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Examples Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

483 Words2 Pages

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. Scout is a 6 year old child that lives with his brother Jem and his father Atticus who is a lawyer in Maycomb. Scout develops as a character in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird when she learns to empathize with others by learning more about the Tom Robinson case, Mrs. Dubose conduction and talking to Miss Maudie to know her a bit better. …show more content…

Atticus told Scout, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view”. Scout didn’t understand why Ms. Caroline got mad at Scout when she was trying to explain why Walter Cunningham wouldn’t accept her money. When Scout realizes Ms. Caroline's situation and instead of being mad, Scout shows empathy towards her.

Scout is a character who learns from her interactions with other characters, for example, when Atticus told Scout why he made her read to Mrs. Dubose and about her condition. Scout thought that Mrs. Dubose was a vicious and horrible person, but Atticus thought the opposite. Then Atticus tells Scout that Mrs. Dubose was addicted to morphine and how Scout's reading helps her with her addiction. Also, later on, Mrs. Dubose dies being off of morphine and Atticus says Mrs. Dubose was the Bravest person that he knew. After Scout learns about all of this, her opinion changes, and she feels empathy toward Mrs.

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When Scout feels like it is impossible for Mrs. Dubose to tolerate Atticus, whom she has insulted before, it shows that Jem and Scout perceive Mrs. Dubose to be odious and hateful. This ultimately shows that Jem and Scout understand only what Mrs. Dubose appears to be, and not what she is really going through. After Mrs. Dubose died, Atticus went to inform Jem, which is when Atticus explains what she really went through, and why she was always having rude fits. Atticus said, “ ‘Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict. She said she meant to break herself of it before she died, and that’s what she did” (127).

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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.

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When first faced with evil in the form of Walter Cunningham’s lynch mob, Scout’s response shows her lack of understanding of people. Speaking of Walter Junior, she states, “First day Walter comes back will be his last” (Lee, 158). She acts irrationally, as she does not understand that despite his father having done something cruel, Walter is not necessarily cruel as well. After observing cruelty such as prejudice at the trial, Scout is not as shaken as Jem, but also eventually gets to the point of understanding that everyone has a reason or a background that influences their actions, thus making them less purely vicious. Scout has a small epiphany when she acknowledges, “Atticus was right [...] you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them” (Lee, 279).

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