/2030_02_4---Yellow-School-Bus_web.jpg?&k=Yellow+School+Bus

    Gossip Girl

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  25. Yoda makes a great point saying the person that makes the choice is seldomly about their own interests.

    - PEN15Commander

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  26. Courage: the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.
    Atticus does a good job of presenting this. I agree with Rickbobby, definately understood what was going to happen to him, and he didnt go off saying that he was excited or that he made this decison, he did as he was asked and did a excellent job.
    Pink lady(:

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  27. I don't feel that their is a true defintition of courage because people have different ways of looking at it there are people that think that true courage is not backing down from a challenge and then there's other people that say true courage is doing something knowing that there could be conciquences.Thats why i dont think that there is a true deffinition becasuse if you think about it all of it is courage nomatter how you look at it.

    $Jesta$

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  28. I personally believe that there isn't one true definition of courage, but instead courage can be proved in many shapes or forms, such as admitting a wrong regardless of the consequences, or even sacrificing yourself for the well-being of others.

    Lemony Snicket

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  29. Courage is acting upon once in a life time circumstances with the intent of serving the greater good.
    -Amen

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  30. True courage is hesitating and thoroughly pondering about the outcome of what is going to happen to you if you save others. Just like Tom Burnett and the other passengers on flight 93. They decided, after hesitating, to give their lives to save others. This is definately more courageous then what that man did when he pushed the single kid out of the way of a bus.
    .... I <3 K!tTeñS

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  31. A agree that Atticus is very courageous, but i don't think he is the most courageous. I think Boo is. He came out of his house for the first time in years to help Jem and Scout. He knew that if he was caught killing Bob Ewell, he would be put in the lime light and that it would maybe put his own safety in jepordy.
    -PinkPrincess

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  32. In my opinion, true courage is when a person is not looking for fame or praise for their actions, but rather doing something out of the goodness of their heart no matter what the consequences may be.
    -Mr. Jefferson

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  33. True courage is doing something others normaly wouldnt do that has possible concequences. For example, Atticus is very courageous for defending Tom.
    -Awesome Chick =)

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  34. $Jesta$ makes a good point it argueing that courage comes in many forms. Everyone may have a different definition, and in truth, there are many different ways to define courage.

    Lemony Snicket

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  35. Gossip Girl,
    Your so right! It takes more courage to jump infront of a but without even thinking about it then to die in an air plane, when your going to die anyways.

    -Yesss;)

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  36. I think all of the characters in the book have their moments of courage.
    Po

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  37. PEN15Commander not hesitating is actually to me less courage, because you didn't think about the consequences, you just dove in. I agree with I <3 K!tTeñS, that courage is when you know what could happen and you do it anyway. If he had hesitated but still gone through with it, that would be true courage. - HPotterninja14

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  38. I agree with Gossip Girl because this is a TRUE EXAMPLE because this guy saved a kid by pushing him out of the way when a bus was coming. This shows true courage.
    -Sporty Chick #00

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  39. I think Boo Radley is courageous, but I do not think he is the most courageous. The reason I say this is because Boo Radley made a split second decision and probably didn't think the consequences over. However, Atticus did several admirable deeds in which he had to think over, including defending Tom Robinson.
    -Mr. Jefferson

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  40. I agree with Mr. Jefferson. I think the most courageous character is Atticus because he defended Tom Robinson but he's black.
    -$treet Balla

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  41. Ok, the people on that flight weren't being courageous. They were going to die anyway. It was common sense.

    Ninja23

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  42. You both are correct(Mr. J and Awesome C.) but I think the one part you missing is a true couragious person doesnt kno and doesn't care about the out come. They are just doing it for the good. A great example is Atticus defending Tom

    Lollypopsickle

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  43. Ninja23... AMEN!

    Gossip Girl

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  44. I agree with Michael Scott that courage is when you actually know the consequences of your actions. this is why Atticus does show great courage in this book because he knows the consequences of what will happen when he defends Tom Robinson

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  45. I agree with street balla. Atticus is the most couragous because he was willing to take the insults and chance at assult by the people of Maycomb county.
    -Uncle Buck

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  46. I agree with Mr. Jefferson's argument that a split second decision lessens the courage of an act. I think that true courage is when somone deliberately does somthing dangerous, understanding the outcome.
    I also think that true courage includes a certain amount of nobility; when someone does somthing for the good of other's, putting themselves last, that is true courage.

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  47. I agree Atticus shows courage because he knows what will happen to him and his reputation and family name, but he accepts the consequences and tries as hard as he can.
    RickyBobby827

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  48. If you put any man in that situation they would respond the same as Atticus. He was just simply a man given an extroadinary oppurtunity. Nothing courageous there.
    Sunny13

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  49. I agree with Lollypopsickle about how they really don't care what the outcome is, they just do it because they know inside that it's the right thing to do.

    Ninja23

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  50. i also think that people do what is beilieved to be couragous for some fame.

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  51. RickyBobby827,
    Atticus is taking a lot more risk then you give him credit for. Look at what happens to Jem and if scout wouldn't have been wearing that costum she would have gottin stabed. Therefore Atticus is the most couragious person in the book.

    Lollypopsickle

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  52. Dear Sunny13-
    How can you say that Atticus was not courageous? He did not have to defend Tom but he still did because he knew it was right. If you read the book you will remember that there are tons of bad things that happen to Atticus and his family because of this choice.
    Michael Scott

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  53. Nappyflappy, if they do something "courageous" for fame, then it's not fame...

    Ninja23

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  54. I partly agree with Sunny13. I think that Atticus just did what was necessary, what was right, but Heck Tate did not shoot him because he was scared. I don't think Atticus did this without being at least slightly nervous. When he drops his glasses on the ground shows that he is tense and possibly scared.

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  55. Besides your grammar, I agree with Lollypopsickle. You are making great points so keep it up!
    ... I <3 K!tTeñS

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  56. I agree with lollypopsickle, but i also think that almost everyone has their moments of courage in this book. Yes atticus defended Tom when no one else would, but also boo saved Jem even though he knew that he might get stabbed while doing it.


    -Yesss;)

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  57. I dissagree with Sunny13 because not every man would do what Atticus did in his situation. Atticus had every right to turn down Tom Robinson's case and in fact, most people would have understood if he did turn it down in those times and they probably expected him too. What Atticus did was for his own sake but also for the sake of future generations that would come to realize the sin of prejudice.

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  58. There was a good point made above that courage also means knowing the consequences of your actions. This is completely true. Everybody thinks to themselves about what will happen before they do something. Some people dont care about the outcome, and those can either be the people who are very couragous, or very stupid. -Mr. Der

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  59. What $Jesta$ said is also true it is nearly impossible to identify what is the most courageous because all of our definitions of courage vary greatly.
    -Yoda

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  60. The dictionary definiton of courage is: the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery.
    Many people in the novel were courageous in their own way.
    -Maverick3-

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  61. I agree with Maverick3. Scout was brave when she refused to fight against some boys who were calling her dad and family very bad, racist names. Calpurnia was also very brave taking Scout and Jem to her church.
    RickyBobby827

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  62. Not all courage is based on the dictionary definition. Courage is a bit more than that. Going by that definition you could say that watching a scary movie (if you are scared of scary movies) would be courageous because you are facing fears and to me, at least, that's not courage.

    Ninja23

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  63. Courage is defined with one's own words there isn't 1 dictionary that can describe courage. There are so many different descriptions.
    -$treet Balla

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  64. I agree that other characters showed their own courage. Bob Ewell, even, is courageous by trying to save his daughter from social exclusion. Now it was by killing someone, it was the wrong actions for the right reasons.

    Sarah Palin

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  65. Congratulations Maverick3 you know how to use a dictionary. Unfortunately the creaters of that dictionary probably have no concept of true courage
    -amen

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