Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

In the novel, ‘To kill A Mockingbird’ the theme of put yourself in someone’s shoes appears many times. This is important to the book because it shows us that never judge someone without knowing the entire story. The characters put themselves in someone’s else shoes in different ways. Jem begins to understand Mrs. Dubose, Dolphus Raymond not being a drunk, Tom Robinson feeling sorry for Mayella, and Scout seeing Boo’s point of view from his porch.

“Human beings are poor examiners, subject to superstition, bias, prejudice, and a profound tendency to see what they want to see rather than what is really there” ~ Scott Peck. Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird abounds with the injustice produced by social, gender, and racial prejudice. The setting of the book takes place in the 1930s, where racism is a big deal in society. In the novel Harper Lee uses a mockingbird as an analogy to the characters. The Mockingbird is a symbol for Three Characters in the book, Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley. The people of Maycomb only know Boo Radley and Tom Robinson by what others say about them. These Characters are then characterized by other people 's viewpoints. In the novel there are many themes that are adjacent to our lives, the one that is found in To Kill A Mockingbird is Human Conflict comes from the inability for one to understand another. “ You never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (39)

After making fun of her teacher and being racist towards African Americans, Scout learns a tough lesson from her father. He takes her to the porch and sits her down, and shares his firm lesson with his daughter. "You never really understand a person until you really consider things from his point of view... until you climb into his shoes" (Lee 39). Atticus, quite plainly, stresses how important it is to not judge one on their appearance or on their position within the social classes. This makes Scout think more before she acts, and it puts their actions into perspective. A small town’s gossip and the power of assumption can change someone’s life in an awful way in some scenarios. One character in example, is Boo Radley. Everyone assumes he

5. Scout’s opinions about Boo Radley have changed throughout the book, but for the majority of the time, she showed a fear towards him.”...you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. ” (Lee 374). The quote restates Atticus’ opinions about how to treat everyone fairly no matter their background. Lee decided to put this into the novel because it displays Atticus’ charisma and his characteristic which helps defend Tom Robinson. This quote is placed when Scout goes to the Radley house’s porch and notice the town from

Do not take what someone says personally to oneself. He is becoming more courageous by the lessons he instructs to his children. In Lee’s novel, Atticus states, “One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them” (Lee 321). Atticus is explaining that Scout will really not know how someone handles something until she takes “their spot”. He also is explaining that Scout should know that not only stepping around in someone else’s shoes will show that she should understand them, but also she should accept that person.

Atticus and Scout show demonstrate times of walking in others’ shoes. First off, for Atticus, he talks to Scout about how Jem does not find ways to worry others as much as Scout does (Lee 33). I got this basic idea from a passage in Lee’s novel, “Have you considered that Jem doesn’t worry her half as much?” (Lee 33). This, “her” in the novel is Calpurnia, the “maid,” for Atticus. He tries to use Calpurnia’s life to concern Scout about her own beliefs and distaste. She believes Cal likes Jem better than her, which is normal for a girl and/or boy. Atticus lets Scout feel the need to “walk in Cal’s shoes.” Later on in the story, Atticus tries to get Scout to understand that without taking the Tom Robinson case, he could not live with himself or anyone (Lee 139).

For the most part, when someone’s past is revealed, their originally unjustifiable motives are also exposed. A person could act on revenge, compassion, or a variety of other causes because of experiences that they have come across. In Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Scout did not understand why people acted the way that they did, even when elements of their past were revealed to her. Her father, Atticus, explained to her that “You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.” Prior to the suggestion, Scout could not find a way to see the world through other people’s eyes. Throughout “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Harper Lee used diction and the narrative to show that Scout lacked the ability to sympathize with others, a trait which is essential to growing up. Since Scout was so young, she had developed an inability to

Scout begins to understand that maybe Boo did not like when people were trying to look in on him. She put herself in his shoes and felt the same way; she felt she would not have liked to get looked at either. Another way Scout walks in Boo’s shoes is she tries to imagine herself as Boo while she is standing on his porch. As the text explains, “One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough” (Lee 374). After standing on the Radley porch, Scout begins to realize that Boo has seen it all. He may have seen it from a different perspective as her, but he saw it all. She put herself in his shoes and once again found that she had judged him before she stepped into his place. Secondly, Scout walked in Jem’s shoes. For example, after Jem had returned for his pants he was a little shaken up and sulky. As the text states, “As Atticus had once advised me to do, I tried to climb into Jem’s skin and walk around in it…” (Lee 77). As a result of Jem losing and retrieving his pants, Jem was dazed and did not talk to Scout. Scout was upset about Jem not talking to her, but she had to step in his step and try to understand what he was thinking about.

Throughout Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the character Atticus reminds his children to walk in someone else’s shoes before judging them. As the novel develops, Atticus is revealed as a venerable and wise father. His children often overlook his advice until coming to appreciate it in full later on. Jem and Scout, the children, grow up with ample tolerance and empathy because of their father. However, it took a few specific examples in their childhood until they truly understood walking in someone else’s shoes.

For example Scout never really noticed people's feelings or what they go through, but she explains that “one time Atticus said you never really [know] a man until you stood in his shoes and walked around in them” (Lee 374). Scout starts to realize what people go through and she starts to pay more attention to people. As Scout listens to her father, Atticus, she takes other people's feelings into consideration.

Standing in a person’s shoes is one of the first things Atticus teaches  Scout in the novel, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb in his skin and walk around in it.”

Atticus is always telling Scout to get a new perspective, and look at different situations through the eyes of others. For example, Scout had always thought that the recluse neighbor Boo Radley was strange and dangerous. But, once she met Boo she realized that he is a normal person, who just likes to be left alone. When Scout is given this advice it is also being given to the reader to take into their own lives. Taking a step back and looking at a situation in someone else's shoes can always help you to understand what someone is going through, or change your opinion on something you once

Standing in a person’s shoes is one of the first things Atticus explains to Scout in the novel, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb in his skin and walk around in it.” This is said in chapter three. Atticus is explaining how the things that went wrong on her first day of school (Miss Caroline finding Scout impertinent for correcting her, speaking bluntly about the pupils and being able to read, as well as the episode with Walter Cunningham) could have been avoided or at least made better.

Have you ever wished to help someone but you can’t? You can’t help them because you don’t understand what they are going through. You need to be in their shoes to understand. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout Finch is narrating her childhood from herself as an adult.

Excluding the act of preconception in society helps enhance an individual's ability to seek the dissimilarities of others and gain acknowledgement. In his own words, Atticus teaches Scout that “if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. 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 33). This clearly reveals the importance of seeking an individual's point of view before making poor statements about them. Atticus’ statement reveals to Scout that if she did not understand why a person act the way they do even if she did not agree with it, she was to put herself in the person's place and clearly understand it. Jem also learns from Atticus about the