Explain Atticus's definition of courage at the end of Chapter 11.

       After the death of Mrs.Henry Lafayette Dubose, Atticus tells Jem and Scout that she was the bravest person he ever knew. Mrs. Dubose was vicious; She was ruthless. Sick and mean, she showed cruelty towards the children without the slightest reserve. And yet, Atticus tells the children to look upon her in admiration. "'You know, she was a great lady." (128) he says to them; to which Jem looks up with disbelief. "'A lady?' Jem raised his head. His face was scarlet. 'After all the things she said about you, a lady?'"

          Atticus is adamant. "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do. Mrs Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew."   

         This is the courage of conviction, that Atticus speaks of. Mrs. Dubose, with her many faults, stood up against odds, knowing that failure was practically inevitable. She was fully aware that her time was limited, that morphine would be taking the easier way out, and yet, died according to her views. Mrs. Dubose died with self-respect, in clear-headedness and pain. True courage is when you take the pain in for what is right. Mrs. Dubose was fully entitled to dying an easier way, painless and with morphine. But Mrs. Dubose did not. She did not sit in failure -she broke out of it. Mrs. Dubose made the decision to die beholden to nothing and nobody, a task in which she started in failure and might have ended in failure. She made the decision for what she knew was right -this is the courage Atticus speaks of.

      Harper Lee uses this powerful moment as a mark for the end of the first half of the book. It represents Atticus as a parent, as a guiding figure. It also shows his views -the one view he shares with Mrs. Dubose. As Atticus prepares to fight for the Tom Robinson case, he is fully aware that he is "licked", and can easily regain his Finch reputation and quit the case. But if he does that, Atticus could not live with himself; He would no longer be following the rules of himself. Harper Lee uses these two chapters to express Atticus'es laws of being human -to show Scout, Jem, and the reader, why Atticus is taking on this case. It is Harper Lee's way of introducing and setting the stage for the upcoming chapters and climax.

Why do you think Harper Lee has put this chapter before the case? Do you agree with Atticus'es beliefs? Why do you think Atticus did not mind Mrs. Dubose calling him such names?  Do you think Atticus is right in making Jem read to Mrs. Dubose? And lastly; Do you believe that these are the rules Atticus will play by in the next few chapters during the Tom Robinson case?