Examples Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

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What would the world look like without empathy? Empathy plays a big part in everything around us, and in everyday life you can see it. In literature, empathy can be developed in a character through the circumstances of the plot and guide a character’s development. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, this is seen with the character of Scout. There are some interactions in the book that support this.

Empathy is a very important trait to have, as it can help us understand the situations that other people are going through. This is shown in the character of Scout in Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird. When Atticus finds out about how his kids treat and speak about Boo Radley, immediately he tries to put a stop to it. ¨I´m going to tell you something, and tell you one time only: stop tormenting that man¨ (Lee 49). This affects Scout because from now on she goes about talking and treating Boo Radley in a better manner than before. Scout learns that the words and actions she had towards Boo were wrong. Many people are quick to judge someone based on little information, but they are still unaware of the full picture. Compassion is what that is, and …show more content…

This is proven in the character of Scout in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Dolphus Raymond is a misunderstood character by many in the town of Maycomb, Alabama. He is seen by the people of the city as nothing but a drunken mess. In chapter 20, this changes. “Scout, it’s nothing but Coca-Cola” (Lee 200). Initially Scout sees Dolphus Raymond in the same sense as everyone else does, but after she learns the truth her outlook on him completely changes. Scout learns that judging someone without knowing the entire story is completely unfair. The people of Maycomb treated him without empathy, and because of that his life was very sad. After this Scout learns the true meaning of empathy, and her mindset is completely changed for the rest of the