Examples Of Compassion In To Kill A Mockingbird

In order to truly empathize with another person, one must look past one's own thoughts and feelings. The 1960s coming-of-age novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, taking place during the time of the Great Depression, inside of the fictional county of Maycomb, Alabama about a young child named Scout and her older brother Jem exemplifies this. They face their own struggles while also striving to demonstrate compassion and empathy. In order to help them overcome their difficulties, their father, Atticus, provides them with excellent guidance and teaches them how to show empathy and kindness towards others throughout the novel. In her 1960 novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates the theme that compassion comes from the ability to acknowledge

As the novel progresses, Scout starts to become more empathetic towards others as she learns to look from their perspective. An example of this is when Miss Caroline offers Walter some quarters to get lunch as he didn't have any and Scout explains to Miss Caroline about why he won't take it, “‘That's okay, ma’am, you’ll get to know all the country folks after a while. The Cunninhams never took anything they can’t pay back-no church baskets and no scrip stamps. They never took anything off of anybody, they get along on what they have. They don’t have much, but they get along on it,’” (Lee 26). Scout observes that Miss Caroline doesn't comprehend why Walter can’t take the quarters which embarrasses Walter even more. As a result, Scout informs Miss Caroline of the fact that Walter lacks the finances to compensate Miss Caroline. Scout is aware of this information since Atticus

This idea is shown after the knothole of the tree is filled with cement and Scout finds Jem crying, “When we went in the house I saw he had been crying; his face was dirty in the right places, but I thought it odd that I had not heard him,” (Lee 84). Jem starts to recognize the deeper issue of what Boo Radley goes through, he empathizes with Boo and has a bitter feeling for Boo Radley. In the courtroom when the jury convicts Tom Robinson as guilty Jem becomes angry with this news, “It was Jem’s turn to cry. His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd. ‘It ain’t right,’ he muttered,...” (Lee 284). Jem is able to put himself in Tom’s shoes and take in the fact that he was found guilty for something he didn’t do. This gets Jem upset with the fact that Tom will be sentenced to death for a crime he didn't commit because of the color of his skin. Jem knows it isn't fair for a man to be treated differently because of the people being colored, he can understand how Tom feels in this moment. With Jem becoming a person filled with empathetic thoughts, he uses this to better help the people around