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Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

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Harper Lee uses the positive motif of education to teach eight-year-old Jean Louise Finch (Scout) the diverse journey of intellect to guide her towards the main theme of empathy. Scout’s middle-class background contrasts the setting of a poor, small farming town, due to this she lacks the experience to fully comprehend the effects of poverty. In addition, the caste system led her to stereotype her classmates by their last names, unable to see past their hardships, lack of manners and schooling. Her father (Atticus Finch Maycomb) however is an empathetic man who attempts to educate his daughter on the importance of empathy: “‘if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand …show more content…

In spite of that, being intelligent can have many meanings other than academically. Lee utilizes Atticus Finch to teach Scout to explore towards the truth rather than naively trust the town’s gossip. This is represented through school, despite the low levels of academic learning, the social and ethical lessons she practices at school aid her towards the goal of empathy. Moreover, the introduction of Scout’s first year of school introduces the concept of social intelligence through her interactions with her teacher Miss Caroline (recently moved into the area). Scout’s intelligence of her small town contrasts her teacher due to experience; although it is not seen as academically smart her knowledge surpasses Miss Caroline in this subject. Furthermore, while arguing with her father about the negatives of school, Scout learns to empathize with her teacher's confusion saying that “ if…I had put [myself] in her shoes we’d have seen it was an honest mistake on her part. [I] could not expect her to learn all Maycomb’s ways in one day, and [I] could not hold her responsible when she knew no better” (Lee

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To Kill A Mockingbird was definitely worth the read. Yes I did admit that. Harper Lee does an amazing job expressing themes throughout the book. I chose empathy, and to me empathy is when we consider eachothers attitudes and situations from another viewpoint and identify another perspective to an issue. In the book, Scout learns empathy, Atticus teaches empathy and Tom needs empathy.

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Jean Louise Finch (Scout) is a captivating narrator who compels the reader to listen to the story through her personality. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the author, Harper Lee, uses narration, dialogue, and setting to unravel Scout’s courageous, touchy, and rather inquisitive nature in an inventive and thrilling way. In order to adequately understand Scout as a character, the reader must look deeper to look into her mind rather than skimming the first layer. “‘You never really know a person until you consider things from his point of view...’” (Harper Lee 39).

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Scout Finch, a once disorderly girl, changes a lot when her father, Atticus, takes the responsibility of defending a black man. Scout matures quickly when she is faced with discrimination and hatred towards her father. The atmosphere of discrimination in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee affects Scout, by creating a hostile environment that teaches her important lessons, forcing Scout to protect herself and her father, and learning that challenging the traditional way of life was not always wrong. It must have been a confusing time for Scout Growing up in Maycomb, because once her father took the role as an attorney for a black man, everything started to change.

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Scout demonstrates the idea that adversity does strengthen an individual by learning how to take her life situations, furthermore turn them into positive outcomes, resulting in her building an emotional wall in order to prevent her past from breaking her down, leading her to show the world that she is transitioning into a mature, young woman. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Jean Louise Finch (Scout Finch) becomes exhibited to adversity in her early childhood. Scout begins by having an arduous time trying to be herself without facing the wrath of people narking on her about the way she dresses as well as the way she acts. Without a mother figure present in her life, the only way she feels like herself is by doing what she knows best, acting as well as dressing like a boy.

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(p.39). When Atticus had given Scout this advice, she didn’t really understand because of her innocence and still believes that what she thinks is right. Atticus had known this but still told her so she can think about as she matures, since it was a very important lesson to

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Hoan Huynh Professor Name English 1/2 15 May 2023 Empathy Essay 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.” Harper Lee”. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird a young child named Scout is going to find out how racist Maycomb is going to be. This novel takes place in Maycomb Alabama, 1935 during the Great Depression.

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In Harper Lee’s Bildungsroman (or coming-of-age) novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), precocious six-year-old Jean Louise “Scout” Finch struggles to understand the perspective of others. She lives in a small town called Maycomb, Alabama with her brother, Jem, maid, Calpurnia, and father, Atticus during the Great Depression. It takes time for her to recognize why other friends and family act differently than her. This causes some hardships and arguments between others. Before learning about others, she sometimes (accidentally) makes the people around her feel alienated.

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Empathy. The ability to understand what someone else is going through by putting oneself in their place and situation. All throughout history, people have struggled with the concept of empathy. For example, Jews have been mistreated for hundreds of years on numerous occasions by those of an advantaged position, African Americans have been subjugated by the privileged White throughout much of American history, and this struggle is even seen today with the prejudice towards Muslims across the world. Harper Lee created a timeless piece of literature that has lived on for plenty of years because of its theme of empathy and the challenges that the characters face regarding it.

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Scout Finch is the young protagonist of the story, known for her inquisitive nature and genuine innocence. As the story unfolds, Scout becomes more aware of the injustices and prejudices in her community, challenging her own beliefs and those of others. "Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?" (Lee, 370) This quote not only shows her innocence but also reveals her profound understanding of the symbolism associated with harming a mockingbird.

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Empathy is one of the most fundamental things that keeps society is a whole functioning today, but it is often overlooked when considering people's own interests. However, this scarcely talked about topic is something that is brought up repeatedly throughout the award winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee that is told through the perspective of its main character, Scout Finch. This story shows the importance of why Scout needs to learn empathy , how she learns it, and how Scout uses empathy. Scout was always quick to judge the people around her; this is especially evident during the beginning of the novel when she talks about the town reject, Boo Radley and a poor boy, Walter Cunningham.

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Poor families often have difficulties enabling their children to receive admission to desired colleges and universities. According to the writer Kim Clark, “Since 1990, average in-state tuition at public colleges has more than quintupled, from $1,908 a year to $9,650” (“College Prices Reach New Record Highs in 2016”). Though countless people wish to be enrolled the best colleges in the country, their parents often is denied the money to afford it. Parents are unintentionally hindering their child due to the lack of a profitable job. Some believe that programs proclaimed to lower tuition costs are effective, yet the reality is that their payoff is minimal for many universities.

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The Cold War was a form of political tension after World War II that occurred between powers in the Soviet Union and the powers of the United States. Most people do not know the exact dates this occurred, but a communal timeframe is between 1947, the year a US foreign policy was started pledging to help nations threatened by Soviet domination was proclaimed, and either 1989, when communism fell, or 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed. The term “cold” is used because there was no huge scale fighting straight between the two sides, but they each supported major regional wars. These were known as proxy wars.

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Lee teachers her audience to become open-minded by having Scout learn through external conflicts. These external conflicts help teach empathy throughout the novel, one being with Miss Caroline, the outsider teacher. The use of metaphors help the readers better relate to the points being made, one which is introduced through Atticus in chapter 3, "You never really understand a person . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it," teaching Scout and readers to look at the bigger picture of a situation.

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To Kill A Mockingbird, morality is a big part of the theme; what one is taught as a child one will forever use as an adult. The first lesson learned by Scout is empathy. This is taught to her when she and Miss Caroline get into a little fight about how scout knows how to read. Scout comes home and tells her dad, Atticus, about the event. Atticus responds to the event by saying, “You never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.

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A college education is necessary today in society. Student can focus on their study and try to get high score. Cost each student’s education has became difficult in economy. Thus, many students, teachers and people asking if free college tuition should be gifted. I think free college education must be responsible and funded by the U.S. government because it will help students focus on their studies, and encourage them to work harder in school.

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