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Examples Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

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In Harper Lee’s Bildungsroman (or coming-of-age) novel To Kill a Mockingbird (1960), precocious six-year-old Jean Louise “Scout” Finch struggles to understand the perspective of others. She lives in a small town called Maycomb, Alabama with her brother, Jem, maid, Calpurnia, and father, Atticus during the Great Depression. It takes time for her to recognize why other friends and family act differently than her. This causes some hardships and arguments between others. Before learning about others, she sometimes (accidentally) makes the people around her feel alienated. In her novel, Lee illustrates that empathy and compassion allow for a deeper connection and builds a stronger bond between people.
Atticus is a great example of a character who shows compassion to those around him, such as Tom Robinson. He takes on Tom’s court case and defends him from Bob and Mayella Ewell. Tom was accused of raping Mayella, and Atticus did the best he would ensure their best chance of winning. He was already marginalized by society for being black and had a slim to no chance of being believed. In and out of the courthouse Atticus supports Tom in every way he can. Outside the jail, after Walter Cunningham tried to …show more content…

Atticus worked harder than ever to give Tom the best chance of winning the trial. Though the situation was poignant, he gave hope to the African American community. Scout addresses Boo’s feelings and gives him the tools to feel relaxed. She doesn’t judge him. They are there for each other. Though it may not seem like it, compassion is used almost every day. Lee used an amazing tone to express the feeling of Maycomb, the courthouse, and the Radley Home. Many people are empathetic towards one another without realizing it. Even the smallest amount of emotion can help motivate someone to continue on with life, or not give

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Examples Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

501 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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Examples Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

493 Words | 2 Pages

Another well known lesson taught by Atticus is about empathy. Empathy is defined as: the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. This is shown in chapter three when Scout encountered some problems with her new, first grade teacher, Mrs. Caroline. The little girl was mature well beyond her years, therefore, when she was asked to read out loud, Scout read with near perfect fluency. However, the teacher was surprisingly displeased with her advanced level in literature and flow, and assuming it was Atticus who was educating his daughter, Mrs. Caroline wanted the ‘lessons’ to come to a stop.

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Atticus Empathy Quotes

405 Words | 2 Pages

Empathy”, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is “The ability to share someone else's feelings”. But, one could easily question if we are even capable to define and constrict such a monumental meaning to a meager little sentence. However, Harper E Lee the author of, To Kill a Mockingbird manages to depict this word throughout this book. This book takes place the 1930s in Maycomb, Alabama where anyone one of African American descent was looked upon with disgrace.

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How Does Miss Maudie Show Courage In To Kill A Mockingbird

466 Words | 2 Pages

Then at the trial of Tom Robinson, that was an important event for Scouts to witness to better understand the world and how it was working then. When Scout heard Atticus give an amazing argument to prove Tom Robinson innocent and potentially Bob Ewell guilty, despite Atticus knowing going into it that he was going to lose, Scout learned a lot about racism, social hierarchy, and courage. When Scout asks Atticus why Tom was proven to be guilty, Atticus replies, that in the South the word of a white woman is worth more than any word of a black man. Scout also learned from Atticus how despite having as little credibility as Bob Ewell, his word may have been used to prove Tom guilty but nobody believed him, which destroyed the rest of his reputation. Scout was also impressed, learning, that despite her father knowing he was going to lose the case, he still tried as hard as he could to prove Tom innocent.

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Examples Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird '

207 Words | 1 Pages

Justin Sun Gahagan Period 4 26 May 2023 Parenting Parenting that emphasizes empathy can directly impact a child’s ability to feel empathy for others. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Aunt Alexandra asks Atticus if “it was wise in the first place to let” Jem and Scout into the courtroom, as Jem cries about the trial of Tom Robinson (Lee 285). Aunt Alexandra tries to protect Jem and Scout from the trial of Tom Robinson and the prejudice of Maycomb. However, Atticus teaches Aunt Alexandra that the adults “made it this way for them, [and] they might as well learn to cope with it” (Lee 285).

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How Does Lee Use Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

863 Words | 4 Pages

(Lee 292). This again teaches the kids that you can understand someone's motives behind doing something by using empathy. To conclude Atticus Finch shows his children and the reader the importance of empathy to understand other’s

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Empathy Quotes In To Kill A Mockingbird

707 Words | 3 Pages

He tells Scout, “Scout, Simply by work, every lawyer gets at least one case in his lifetime that affects him personally. This one is mine, I guess. You might hear some ugly talk about it at school, but do one thing for me if you will: you just hold your head up and keep your fist down no matter what anyone says to you.” Atticus knows this case might draw people to say ugly things about his family and possibly want to bring harm to them. By doing this, he is emphasizing Tom because he understands his situation and is choosing to defend him despite his race, nor yet jumping to a conclusion and declaring the man guilty because it is the right thing to

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Examples Of Atticus Finch A Hero In To Kill A Mockingbird

743 Words | 3 Pages

Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, she lived with her father, Atticus, her brother, Jem, and their black cook, Calpurnia, in Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. This story is a grave example of how the roots and consequences of racism and prejudice, probing how good and evil coexist within a single community or an individual. In Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s, it was a time when blacks were considered inferior to whites, an extreme example of this

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Examples Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

719 Words | 3 Pages

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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Examples Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

617 Words | 3 Pages

Scout and Jem develop empathy throughout "To Kill a Mockingbird" by experiencing different perspectives and events that broaden their understanding of the world and the people in it. In the mid-1950s, just before the peak of the American civil rights movement, Lee wrote "To Kill a Mockingbird" to explore the consequences of hatred and prejudice in Maycomb County, Alabama, where racial and age boundaries prevented people from displaying empathy. Harper Lee explores the power of empathy in her Southern Gothic novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" through the narrator and protagonist Scout and her elder brother Jem. Scout is a young child who is still learning and developing an understanding of emotions and social cues.

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Examples Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

704 Words | 3 Pages

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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How Is Atticus Finch A Hero

2400 Words | 10 Pages

The new readers of the novel see Atticus in a positive light until they take a deep dive into “why” he does what he does. The book is from the perspective of Scout who idolizes her father and sees him as a God-like figure. Therefore, her views on Atticus are biased and she sees past the intent behind his actions. Behind the heroic front of Atticus, he truly is a selfish man protected by white privilege. The true reason he represented Tom was to receive respect and praise from both black and white communities.

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Examples Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

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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To Kill A Mockingbird Coming Of Age Analysis

1265 Words | 6 Pages

Their father Atticus is in charge of defending Tom, and as a result the children face disdain from their community in the weeks preceding the trial. After watching the trial for hours, Scout and Jem are convinced that their father will win the case and Tom will be freed. Once the verdict is announced however, they become distraught as they find out that Tom is convicted. Despite initial incredulity, the children later realize that so much hate in the South existed that Tom’s case would have never won. After reading an editorial on Tom, Scout realizes this by noting, “Then Mr. Underwood's meaning became clear: Atticus had used every tool available to free men to save Tom Robinson, but in the secret courts of men's hearts Atticus had no case.

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Examples Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

714 Words | 3 Pages

Through To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee teaches us the righteousness of empathy. Harper Lee 's technique of writing and coinciding Christian beliefs weaved through emphasizes the importance of the story 's moral and themes. It is through Scout, the young dynamic and protagonist, that Lee opens the reader 's eyes to a realistic world of prejudice and inequality during the 1930s. Though introducing many characters throughout the novel, it is through Lee 's wise father character, Atticus Finch, that she further helps teach her readers life lessons, one being empathy. While narrating in first person, Lee further details her novel with the setting and use of style and diction.

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