Preview

Courage Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
918 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Courage Essay
Courage When people hear the word courage, most think of soldiers in World War II, firefighters who risked their lives during 911 or even police officers who go to work every day, not knowing if they are going to see their families again. This fact astonished me because so many things in our world today require courage. “What is the definition of courage,” some people may ask. Well, in my overall search for the meaning, I came across probably fifty to a hundred different definitions. One person explained how it took their baby a lot of courage to take its first step, and another saying how he took the training wheels off of his child’s bicycle, hoping his child had enough “courage” to get on that bicycle and ride it. Most of my research done on Google was very hard to find, meaning I had to refine “definition of courage” significantly. A lot of pages also came up that had nothing to do with the word courage whatsoever. My first source, Dictionary.com, had many different definitions. The one I found to be the most accurate for being a dictionary definition was, “Courage; the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc.; without fear; bravery.” To me, this definition is pretty spot-on, but it also lacks the emotion and deepness others see in the definition of courage.
Thesaurus.com being my second source, gave me, “Boldness, braveness,” as a definition. This definition is also, in my opinion, very vague and doesn’t explain courage in great detail. The words boldness and braveness only make up a minute fraction of what courage means to me.
After looking at famous quotes online from the Holy Bible about courage, I found one that caught my attention. It reads, “David also said to Solomon his son, ‘Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.”-1

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Courage is the ability to do something that one knows is difficult or even dangerous. Winston Churchill once said “ Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen. In To Kill a Mockingbird Scout, Jem, and Atticus all show courage.…

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    My protector, Philip Fonsworth went into the Army to fight for the freedoms that we currently have in present day and often take for granted. Philip was stationed in multiple places that forced him to remain uncomfortable, but in Korea the dramatic anger forced upon Americans was unbearable. Some people find it hard to utilize their inner strengths and over power their weaknesses. Courage is the undiscovered strength beyond ones comfort ability. The capability to face ones rival, whether it means existence or fatality, is a clear example of courage. My father, a brave man, was treated as a second class citizen and remained determined to fight for our Country's values.…

    • 539 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    So what does courage mean to me? If we look courage up in the dictionary, courage is defined as: the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, or pain without fear. While courage has many meanings too many different people; to me, courage actually means having fear. Your fear could take the form and many different things such as: physical, mental, failure, or even fear of embarrassment in front of your peers. However, having fear and being able to look it in the face and overcome it is the definition of courage. Without fear, there is no courage.…

    • 395 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Courage is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty without feeling…

    • 396 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Courage can be interpreted as finding strength within pain. Courage is knowing your fears but annihilating them anyway. Courage is fighting for what you believe in, even if you are the only one willing to put forth an effort. Atticus elucidates the meaning of real courage by stating, “It’s when you know you’re…

    • 549 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    What is courage? According to dictionary.com, courage is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain etc., without fear; bravery. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, both Atticus and Boo Radley are both courageous through the challenges they are faced with. Both of these men are citizens of Maycomb and create change within their town. Although Atticus and Boo Radley are very different people, they prove to be similar through their acts of courage. Though their acts of courage are similar, they both generate change to different aspects of their lives. Both men change things through their acts of courage, but the changes are drastically different. Atticus’ courage is a long term change, and it will help Maycomb see African Americans as equals and not as inferiors. Boo’s change on their other hand, will be more of a lesson that teaches not to judge a book by its cover.…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Courage is being able to face difficulty and do what others are afraid to do, without caring about what others think of you. Courage is commonly interpreted incorrectly, a courageous person is more than just a strong person who fights for someone. A courageous person would be able to face situations with self-confidence and resolution, a will do something even if they are afraid of the out outcome. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, she demonstrates courage is doing what is right no matter what society thinks through how Atticus and others defend the helpless throughout the novel.…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Courage In The Book Thief

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Courage isn’t just exemplified in literature, but in the real world as well. Rosa Parks is a famous African - American civil rights activist who was born on February 4, 1913. The United States called her “ The First Lady of Civil Rights “ and “ The Mother of the Freedom Movement “. On December 1 in 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, she was on a bus. Parks refused to listen to the bus driver, James F. Blake, when he told her to give up her seat in the colored section to a white passenger because the white section was filled. It takes courage to stand up for your rights, so imagine the courage it took for Rosa to do something like that back then. She didn’t have any legal rights or any form of protection, and she defied the law. She didn’t want to be treated differently anymore, and she thought it was wrong. “ The only tired I was, was tired of giving in,”she said. Rosa wanted to do something not just for herself, but for everyone else who didn’t have the courage to do what was…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Courage the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear. Most of us don’t courage in certain aspects. Whether through fear or through pure laziness. Throughout the epic poem Odysseus has to face many obstacles to get home. Not…

    • 740 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On page 121 in To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Atticus says to Jem that he wants his son “to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.” Courage is the ability to do something that frightens one. So how is courage defined in this novel? In To Kill a Mockingbird most of the town, Maycomb, Alabama, shows courage. Courage can be a small thing like saying hi to somebody as you pass them on the streets, even though you’re too shy to speak up. Courage can be a big thing like going up to somebody’s house that you don’t like, or are scared of. In the novel, many times Jem and Dill wanted to go up to the Radley house, Scout didn’t like the idea, but went along with it anyways. Jem ran…

    • 749 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Courage can have different definitions depending on the type of person. It can be standing up for what you believe in, even if others don’t agree, it can be standing up to something no one else will, or carrying on with something that can hurt you. Courage can be shown by my mother, a friend from elementary school, and Atticus.…

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To Kill A Mockingbird

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages

    What is courage? Courage is the ability to conquer fear or despair or to be brave. In the novel, “To Kill a Mocking Bird”, by Harper Lee, courage is shown throughout book. While not all characters seemed to be courageous, one can easily separate the frivolous entities from the immoral ones. Although many characters exhibit this trait, Jem, Authur Radley, and Atticus were the most potent.…

    • 656 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To kill a mocking bird

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages

    To begin with courage is something you can portray when standing up for what you believe in . For instance in the novel Atticus was the rare symbol of courage in maycomb . Atticus defending the Tom Robinson case despite what anyone else in the community had to say . Atticus was not only being courageous by defending the case but because he stood up for what he believed in not only for himself but to set an example for his children . " Because I could never ask you to mind me again scout simply by the nature of the work every lawyer gets at least one case that affects him personally this ones mines I guess. You might hear some ugly talk about it at school , but do one thing for me if you will : you just hold your head high and keep those fists down . No matter what anybody says to you don't .let em get your host try fighting with your head for a change " ( page 76 ) . This quote exhibits Atticus coming to term with the fact that he's going to have to turn the other cheek and not let their foolishness get to him.…

    • 668 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Odyssey

    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The definition of courage is the ability to do something that frightens one or strength in The face of pain or grief. The story of Romeo and Juliet and the Odyssey both show representations of courage. Courage is something that some people do not have but the two stories are an exception. Both stories show have obstacles in which to get through them someone would have to be strong even when they are scared.…

    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Courage is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, and pain without fear, according to a dictionary definition. Everyday many people try to have courage and everyday most of these people don’t. Having courage can be very difficult. The answer to that problem is simple. People should not think about what would happen if they act upon courage, but to think about what would not happen if they don’t. Also, courage can come in several different forms.…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays