Empathy”, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is “The ability to share someone else's feelings”. But, one could easily question if we are even capable to define and constrict such a monumental meaning to a meager little sentence. However, Harper E Lee the author of, To Kill a Mockingbird manages to depict this word throughout this book. This book takes place the 1930s in Maycomb, Alabama where anyone one of African American descent was looked upon with disgrace. This cruelty was presented to the reader conspicuously throughout different instances. However, Lee utilized the character Atticus to try and combat the racism and to be an exemplary man of empathy. One situation that shows this would be Atticus's final statement at the end of the Tom Robinson trial. “I am confident that you gentlemen will review without passion the evidence you have heard, come to a decision, and restore this defendant to his family. In the name of God, do your duty” (Lee 275). In this action, he displays a remarkable …show more content…
At breakfast, Scout, (Atticus’s daughter), feels confused and torn about her feelings regarding Mr Cunningham. Her mixed feelings are due to the fact that he partook in last night’s encounter. So she decides to ask for clarification from Atticus, “I thought Mr. Cunningham was a friend of ours. You told me along time ago he was”, Atticus then proceeded to elucidate that, “He still is” and that Mr. Cunningham is still a righteous and noble man however, “He just has his blind spots…” (210). The fact that Atticus’s approving opinion of Mr. Cunningham hasn't faltered even after enduring the previous night’s event, portrays to the reader that Atticus is practically the personified version of “Empathy.” In other words, he has a very prominent ability to comprehend people’s cognitive thoughts that can lead to regretful decisions or