Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

Hours before the brutal Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the people of Russia. He attempted to make them empathize with Ukrainian lives and realize the injustice affecting thousands. Jean Louise ‘Scout’ Finch in Harper Lee’s classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird plays a similar role when she attempts to persuade a man to call off his mob who wanted to lynch a black man wrongly accused of rape. President Zelensky and Scout put themselves in other people’s shoes, showing how a changed perspective can often improve one’s empathy. In this novel, Atticus Finch, Scout’s father, is appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a black man wrongly accused of rape in the racist town of Maycomb, Alabama. When a mob forms

As summer in Maycomb slowly trudges along, Scout, her brother Jem, and their friend Dill become increasingly intrigued with the infamous mystery of Boo Radley, a kind but mentally underdeveloped recluse who remains in his house after an accident in his childhood. The fascination with Boo Radley influences the miraculous night Jem loses his pants after fleeing from the Radley house with Scout and Dill. To maintain his reputation with Atticus, Jem returns to the house to retrieve his pants, against Scout’s wishes. When Jem remains moody and silent the following week, Scout “tried to climb into Jem’s skin and walk around in it: if I had gone alone to the Radley Place at two in the morning, my funeral would have been held the next afternoon” (64). When Scout puts herself in Jem’s shoes, she can comprehend Jem’s internal struggles and provide the best emotional support for him by leaving him alone and waiting for him to open up when he wants to. Moreover, when Scout mentions what would have happened if she had gone over, she intimates that she understands Jem’s situation and is sympathetic towards him. Likewise, President Zelensky aspired to convince Russian citizens to understand how the invasion would take away Ukrainian people’s country, freedom, lives, and their children’s

One phenomenal night, Boo magnificently rescues Jem and Scout from the crazed Bob Ewell, a rude and discourteous drunk. After this traumatic event, Scout accompanies Boo on his way back home and realizes, “Atticus was right. 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” (308). During Scout’s childhood, town members fed Scout rumors and inaccurate judgments about Boo Radley. Nevertheless, as she blossomed and matured, she started seeing things from other’s perspectives. Eventually, standing on the Radley porch showed her a different side of Boo than she had previously known. In the beginning, Scout perceives Boo as a malicious mysterious man and cannot fathom why he stays in his house. In the end, after seeing how Maycomb treats innocent lives, Scout recognizes Boo as a hero and understands Boo’s actions. Scout empathizes with Boo after understanding his life from his perspective. To encourage civilians to oppose the war, Zelensky crafts his speech to show how everybody involved will lose money, reputation, quality of life, their loved ones, and eventually