It is clear that the relationships young kids develop with those who are different from them can shape them into who they will become. In the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird, the author Harper Lee has two young siblings, Scout and Jem, form many meaningful relationships with people who are different from each other, These relationships are formed by Lee to teach how empathy can be learned through spending meaningful time with others who differ from us and who have a different perspective on life. Readers of this novel can see for themselves that Harper Lee believes empathy is a critical skill all children must start learning from a young age by those who may have a different perspective then they do.
Without question, the relationships young
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When reading and examining these relationships the readers can see Lee’s view on empathy and how it should be thought and learned. In To Kill a Mockingbird when Lee has Scout and Jem return to school, Scout is faced with her first challenge of empathy. One of the first encounters Scout has at school is one with Walter Cunningham Jr. Walter is a dirt poor boy who had caused Scout to get into trouble with her teacher, which causes Scout to start beating him up, when her brother Jem see’s this he apologizes on behalf of Scout and ask’s if Walter would join their family for dinner. After a reluctant yes from Walter they are eating at the Finch’s dinner table. Whilst converting with Atticus, Scouts Dad Walter …show more content…
The classroom classic To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee contains much mystery surrounding a character called Boo Radley. He is rarely seen as he chooses to live an isolated life style and not leave his house unless it is out of necessity. This necessity presents itself towards the end of the novel when Bob Ewell, an unfriendly townsman tries to attack and kill Jem and Scout late at night in the street outside the Radley household. Because of the lack of light Scout is confused by this attack and rescue mission. When Heck Tate, the town sheriff and Atticus question her on what exactly went down she recites it best she can and they figure out who it was that did the rescuing, Who was it?” “Why there he is, Mr. Tate, he can tell you his name.” As I said it, I half pointed to the man in the corner, but brought my arm down quickly lest Atticus reprimand me for pointing. It was impolite to point.” This quote is said after Mr. Tate ask’s Scout who it was that saved her and her brother. Although the relationship between Boo Radley and the kids does not have many words exchanged it is the most monumental for the growth of the children’s empathy, because he is the polar opposite of Scout and
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
Lee uses experiences Jem faced and overcame in the novel to develop her theme compassion. As the oldest Jem faced more character building experiences than Scout. He could understand the meaning behind Atticus and his lessons. This resulted in Jem fully understanding compassion, but resenting it as well. “Jem, see if you can stand in Bob Ewell’s shoes a minute”(292). Jem doesn’t want to stand or think about anything related to Bob. Atticus is teaching him that compassion doesn’t come easy. In a passage with compassion, Scout and Jem experience a life changing moment. “Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you”(96). This happens to Scout and Jem at the time finally realizes that Atticus was right about Boo. Boo Radley expresses his compassion towards Scout. This shows that what Atticus said about stepping into someone’s shoes works. Now Scout and Jem understand what compassion means and how it works.
Over the course of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, the three main characters (Scout, Jem, and Dill) learn important lessons like courage, justice, and forgiveness, from characters like Atticus, Heck Tate, and Mrs. Maudie. However, the most important lesson that the kids learn over the course of the book is that of empathy. Empathy is demonstrated as well as taught to our main characters through the trial of Tom Robinson. The conviction of Tom indirectly and directly leads both Scout and Jem to empathize with Boo Radley, as well as teach all three characters that empathy goes beyond race and class.
In Chapter 3 of Harper Lee’s book To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout scolds Walter Cunningham for his table manners during a dinner at their house, which causes Atticus to later bring her aside and talk to her. While talking to Scout, Atticus gives this as a piece of advice to her. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” Telling Scout this, Atticus urges her to learn the importance of empathizing and treating others with kindness. This is one of many examples throughout the novel that show Atticus’ ability to empathize with others.
One major theme in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is that empathy can change how one reacts to his surroundings. In chapter three, protagonist Scout has a bad day at school. She asks Atticus, her father, to homeschool her after she has disagreements with both Burris Ewells and Walter Cunningham. However, Atticus tells her that “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” (39). Atticus says this to Scout so she can reevaluate the situation and have a more realistic view, however, what he said can be applied to everyday life. To understand the feelings of another is to see the world through their eyes. Only through this can true connection be developed. Empathy creates bonds and friendships between individuals, and when Atticus says
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by author Harper Lee, displays numerous themes that can be connected to the world, a personal life, and more. One theme I noticed in the book was empathy. Empathy is the key to getting along with others. There are numerous examples of empathy that can be connected to the text. Scout, a main character in the story, displays empathy frequently by learning to, “walk about in someone’s skin”(Lee, 41). As Scout and her brother Jem grow up throughout the story they learn how much empathy can affect the way you view someone. An example of when Scout displays empathy in the text is in chapter two when she sees Walter Cunningham embarrassed in the classroom. Walter Cunningham is an extremely poor boy
Have you ever understood the true value of empathy? Well, in Harper Lee's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" Scout and Jem go through an important lesson about the significance of empathy. Throughout the book, they are exposed to multiple instances of injustice, discrimination, and prejudice in their small town of Maycomb, Alabama. The lesson of empathy is successfully taught to them by their father, Atticus Finch, as well as their interactions with Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. One of the most important moments in the novel that teaches Scout and Jem about empathy is when Atticus explains to them the significance of learning about others before judging them.
Empathy… the ability to share and understand the feelings of another person. The idea of empathy helps us interact with each other better and makes people gain a deeper emotional quotient which can improve society in a soulful way. Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” suggests that empathy is an important skill that a person can develop over time but that it is hard if not impossible to have empathy when someone contains prejudice. Lee uses characters like Scout in multiple situations such as when she and Jem were judging Boo Radley without showing empathy to him, when Scout changes throughout the novel and starts to learn empathy as she forgets prejudice, and how Atticus teaches
No answer”. This is a good example of empathy because the reader can tell for themselves that the opposing evidence was faulty and Tom Robinson's guilty sentence was annoyingly unfair. Characterization was used to create empathy by making a morally righteous and wise character like Atticus. For example on page , “ “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”. This is a good example of empathy because he teaches Scout as well as the readers that although humanity can be evil, it can be good as well, and this evil can be stopped simply through sympathy and understanding of each other.
Scout, Jem, and Dill work many summers to try to get Boo to come out of the Radley house for the first time in many years. Jem had been told many things about Boo in his short years in Maycomb, and he tells his sister Scout about the ‘monster’, saying, “Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained—if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time” (chap. 1). Jem’s ideas about Boo are very biased toward rumors that can be heard around Maycomb. This shows how Maycomb’s people often judge before they know, seeing as no one has seen Boo Radley in over twenty years and people are prejudiced to believing the unknown is always bad. Prejudice and rumors can often not be trusted and Boo Radley is no exception. After Miss Maudie’s house catches fire and half the town rushes outside to watch it burn, Atticus tells Scout, “someday you should thank him for covering you up” then Scout asks, “Thank Who?” And gets a response from Atticus, “Boo Radley. You were too busy looking at the fire, you didn’t even notice when he put the blanket around you” (chap. 8). Boo Radley is not really a bad person, he
In to Kill a Mockingbird harper lee demonstrates to the reader the importance of empathy mainly through the action and advice of Atticus. An example of this would be when Atticus said "you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around it" to scout (33). This quote teaches students the basics of empathy and how to look at things at others point of view. In addition, the advice Atticus gives in this quote is direct, easy to understand and is crucial towards student understanding on how to develop a good relationship with someone. Empathy can
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.
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel which deals with many themes; the most dominant of these is empathy, as it is crucial in the relationships between characters as well as in their learning experiences. The way Scout finally learns how to use empathy to see things from Boo Radley’s point of view was very moving to the reader, and the reader can
Boo Radley is one of the mockingbirds in this book. He is innocent but this wasn’t recognized by everyone. Scout understood
In the third chapter of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus proclaims that “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” (P. 39). By including this statement Lee presents to us the idea of empathy and that, in the words of author Madeleine L’Engle in her book A Wrinkle in Time, ‘people are more than just the way they look’. Applying this concept to some of Lee’s characters in the book can teach us invaluable