How Is Empathy Shown In To Kill A Mockingbird

Maturity: Empathy in To Kill a Mockingbird Maturity develops due to many different factors, such as responsibility, self-control, and empathy. While growing up, understanding others’ perspectives and experiencing different events can bring about maturity within people. In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there are many instances in which the main characters go through coming-of-age moments. One of these main characters is Jem Finch. Jem goes through a major maturing moment when he has to read to one of his neighbors, Mrs. Dubose. Mrs. Dubose is very ill and is a morphine addict. This causes her to act very unpleasant all the time, and when Jem reads to her, he has to endure through her harsh comments on him and his father, Atticus.

Dubose immensely. They view her just as a mean, old lady because of her remarks against them, and Atticus. Previously, Jem had gotten irritated over the fact that Mrs. Dubose was insulting Atticus for defending Tom Robinson. This increases the children’s dislike for Mrs. Dubose even more. On page 125 in the book, Scout thinks, “For the life of me I could not figure out how she could bring herself to speak to him when she seemed to hate him so” (125). 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). In response, Jem said, “ ‘You mean that’s what her fits were?”

Dubose’s fits were a result of her morphine addiction, and that in reality, Mrs. Dubose displayed courage while getting rid of her addiction before she died. Jem’s response shows that he was unaware of what Mrs. Dubose was going through while he was reading to her, explaining why he had previously only perceived her as being cruel. By seeing the real reason behind Mrs. Dubose’s rude remarks, Jem can see that people go through a lot more things than we know or see on the surface. Atticus’s ability to understand Mrs. Dubose’s situation leads him to try and teach Jem a coming-of-age lesson. When Atticus says, “She had her own views about things, a lot different from mine, maybe.” (128), he shows that it is important to acknowledge and understand others’ views, even if they are different. He believes that Mrs. Dubose had immense courage within her, and he wanted to show Jem, through Mrs. Dubose, what true courage looks like. Atticus said, “I wanted you to see something about her.She was the bravest person I ever knew” (128). This quality of Mrs. Dubose shows that there is much more to her than what Scout or Jem may