Examples Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

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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. Right in the beginning, we can clearly characterize our eyes of the novel, Scout. After her first day of school, she gets in a bit of a dispute with her teacher Miss Caroline and immediately goes to Atticus for sympathy. “You can 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.” (39) Along with giving his daughter sympathy and making a bet that they can still read together at night, Atticus teaches her a valuable lesson that is continued throughout the book. Scout undeniably carries this lesson with her, and I think people to this day should too, because not only is this an example of empathy in …show more content…

As their eating, Walter asks for some molasses and “drenches his plate”. Scout makes a scene, as she has not yet had her lesson with Atticus at this point in the book, but Calpurnia is there to set her straight. “That boy’s yo’ comp’ny … yo’ folks might be better off than the Cunninghams, but it don’t count for nothin the way you’re disgracin’ ‘em” (29) Calpurnia has empathy for Walter Cunningham, because she doesn’t come from a very privileged house either. She relates to him, the Cunninghams don’t have much and she doesn’t either. She is proud of what and who she has and the Cunninghams are humble and won’t take anything they can’t pay back. Calpurnia is an important role on the children’s lives because she won’t let the kids disgrace, she teaches them lessons and is more than just their