ipl-logo

Empathy In 'To Kill A Mockingbird'

1066 Words5 Pages

Cierra Lorenz
Ms. Maupin
English 1H
2 May 2023
Boo Radley’s Shoes
Empathy is the human ability to embody another’s situation. One relies on empathy in order to better understand situations they can not relate to, whether it be a person of a different race or a different gender. To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee is a book narrated by a young girl named Scout. Scout lives in a small town, in the deep south, called Maycomb, Alabama. The story is set in the 1930s when Scout and her brother, Jem, watch as their father, Atticus, defends the unrightfully accused Tom Robinson. While overwhelmed with the case, Jem and Scout begin to mature and face unjust affairs throughout Maycomb. One of the most complex affairs is the peculiar case of Jem and …show more content…

Summer just began and Jem, Scout, and awkward little Dill are already tired of rehearsing the same plays. Jem decides to develop a new one based on the infamous Radley family. When explaining why Mrs.Radley doesn’t have a right forefinger in the play, Jem explains that, “Boo bit it off when he couldn’t find any cats and squirrels to eat.); she sat in the livingroom and cried most of the time, while Boo slowly whittled away all the furniture in the house”(Lee 44). Jem is an observant character who commonly acts on his own intuition. Harper Lee displays Jem as an omniscient observer because it allows the reader to understand that Jem developed an image of Boo Radley on his own. Through stories and imagination, Harper Lee forces Jem to view Boo Radley as one who acts insane. Harper Lee also includes the fact that Jem never cared to truly encounter Boo Radley or learn about his true situation. Harper Lee wants to develop a dynamic of Jem having his own perception that Boo Radley is loony without truly understanding his situation. Later in To Kill a Mocking Bird, Jem and Scout are stranded out in the cold as they watch Miss Maudie’s, their neighbor, house get burned to ashes. When they return Atticus realizes that Scout has been covered with a blanket, one supposedly from Boo Radley. Jem, afraid that Atticus might think Boo hurt them, states Boo, “...ain’t ever harmed …show more content…

The same night that Jem reveals his newfound empathy for Boo, Scout realizes that Boo was watching them the entire night. When Scout finds out that Boo Radley was the one that gave her the blanket her, “...stomach turned to water and [she] nearly threw up when Jem held out the blanket and crept toward [her]”(Lee 82). Scout’s reaction to finding out that Boo Radley was right behind her is utter disgust and fear. Harper Lee creates a picture of terror within Scout by saying she “almost threw up” because it gives the reader an uneasy feeling. Harper Lee’s decision to have Scout’s and Jem’s reactions contrast helps illustrate her viewpoint of empathy. For instance, when Jem views Boo Radkey’s situation with empathy. Harper Lee has Jem protect Boo. In contrast, Scout is still completely fearful and alarmed by Boo’s presence. Jem, through empathy, is able to view Boo’s actions as considerate. While, Scout doesn’t find the action thoughtful, because she is blinded by her own misconception of Boo. Overall, Harper Lee’s stark contrast between a viewpoint with empathy and a viewpoint without supports her belief that empathy helps one better understand a situation like Boo’s. Nearing the end of To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout finally encounters Boo Radley when Jem breaks his arm. Scout is exhausted by her day's encounters but is curious about the man who helped

Show More
Related
560 Words | 3 Pages

In the beginning of the book Scout Jem and Dill are all playing this made up game that they created around the Radley family called “Boo Radley '' since they thought they were different from everyone else. This game leads them to them almost

Read More
991 Words | 4 Pages

Boo Radley. Boo is an older man, “about six and a half feet tall,” (13) that lives down the street from Jem and Scout. He is constantly locked up inside his house because of an incident when he, “ drove the scissors into his parent’s leg,” (11) causing him to be locked up in the basement of the courthouse. Lee portrays Boo to be a scary psycho character but everyone has their own opinions and stories about him. When Miss Maudie’s house caught on fire and sent smoke everywhere, “Smoke was rolling off our house,” (70) it was Boo Radley who gave Jem and Scout a blanket, “Yes ma’am, blanket.

Read More
848 Words | 4 Pages

In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses indirect characterization to show how Scout learns the lesson of empathy. In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee the character Scout initially sees Boo Radly as a terrifying monster that causes trouble. But this was when Scout didn't understand the concept of empathy. This story takes place in a small old southern county called Maycomb. The main character whose nickname is Scout is explaining a rumor to a new friend Dill with her brother Jem about a monstrous being called Boo Radley.

Read More
820 Words | 4 Pages

To Kill A Mockingbird Literary Analysis As defined in the dictionary, empathy is “the ability to share someone else’s feelings” (Merriam -Webster). Empathy is portrayed through emotions such as pity, compassion, and understanding. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, empathy can be found consistently in the actions and words of the characters. This repetition establishes kindness and sympathy towards specific characters, while building up hatred towards others.

Read More
586 Words | 3 Pages

Overtime, Scout realizes that they are just disrupting Boo, and decides to stop trying to lure him outside. She almost completely forgets about Boo, until he saves both her and Jem from Mr. Ewell who was attacking them. When Scout first saw Boo, she teared up, since she only fantasized about that very moment. Curiosity struck Scout and her

Read More
938 Words | 4 Pages

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses point of view to show that empathy is developed from maturity and experience. The main protagonist Scout sees her neighbor Boo Radley as a malicious apparition. In the town of Maycomb where Scout and her family live there is rumor of a dangerous beast-like man called Boo Radley who lives near Scout and never leaves his home. Scout, Jem, and Dill are equally terrified of the Radley house and there are several rumors going around that the pecans from the Radley's tree are poisonous and that Boo watches people through their windows at night.

Read More
566 Words | 3 Pages

Empathic Ways Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. In the Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird many of the characters experience empathy. For example, Atticus Finch, the father of the main character, shows feelings of empathy through his ways of payment with the Cunningham. Similarly, his daughter, and the main character, Scout Shows empathy with her being able to finally understand how Arthur (Boo) Radley feels and thinks. Finally, Tom Robinson, the man sent to court for the accusations of raping a white woman, would help Mayella Ewell, the woman he was accused of raping, whenever she needed it because he felt sorry for her.

Read More
1072 Words | 5 Pages

An Analysis of Empathy in To Kill Mockingbird Atticus Finch once claimed 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 33). The novel To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee, who intertwines the themes of empathy and prejudice to exhibit the development of children in the 1930s. The storyline takes place during the 1930s in the small conservative town of Maycomb, Alabama.

Read More
719 Words | 3 Pages

Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. To me the word empathy in “To Kill A Mockingbird” means “putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.” Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” suggests that empathy is a universal feeling, but everyone experiences it in different occasions and in different ways. Many people empathize through real life experiences. Scout is one of those people.

Read More
421 Words | 2 Pages

Scout learns that judging people can be the wrong thing to do. Empathy can allow friendships to grow where there was once just hate and misunderstanding. This is illustrated in the character of Scout in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. “We were walking past our tree. In it’s knot-hole rested a ball of gray twine” (Lee 58).

Read More
1511 Words | 7 Pages

While Scout is less knowledgeable of the trial, she sees Jem and how “... his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each ‘guilty’ was a separate stab between them,”(282). Jem is watching his father go against the beliefs of the majority of Maycomb, while trying to prove an innocent man free of his accused actions. Jem puts himself in Tom’s situation, fully able to comprehend the importance of the case. He takes the pain Tom Robinson must be experiencing into himself, knowing how this verdict is changing someone’s life forever. Jem’s mature knowledge and awareness makes him a compassionate person, which is what Atticus had always aspired for his son to be.

Read More
714 Words | 3 Pages

Through To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee teaches us the righteousness of empathy. Harper Lee 's technique of writing and coinciding Christian beliefs weaved through emphasizes the importance of the story 's moral and themes. It is through Scout, the young dynamic and protagonist, that Lee opens the reader 's eyes to a realistic world of prejudice and inequality during the 1930s. Though introducing many characters throughout the novel, it is through Lee 's wise father character, Atticus Finch, that she further helps teach her readers life lessons, one being empathy. While narrating in first person, Lee further details her novel with the setting and use of style and diction.

Read More
738 Words | 3 Pages

When Scout is unable to understand why her teacher, Miss Caroline, does not want her to read at home anymore, Atticus wants her to see the situation from Miss Caroline’s point of view. He tells Scout, “If you can learn a simple trick, 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” (39). The “simple trick” Atticus is talking about is empathy.

Read More
846 Words | 4 Pages

This is when Boo Radley asks for scout to take him home. This shows that Scout did the right thing by taking Boo to his place instead of being scared of him like everyone else. “Jem stayed moody and silent for a week. As Atticus had once advised me to do, I 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

Read More
864 Words | 4 Pages

Jem usually ignores people who talk trash about their family but when someone insults Atticus he would be furious but Atticus teaches him to be a gentleman and ignore the hateful comments. One other neighbor, Boo Radley is always behind doors but he shows Scout that he is not a bad person. Atticus knew it was Boo who covered up Scout but Scout says “Thank who?” and Atticus replies with “Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you” (72).

Read More

More about Empathy In 'To Kill A Mockingbird'

Related Topics

Open Document