Empathy In Atlas Shrugged

In the article, “Nerd Alert: Reading is Good For Your Health” by Jen Christensen, I learned that reading literature can actually build empathy. This is important because, well, what good are we really without empathy? Without ever understanding where a person is coming from, how can we help them? You know that stereotypical, snooty, popular teenager who’s whining all the time and is just generally REALLY annoying on movies and TV shows? That’s what we’d be like without empathy.

(STEWE-1): We see a lack of humanity when Mildred says to Montag, "'See what you're doing? You'll ruin us! Who's more important, me or that Bible?'" (Bradbury 72). Mildred is self-centered and only worries about herself. She doesn’t think about others’ emotions and how they might feel, and she puts herself before the books that could help Montag regain his humanity. Mildred is the ideal member of society, and thus represents society as a whole. The rest of society is self-centered and unempathetic, and only worry about themselves. They place themselves and their needs before others and their needs. They

Humans are the most advanced beings on Earth. Since we are the dominant creature, we are the best creature. We can do astounding things, like what I’m doing right now. It’s pretty cool to have the brain of a human. Right? Debatably. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem experience classism and implicit bias. From this, they learn to empathize.

In The Things They Carried, Tim O’Brien looks back on the Vietnam War and how the line between right and wrong in personal and societal morals can be lost when a war is morally unclear. Specifically, in the chapter “On the Rainy River,” O’Brien’s personal morality is tested when he must decide whether to flee to Canada to escape the draft or stay and fight in the war. Similarly, Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn examines the effect American social values have on Huck Finn’s decisions about his own life and the slave Jim. Both Twain’s and O’Brien’s works reflect the American culture of their day. Each story offers an example of how the “story-truth” the characters describe can be different from the “happening-truth,” and how

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. That is what Martin Luther King said in his last speech before he was assassinated. The literary fiction novel To Kill A Mockingbird wrote by Harper Lee takes place in the fictional Alabama town of Maycomb. The story happened during the period of Great Depression, and people were sorted based on socioeconomic, gender and races. The narrator Scout Finch lives with her brother Jem Finch and father Atticus Finch. In the book, Atticus is a character that is respected by readers because he has a strong sense of sympathy. Atticus is a just and fair lawyer and served several years in the state legislature. As being an attorney with strong moral character and healthy humanitarian principles, Atticus works diligently in the court to defend an innocent person. “It is a sin to kill a Mockingbird.” The innocent person is the mockingbird and Atticus’s mission is to protect the mockingbird. As a stern and gentle father of two children, Atticus teaches Jem and Scout a lot of principles on the way of life and benefit them in the future. His sense of responsibility makes him a good father. Atticus consistently demonstrates empathy throughout the novel To Kill A Mockingbird.

Character development is very important in character-driven literature, where stories focus not on events, but on individual personalities. Character development is a literary device that is used step by step in literature to highlight and explain the details about a character in a story. And the stories that move us most, the ones that stick inside years later, are those inhabited by characters we can connect with and admire. And no characters resonate more than those who in the course of a story learned how to either give in or overcome their own flaws and weaknesses to which they are remembered for. The rocky path of personal growth and development a character undergoes in a story, usually unwillingly, during which the character wrestles

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a story about two kids growing up, and discovering different aspects of life. According to Harper Lee the definition of empathy is: Empathy is when a person imagines being in someone else’s shoes, and tries to understand their feeling and actions, this is what creates the bonds of friendship and other relationships because it helps people understand the intentions, perspectives, and needs of others. At this point of the book, Scout was complains about her horrific day at school to Atticus. He then explains her that she should understand the perspectives of other people. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk

Scout does not like all of the prejudices in the town, and world, all shows a lot of empathy for how young she is in this quote, “I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks,” (304) Atticus, Scout, and minor characters show the importance of empathy. Atticus always thinks about how people feel, scout shows empathy throughout the novel, especially at the end, and some minor characters show some empathy. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee demonstrates the importance of empathy.

Empathy is something everyone is capable of feeling, but not everyone chooses to take action and help.“Harvest Gypsies” by John Steinbeck, is a non-fictional story about two migrant families who lived in unstable and filthy conditions. “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost, is a fictional poem regarding the relationship between two neighbors that come together every year to mend a wall that divides their properties. The reader is more likely to experience more empathy while reading “Harvest Gypsies” than while reading “Mending Wall” because, Steinbeck regards real people who suffer through hardships, Frost, on the other hand, doesn’t involve the characters undergoing any distress or misfortune, thus the reader may not fully understand what is

1) Atticus is an empathetic person who tries to make sure people are treated equally, and in the case of his children, that people should grow up and make a positive difference. Atticus shows his empathy by telling Scout to try to understand what Miss Caroline is going through. Harper Lee is trying to show that with empathy, everyone benefits, and there would be less hate and injustice. Atticus says, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (Lee 39). Atticus is telling Scout to look at the world through Miss Caroline’s eyes, to see why Miss Caroline reacts the way that she does. Atticus believes that if Scout can see how scared Miss Caroline is, with teaching a new school in a new way, then Scout can understand what makes Miss Caroline act the way that she does. When Scout asks Atticus why he is angering the town by defending Tom Robinson, he says that he must, or else he would no longer be reputable. Atticus says, “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.” (Lee 101) Atticus leads by example, and that if he did not hold himself to the same standard that he wants Scout and Jem to be at, then he is no better than the rest of the town. He knows that he is going to lose, but wants to show his children that it is important to do the right thing no matter the consequences or result, and

Empathy can be defined as making a connection to someone during a situation. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, empathy is a main part in some of the characters’ lives. Without empathy, the novel would lack many components that make the main characters, Jem and Scout, who they are.

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (p.30) The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee includes a plethora of essential themes that make one think deeply. The story takes place in the 1930’s when segregation tensions were high. The narrative is told through the eyes of a young girl, Jean Louise (Scout) Finch. Scout’s father, Atticus is a lawyer fighting a case for an African American man named Tom Robinson. Throughout the novel, both Scout and her older brother Jeremy (Jem) Finch learn many life lessons that are crucial for all children to learn about. One fundamental lesson learned by the children, is the lesson of having empathy.

Fiction has been around for centuries, feeding the imagination of young and older minds. Usually when people read a fictional story, they don’t think about the connotation the story tries to convey. But every story has a message, and whether it be big or small, it takes a complex, deeper thinking to be able to find that message. It is apparent that the reason we study fiction is to be able to find that deeper thinking within ourselves and enrich our imagination.

This happens due to the high imaginative activity while empathizing to fiction. Thus, after reading and analyzing all three parts of this paper it becomes clear that Neill does not research the issue of the empathetic relation to fiction in order to prove the empathy being prior to sympathy; however he wants to show us the veritable value of empathetic responses to the film fiction, which is our emotional education.

Younger generations aren’t feeling as empathetic as older generations and this will lead to a dangerous society. Empathy is the ability to understand and share feelings. Teaching empathy at a young age will allow one another to accept and communicate with each other. It is also a necessity skill in life that helps each other to recognize one’s emotions. According to the article, This is How Literary Fiction Teaches us to Be Human by Tom Blunt, he emphasizes empathy can be taught through literary fiction and it is vital that young children feel empathy toward each other.