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Examples Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

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The effects of empathy in to Kill a Mockingbird

Empathy is a main theme in To Kill a Mockingbird. Harper Lee weaves the theme of empathy through many characters. This story takes place in a town called Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930s. White town folks treat black people bad in Maycomb, but characters show empathy to both colored and white people. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, she shows the good and bad sides of empathy in characters like Atticus, Jem, and Scout. Atticus Finch helps to emphasize the theme of empathy and how it is both good and bad. Atticus shows empathy to Tom when he tries his best to prove Tom is innocent of taking advantage of a Mayella Ewell. Atticus is mocked and made fun of through the town for defending a colored man against a white woman, but Atticus knows what he is doing is right. Bob Ewell, Mayella’s father, is upset at Atticus for …show more content…

Dubose and Tom Robinson. He thinks Mrs. Dubose is just a mean old lady, until he finds out about her morphine addiction and that he is dying. Jem was forced to read to Mrs. Dubose as a punishment for tearing up her garden, where he learns about her addiction. Atticus shows Jem to be empathetic by telling him he would have had to read to her even if he hadn’t destroyed her flowers, he says that half the time Jem was reading to her she probably didn’t even hear it because of her addiction. Atticus teaches Jem a very valuable lesson, he teaches Jem to see things from other people's point of view or “Climb into someone else's skin and walk around in it”. Jem displays empathy towards Tom Robinson because he feels that just because of Tom’s colored skin he is not treated fairly. Tom Robinson is convicted guilty for taking advantage of a white woman. Tom was clearly innocent but still given the death sentence.Jem cries about the ruling in the court and Atticus help him understand that somethings happen just because the color of someone's

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until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (39). This quote is one of the most impactful ones throughout the story. Atticus displays that instead of automatically feeling rage towards the person, you should consider the other person’s point of view and understand their emotions. Atticus teaches another lesson about empathy, but this time, it was to Scout's brother, Jem. Mr. Finch was defending, Tom Robinson, the defendant, who was accused of raping a white woman by Bob Ewell and his daughter Mayella.

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Harper Lee and Empathy in “To Kill A Mockingbird” By Tanaka Rwodzi In Harper Lee’s critically acclaimed magnum opus “To Kill A Mockingbird;” Lee emphasizes her view on the importance of empathy through how she depicts empathy in regards to the characters Scout, Tom Robinson, and Atticus. “To Kill A Mockingbird” is a novel shown from the view of Scout, a young girl living in the sleepy town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s, and her and her brothers escapades; mainly their captivation over an elusive local resident who doesn’t leave his house, and the drawn-out process of a court case against a black man, Tom Robinson, who is falsely accused of rape. Throughout the novel, Harper Lee emphasizes the importance of empathy to her through how she

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1941 Words | 8 Pages

The dictionary describes empathy as the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. But, you can’t look up how to feel empathy for someone. I believe that your experiences in life determine that. In To Kill a Mockingbird, (TKM), The kids, Scout and Jem each learn empathy through the events in the story. In the beginning, Atticus teaches them what the definition of empathy is, but they do not feel it until later in the book.

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To Kill A Mockingbird Literary Analysis As defined in the dictionary, empathy is “the ability to share someone else’s feelings” (Merriam -Webster). Empathy is portrayed through emotions such as pity, compassion, and understanding. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, empathy can be found consistently in the actions and words of the characters. This repetition establishes kindness and sympathy towards specific characters, while building up hatred towards others.

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In the book TKAM Atticus and his children and their good friend Boo Radley show how to judge right from wrong, show empathy and show compassion towards other people and themselves. In the novel to To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticu there are many different types characters who show many types character traits. Specifically the traits of compassion and empathy. Atticus shows fairness, braveness, and kindness which best shows empathy.

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Through her novel, the characters Scout and Atticus symbolize the importance and impact of empathy, even when one’s actions seem undeserving of it. Atticus -- a lawyer, a father, but most importantly, a man of moral righteousness and empathy. While

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“In the corner of the room was a brass bed, and in the bed was Mrs. Dubose. I wondered if Jems activities had put her there and for a moment I felt sorry for her.” The reason why Jem and Scout were at Mrs. Dubose’s house, was because Jem and Scout were walking by her house when Dubose started yelling at the kids saying that Atticus is not any better than the “niggers and trash he works for.” Jem lost his temper and takes Scouts baton he bought for her and snaps it in half. Jem destroys all of

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Lack Of Empathy Leads To An Imbalance Of Power: Former President Barack Obama had stated, “It’s the lack of empathy that makes it very easy for us to plunge into wars.” Obama infers that when people lose empathy, they lose the ability to understand others, which is a key emotion that helps people interact. His message connects to Marxism, a literary theory involving an imbalance of power. In the story “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, the characters’ experiences prove the reader of the significance a lack of empathy causes to the balance of power. An application of Marxism reveals that an imbalance of authoritative power is caused by a lack of empathy.

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When reading To Kill a Mockingbird a fiction novel by Harper Lee,there are atrocities that will cause the reader to empathy for the people,because the people are misunderstood and disliked , this going for almost every character in the book in their own ways To have empathy is to understand what somebody is going through, being able to understand because you probably have been through the same or similar things. I think that a man more so a child should never go throw some of the things that Tom Robinson and Walter Cunningham go through , there misunderstood by everyone,mistreated by the other folks, both live and are victims of poverty . Tom Robinson and I are both misunderstood , hurt and victims of poverty making him one of

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Joshua Jacobs English 1 PAP- First Period 20 October 2017 Mr. Palkovics Scout’s Little Lesson Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Empathy has many benefits including stronger connections with other people, it is therapeutic and it builds trust in your relationships. Learning to be empathetic and considering of other people's opinions is one of the main themes in To Kill A Mockingbird. As the characters grow throughout the novel, they begin understanding what it truly means to be empathetic and begin implementing this trait into their lives. “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”

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Empathy. The ability to understand what someone else is going through by putting oneself in their place and situation. All throughout history, people have struggled with the concept of empathy. For example, Jews have been mistreated for hundreds of years on numerous occasions by those of an advantaged position, African Americans have been subjugated by the privileged White throughout much of American history, and this struggle is even seen today with the prejudice towards Muslims across the world. Harper Lee created a timeless piece of literature that has lived on for plenty of years because of its theme of empathy and the challenges that the characters face regarding it.

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833 Words | 4 Pages

Imagine if you had a friend who came every summer to fill your head with fantastical stories, go on adventures with you, and maybe even get into a bit of trouble. For Jean Louise (Scout) Finch, Dill is the perfect friend for all those scenarios. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mocking Bird, Dill shows up for the first time in the summer before Scout goes to first grade. He immediately becomes best friends with Jem (Jeremy) and Scout Finch. Every summer after that, Dill goes on countless adventures and runs into far too many mishaps with his friends.

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231 Words | 1 Pages

To Kill A Mockingbird, a novel based of the American south, shows lack of empathy between individuals by showing the animosity between Scout and her classmate, Walter Cunningham. At school, Scout was put into a situation where she was pressurized to defend Walter Cunningham when Miss Caroline Fisher, Scout’s first grade teacher, was giving Walter a quarter when he said he did not want it. After telling Miss Caroline Fisher Walter why Walter did not want the quarter, Scout got yelled at by Miss Caroline Fisher. Because Scout got yelled at, she started feeling animosity towards angry and “...stomped at him to chase him away”. When Jem was talking to Walter about coming to his house for dinner, Scout immediately notices that, “Walter had looked

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When Atticus accepted to defend Tom Robinson, Jem’s life appeared to have a lot of gossip about his father. One of Jem’s neighbors , Mrs. Dubose, a cantankerous, vile, elderly woman , made a nasty remark about Atticus. This made Jem so angry, he destroyed Mrs.Dubose’s bushes. After Atticus found out, Atticus let Jem to spend time reading books for Mrs.Dubose. After a period of time, Mrs.Dubose stopped Jem to come to her house for reading books and Atticus found out that Mrs.Dubose was died.

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One lesson in the book that I feel Jem learns as a part of growing up is moral courage. Atticus once told Jem that “courage is [not] a man with a gun in his hand. It 's when you know you 're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.” Jem had always seen bravery as important and often tried to show the courage in him but only learnt about what moral courage really was through a series events that took place in the book.

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