How Does Atticus Show Compassion In To Kill A Mockingbird

Arthur Schopenhauer once said, “Compassion is the basis of all morality”. This quote is fitting to the theme of the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee. The narrative goes in depth into the brutal, harsh town that is Maycomb County. We are able to follow a family that does not comply with the prejudice ways of the rest of the town, and instead, show compassion and empathy for those around them. These actions of compassion, allow the Finches to make decisions that they know are morally right, even if everyone is telling them otherwise. Atticus Finch, father to Jem and Scout, shows compassion for a black man, Tom Robinson, as he is accused of raping a white woman. Jem Finch shows benevolence and empathy for a poor boy, Walter

Not only does Mr. Finch agree to fight a battle in court alongside Mr. Robinson, but he goes out of his way to guarantee Tom’s safety. Knowing the quintessential racist ways of the town, Atticus came prepared to put a stop to a lynch that would be taking place in the name of Tom Robinson. “We saw Atticus look up from his newspaper...he seemed to be expecting them” (201). Throughout everything that had happened to Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch did not give up and continued to care for Tom because he too, is human, regardless of the pigment of his skin. “I certainly am (a nigger-lover). I do my best to love everyone” (144). In his defence for Tom, Atticus mentions that he is defending him because if he did not, he “could not hold up his head in town” (101). This shows Atticus always tries to do what is morally right, a rule he has tried to live by his entire life. The act of showing compassion to his clients, no matter who he is defending, helps Atticus to make the morally right decision, regardless of the ridicule that comes along with from the rest of the

Towards the beginning of the novel, Scout was brainwashed into believing the lies of the town concerning Boo, “Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom” (10). For the vast majority of the novel, Scout lived in fear of the scapegoat created by the rest of the town. Boo Radley is an example of a scapegoat- the aspects of society that the people of Maycomb refuse to see, they instead project onto the shadow they have created of him. Many racist white folks believed that “any stealthy small crimes committed in Maycomb were his work” (10). It was not until the end of the novel, that Scout began to realise who Boo really was. When finally being able to meet the man she has spent so much time pondering about, Scout does not act in a childish manner but rather shows compassion. “He had to stoop a little to accommodate me, but if Miss Stephanie Crawford was watching from her upstairs window, she would see Arthur Radley escorting me down the sidewalk, as any gentleman would do” (373). In this small action, we see Scout do one of the most selfless and generous things she has in the entire novel. She is putting Boo before herself and helping him in a way no one else has. She recognises the prejudice surrounding Boo and tries to show others the side of Boo that she has uncovered that very night. Scout has transformed from being judgemental and petrified by Boo, to