To Kill A Mockingbird Empathy Essay

“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.

In conclusion, To Kill A Mockingbird has many examples of how characters show empathy to other characters. In this novel, one of the main themes or lessons Lee tries to teach the reader is empathy for others. To judge a person, you must walk in his “shoes” or “skin”. Throughout the novel, Atticus, Jem and Scout Finch mature and start showing empathy more and more and to more and more people. If it weren’t for empathy, no one would have defended Tom Robinson. A wise person told me many of our lawyers today as kids they decided to be lawyers because of Atticus Finch’s heroic

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.

Atticus is the character who displays the most empathy towards others in the novel, and he is a primary example of the importance of this theme in the novel. Harper Lee writes about empathy mainly through Atticus and his ability to feel empathetic to others even in a situation

No matter what anybody says to you, don’t you let ‘em get your goat. Try fighting with your head for a change...it’s a good one, even if it does resist learning’”(Lee 101). Atticus believes in pacifism and teaches his kids to behave the same way. He thinks Scout has the potential to be an intelligent child, but she needs to avoid physical confrontation and instead focus on using her mind to learn and mature. When Bob Ewell spits in his face, Atticus encourages his children to put themselves in the shoes of the Ewell family, saying, “‘If spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and I’d rather it be me than that houseful of children out there’”(Lee 292, 293). This exemplifies Atticus’ lessons on empathy, teaching his children 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’”(Lee 39). By encouraging his children to resist fighting and instead use their sense to feel for others, Atticus teaches lessons on empathy and pacifism. In addition, Atticus’ teachings also include racism and morals.

“The Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations. They were people, but they lived like animals.” Although the Cunninghams were close to it, neither families were considered to be part of “the common folk”. Atticus says that Scout is part of the common people, whereas the Ewells are part of their own society, consisting only of themselves. They were allowed to do most of what they wanted and whenever they wanted because everyone has given up on trying to “force people like the Ewells into a new environment.” The Finches are part of the common folk so the Finches are above the Cunninghams and Ewells on the social class hierarchy. Atticus think the Ewells are like animals because he has seen the way they lived. They hunted out of season, which was illegal, skipped school, and wasted money. Mr. Ewell spent their relief checks on green whiskey while his children cried in pain from hunger. Atticus’ opinion of the Cunninghams is better because they are kind people. They always repay for services and never take anything they can’t give back. They are trustworthy. “The Cunninghams never took anything they can’t pay back.” When Mr. Cunningham was one of Atticus’ clients, he made sure he paid him plenty. He sent crops after each harvest until Atticus received more than enough. The finches have no reason to disrespect them only because of their

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.

“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,” says Atticus Finch. This iconic quote from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird highlights the compassion for others that shows up several times in the story. Empathy is a prevalent theme in To Kill a Mockingbird and is displayed by several characters. Atticus Finch is one of the most compassionate characters. He sets an example for his kids, who also learn to empathize. Several other characters besides the Finch family show compassion for each other. The title of the novel itself symbolizes empathy for the innocent and accentuates the role of compassion in this novel.

Human interaction is important in today's society. It allows each of the species to communicate and share what they feel. But, wny for people struggle with the concept of empathy? To Kill A Mockingbird is a great example of the struggles of empathy. People struggle with empathy because they have different experiences. Characters who show this are Scout, Mayella, and Aunt Alexandra.

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

Atticus is compassionate, this allows him to sympathize and forgive. Furthermore, He tries to incorporate this trait into his children. An example of him demonstrating this is when he talks to Scout about school. “You’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. 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.”(30). this quote demonstrates compassion from Atticus because he explains to scout that everyone thinks and feels differently. Also, he tries to help Scout because she did not want to go to school anymore. One of the reasons is because she did not understand why Miss Caroline did not allow her to read at home. Scout use this compassionate quotes from Atticus to realize Miss Caroline felt mad because her knowing how to read was not a part of Miss Caroline's plan to teach the kids. Another example of Atticus

In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus embodies empathy by his action, words and thoughts. Atticus uses empathy at the Tom Robinson case and African Americans and also he teaches Jem and Scout the rights and wrong about life. Tom Robinson was convicted of a crime that he never done. Mr. Ewell and Mayella accused him of raping Mayella. Tom Robinson needed a lawyer an Atticus agreed.

Mr. Ewell knew he could get away with this lie because he was a white man and Mr. Robinson was a black man: “I seen that black n**ger yonder ruttin' on my Mayella!” (231). Mr. Ewell can insult Tom Robinson and make up blatant lies yet people still believe him. He can take advantage of a fellow human being and get away with it just because of race. Atticus recognizes that Mr. Ewell only won the case because of his white privilege and lets his children know this. “"There's nothing more sickening to me than a low-grade white man who'll take advantage of a Negro's ignorance” (296). Atticus knows Mr. Ewell is not of great intelligence but he’s smart enough to know that because of institutionalized racism he can get away with perjury. Mr. Ewell’s character communicates the message that racial bias can be more powerful than justice.

He is kind to his children and to other people. Atticus also believes it is a sin to kill a Mockingbird. Miss Maudie, is an exceedingly kind person. She is kind to everyone. She believes that killing a Mockingbird is a sin, she also believes that Mockingbirds are innocent birds. In the story, there are several people that are amusing and kind, but unfortunately, there are also people that aren’t so delightful. Atticus and Miss Maudie are one of the marvelous people. They both happen to believe that killing a Mockingbird is a sin. The readers can visualize what the moral values are of the two characters. The sin of killing a mockingbird was probably a saying that was passed down and told to children for generations. Since the Mockingbird represents innocence, Atticus and Miss Maudie are basically saying that it is a sin to cast down an innocent person or animal. That kind of activity forms socially agreeable moral values. Those noble moral values construct people like Atticus and Miss Maudie undoubtedly charming people. Their moral values build Atticus and Miss Maudie to become who they are in the book. Someone like Bob Ewell would be one of the people who look at the Mockingbird as just another bird. In the story, He is an antagonist kind of. His character shows how different his moral values are from Atticus and Miss Maudie's. Some people notice the Mocking as innocence, others spot it as just a

Bob Ewell, a man who is offensive, ignorant and lazy poses threats on Atticus Finch, an intellectual, wise, empathetic man and his family. The threats are dangerous and serious, however, no matter what they are or how scared his children grow nothing seems to faze him. Atticus is trying to teach his children to put themselves in other people’s situations before coming to harsh conclusions: