"Courage is measured by an individual's willingness to continue fighting even when the
likelihood of victory is small." It is a person's mental or moral strength to resist extreme
difficulty. It is the strength of mind that makes one able to meet danger and difficulties
with firmness. This withstanding opposition to defeat allows a person to persevere
although the probability of triumph is unfavorable. Arthur Miller's The Crucible and
Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird justify this statement.
Arthur Miller exemplifies this definition of courage by the use of
characterization. In Act III of the play, the odds against Proctor are overwhelming. If he
loses the case, he and all the people who support him will be destroyed. For Proctor to
save his wife and friends, he must convince the court that everything it has done so far is
wrong. Proctor is willing to risk everything, including his good name and even his life, to
bring out the truth. Throughout this act, Parris and Cheever act as impediments to John.
Cheever, to deface the reputation of John, mentions that Proctor ripped the warrant when
Elizabeth was arrested and that he plows on Sundays. Parris, in addition, says that
Proctor "comes to church but once a month!" However, this does not hamper Proctor as
he persists to bring out the truth. Another obstacle that Proctor must surpass occurs when
Abigail and the girls feign that Mary Warren sends out her spirit reinforcing the notion
that Mary is a witch. In response, Proctor confesses his lechery to weaken the perception
of the saintly image of Abigail and to reveal her motive. By avowing his affair with
Abigail, Proctor illustrates his perseverance to save the lives of his wife and friends.
The setting of The Crucible is another element to justify the definition of courage.
The play takes place in Salem, Massachusetts in 1692, thirty years after the colony...