Negroes In To Kill A Mockingbird

Understand, Don’t Underestimate

Life, the building block for all humans, is the concept that gives each person his or her own unique personality. Although many people attempt to judge one another based on what they see, being able to truly understand somebody who is different deeper than how he or she appears to be is rarely ever done. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee expands on the idea of understanding different people as readers follow characters struggling with that same idea. One character, Dolphus Raymond, a man who is seen as disturbing since he lives with negroes is not cruel and awful as most people imagine. Another man, Atticus Finch, attempts to teach his children not to judge people if you cannot apprehend and

Atticus teaches his children, Scout and Jem the important lesson of placing oneself in another’s position before going to judge him or her by asking them not to bother a character called Boo Radley. Boo Radley, a man never seen outside his house, ever, has superstition and rumors about him in the society of Maycomb since he never comes out. When Scout and Jem cannot get Boo to come out of his house, Scout remembered that earlier, Atticus had told her that “‘...if [she can] learn a simple trick, [she’ll] get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. [She’ll] never really understand a person until [she considers] things from his point of view...until [she climbs] into his skin and [walks] around in it’” (39). Atticus knows that there is a reason why Boo Radley does not come out of his house, why he told Scout and Jem not to bother him. A word that can be used to describe Atticus in this situation is understanding. According to http://www.dictionary.com/browse/, the definition is to “understand to be thoroughly familiar with; apprehend clearly the character,nature, or subtleties of:.” Atticus is still an understanding man years later when Scout finally gets to meet Boo Radley for the first time and last time ever. Mr. Radley comes out to save Scout from being kidnapped, which is when Scout realizes all the rumors and superstition about him was

This lesson, is most important and extremely significant in To Kill a Mockingbird and in real life. Humans can apply Harper Lee’s idea to his or her own life when meeting new people, to working on a project or job with someone who has different viewpoints. One must place themselves in another’s position and comprehend that person’s feelings and emotions completely since nobody can fairly judge anyone without going through that