Compassion Everyone needs to experience the feeling that someone has compassion or sympathy for them. Without that feeling, people can tend to feel lonely or sense that they are not cared for. In Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, Mayella is a nineteen-year-old, lonely woman who seems to have a hard home life. She does not have any friends and spends most, if not all her time in her home. Her dad, Bob Ewell, is an alcohalic and can get very mean when drunk. She claims that she has been beaten and raped by a negro who’s name is Tom Robinson. Although she says that it was Tom Robinson who has raped her, others claim otherwise. This case is taken to a court to be assesed, Atticus, Tom’s attorney, defends Tom in saying that it was not in fact Tom who beat Mayella up, but is Mayella’s drunk dad who …show more content…
During the trial of Mayella Ewell verses Tom Robinson, Tom is being questioned. After telling his side of the story he explains why he would help Mayella for nothing in return. He explains, “Looked like she didn’t have nobody to help her...I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more than the rest of ‘em” (Lee 264). Mayella has always been a very lonely person who needed someone to have sympathy for her. Tom gave that to her by helping her and asking for nothing in return. He saw how lonely and helpless Mayella was, he saw her hard home-life. Most of all he saw her worthiness of compassion. The article, “What Is Compassion? Looking Beyond Yourself For A Better World” states, “Compassion goes beyond feelings of sympathy and empathy and puts them into action” (What Is Compassion? Looking Beyond Yourself For A Better World). Tom went beyond his feelings of empathy and put his thoughts into his actions. He helped Mayella with her work and expected nothing in return. Mayella has done something she should be held accountable for, but that does not mean she does not deserve people’s kindness and