“The purpose of morality is to teach you, not to suffer and die, but to enjoy yourself and live, ” explained the narrator in the book Atlas Shrugged (Rand, Atlas Shrugged). Reading helps one live a fuller, more enjoyable life. When one is taught of morality and empathy through the means of reading, they are on the path to that way of living. The fundamental empathy that connects all humans is refined and expanded upon by reading, as it exposes the readers to knowledge and morality applied in times of struggle.
Books can demonstrate morals coming through in often extreme or emotionally loaded situations. As is stated in Developing Character through Literature, “Representing human struggles and feelings is an essential part of good storytelling,”
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Even though a story’s characters don’t always make the right decisions, books can show the readers people who, in spite of their possible situation, make the morally right choice. They give them insight into the thoughts and minds of people who make these choices and allow a reader to empathize with them. This not only refines the range of one’s empathy, but also teaches what good-aligned decisions and morals are and how to make such decisions in spite of one’s situation. An example of this is Hiram’s internal struggle of whether or not he should attend the trial in Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe. Hiram faced, on one hand, being ostracized from the small town of Greenwood and possibly even violence, but not attending the trial meant the possibility of Emmett’s murderers going free. Hiram, despite the possible consequences, went against his grandfather’s wishes and chose to attend the trial. Standing up for what is right was a central theme of Mississippi Trial, 1955. “... Figure out what’s right and what’s wrong, and make yourself do the right thing, Do that and no matter what happens, no matter what people, say, you’ll have no regrets,” (Crowe 152). These words, given to Hiram from
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
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.
The main plot of this book is the murder of Emmett Till, but it also covers the idea of people expressing their own believes. For example, Harlan was not afraid to speak his thoughts of equality to his father. He strongly believed the mistreating to African Americans in the south was not right. He did not care if it ruined his relationship between his father, because he knew the South’s believes were incorrect. Mr. Paul is another character in the story that expresses is own believes. When Hiram asks Mr. Paul for his advice if he was in his situation he tells Hiram, “If I knew something that proved those two didn’t kill that boy, I’d feel obliged to testify, and if I had something that would convict’em, well, I’d have to plan on closing my shop and heading somewhere far away from Mississippi. But I’d speak up.”(Crowe, p.151) This shows that Mr. Paul knows that the right thing to do is to testify the truth and even though you will risk your life the moral thing is to still speak the truth.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Storytelling helps other people to emotionally connect themselves to the author so that they know they are not the only ones who are experiencing a painful or exciting experience, and are able to share the same emotions. It often helps other people to know what they should do in order to get over it when it comes to a painful experience. Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings explores the life of Maya Angelou and the struggles she has been throughout her childhood to her adulthood. Richard Wagemese’s Indian Horse explores the life of Saul Indian Horse and the struggles he has been through after departing from his family. The power of storytelling can unfold questions which ask the audience of how and why are the events are unfold the
The power of storytelling can create connections between people and allow individuals to find their inner
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.