My selected quote is from chapter 23— a chapter that very well demonstrates Atticus’s courage and perseverance. We saw a little bit of it in previous chapters (during the trial when he stood up for Tom), but I thought this quote made it especially clear:

“Miss Stephanie said Atticus didn’t bat an eye, just took out his handkerchief and wiped his face and stood there and let Mr. Ewell call him names wild horses could not bring her to repeat.” (pg 291)

It would have taken an incredible amount of strength for Atticus to be able to stand there and be called names when he knew the truth: Bob Ewell was beating his daughter. Tom never raped Mayella – she forced herself onto him, denied it, and went as far as to accuse him of raping her. All of this because she did (as Atticus said at the trial) something that was unspeakable in their society: she tempted a black man. Bob Ewell brought the case to court because he not only wanted to cover his own tracks, but he might’ve also felt ashamed of Mayella. If he hadn’t accused Tom of anything, people would have found out that he was beating his daughter, who also happened to have kissed a black man.

The crazy thing is, even after all that, he found the nerve to spit in Atticus’ face. How could he not sympathize, show a little bit of goodness and understanding? It’s unbelievable how far he was willing to take it, and it’s also why I think Atticus’s reaction to it is such a good example of the bravery/courage theme in the novel. If it were me, I would not have been able to keep my cool. Atticus didn’t require the type of courage that makes you able to fight someone off or to keep arguing with them; it was the courage to be the bigger person in the situation and not throw gas onto an existing fire. He was mature and mentally strong enough to realize that Mr. Ewell was not worth the fight and that saying or doing anything to cross him would not help the situation any more.

This is a very important skill in life that is very hard to understand and develop, especially when there are things like racism/prejudice, disrespect and dishonesty involved. It’s even harder when it’s clear to you that you’re right based on the evidence, but that still doesn’t cut it because of the world’s mentality. So to be able to use this skill and actually be the bigger person in those types of situations is very hard, and I’m sure that a lot of people don’t develop it until much later in life, if ever.

Out of all the quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird, though it might not seem very important, I think this is one of the most important reactions and the biggest development in Atticus’s personality. Being brave enough to take care of two children without a wife is already a lot, but having the courage to be so involved with Tom Robinson’s trial on top of all that was a big deal, and it revealed his amazing ability to be selfless even when things got tough.