ipl-logo

Importance Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

788 Words4 Pages

Having empathy for others is one of the most important things to do. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is written from the point of view of a young girl named Scout Finch. Scout‘s dad, Atticus Finch teaches Scout and her brother, Jem many lessons in this book, like coming of age, loss of innocence, and most importantly having empathy and compassion for others. Harper Lee uses Atticus in her novel To Kill A Mockingbird to demonstrate to his kids the importance of having empathy for people.
First, the lessons about empathy start when the kids start to play a game that mocks the Radley family. Lee writes “What Mr. Radley did was his own business, if he wanted to come out of the house he would. If he wanted to stay inside free from the attention from children” (65). Atticus is trying to get the children to look at this from Boo’s (Arthur’s) prospective. By saying he has the right to stay inside and not tell anyone why and not get bothered by any children. In my next piece of …show more content…

Because it was a serious situation where empathy is important. Lee writes “Senseless killing - Tom had been given due process of law to the day of his death; he had been tried openly and true; my father had fought for him all the way.” (323). This says that Toms killing was senseless. Scout says this and then realizes that the situation is very sad and she starts to have empathy for Tom. She also realizes that her father did everything he could to save Tom. My next evidence says “It was Jem's turn to cry. His face streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd. “ It ain't right,” He muttered” (284). Jem was very upset when he heard that Tom had been found guilty because he knew Tom was innocent and he felt empathy for him when he was found guilty which is part of why he was crying. Because of the trial Jem and Scout both learned the importance of empathy and felt it more when the case was

Show More
Related
863 Words | 4 Pages

Not long after the trial of Tom Robinson, Jem has become very easily angered by the even mention of the case. So, in chapter 24 when Scout is confused by her hypocritical teacher, she speaks to her brother about it only to end up on the front end of his rage. She was shocked by his sudden mood swing, but she understood that he was upset and connected it with her mention of the case of Ewell v. Robinson. Scout proceeds to ask her father about Jem, as she is clearly distressed about the state of her brother, and Atticus eases her fret and explains what exactly Jem is going through. While Scout doesn't quite yet grasp the idea of looking at things from another's point of view, she certainly is unknowingly feeling her brother's

Read More
707 Words | 3 Pages

The novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee tells the story of Scout Finch, a young girl, and her older brother Jem living in Maycomb County, Alabama in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. The story highlights the harsh realities of poverty and how one should never take anything for granted. Atticus Finch, the father of Scout and Jem, shows his success in parenting when he teaches his kids the importance of empathy, not judging a book by its cover, and keeping your head raised high. Atticus shows empathy when he encourages his kids to leave Boo Radley alone, the idea of “not judging a book by its cover” when putting himself in the position of others, and making sure his daughter, Scout, keeps her head raised high and not let violence

Read More
809 Words | 4 Pages

"You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them”(Page 798). This is a very important lesson to know in life because it explains why a man does the things he does. If this lesson of empathy is applied to life, the true characteristics of man will be revealed. To Kill a Mockingbird is the perfect example of empathy. The novel plainly states empathy all thought out the book and the examples can easily be applied to our lives.

Read More
1212 Words | 5 Pages

It is very important that writers are able to send a message to their reader with their book. Authors best do this by bringing about empathy. In order to send this message, authors often develop strong characters that go through various problems and struggles. The book, To Kill a Mockingbird, shows this very well with its characters Scout Finch and Tom Robinson. This book helps the readers learn from the character’s reactions to their problems.

Read More
574 Words | 3 Pages

There is a Native American quote that says “Don’t judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes.” This quote shows a great example of empathy. Put yourself in their place and see how it feels, you don’t have to agree with, but you should understand them before you make judgements. That is empathy in a nutshell. In In To Kill a Mockingbird Empathy is an essential in the narrator Scout’s growing up or coming of age. There are countless amounts of empathy, which enforces how important empathy is.

Read More
520 Words | 3 Pages

This event shows Scout’s intolerance of people at the beginning of the novel. During Tom Robinson 's trial, Scout learns a great deal more about tolerance. She learns to accept the way other people live. As well, she learns about the intolerance that some other people have. Scout’s perception of tolerance throughout the novel changes her behavior.

Read More
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.

Read More
666 Words | 3 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird, People’s ability to understand empathy determines their quality of life. Once people begin to empathize for others, their quality of life can be impacted positively. Scout was raised by a father who always understood and gave compassion to other people. Atticus, her father, taught his daughter many lessons on empathizing for others. Scout can trust her father as he is a man with good morals.

Read More
1045 Words | 5 Pages

When one grows up, it is inevitable they will lose their innocence. Seeing the world through rose colored glasses can only take one so far, and eventually they will have to open their eyes to real issues in their lives. While this happens at different ages for everyone, Atticus in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee believes that his kids should not be sheltered from the real world. As Scout and Jem, Atticus’ children, grow up, especially in a time where Maycomb is so segregated, Atticus teaches his kids real life lessons and to not become like the rest of their town; racist and judgemental. This comes with a cost, however, as the kids “grow up” at an expedited rate.

Read More
126 Words | 1 Pages

In Chapter 15 of To Kill a Mockingbird,when scout tries to have a conversation with Mr. Cunningham, Scout’s compassion relieves the tension of two situations. When they are about to lynch Tom Robinson, Explanation. the theme of compassion developed in other sections of the excerpted novel in chapter 30 when Boo Radley was going to be convicted of killing someone, and Scout took his hand to show that he saved her and that he was innocent of crime. During this chapter Atticus tells Boo, “Thank you for my children,” this shows that scout’s compassion for Boo after the incident showed other people, like her father, that Boo did not deserve to be convicted of a crime. This is how Scout’s compassion is shown in chapter

Read More
252 Words | 2 Pages

Harper Lee's novel To Kill A Mockingbird shows that whilst knowledge is important, empathy is an equally important character trait to have. The narrator Scout develops empathy throughout the novel, and Harper Lee champions this as her growing into an adult. The schoolteacher, Miss Caroline, is portrayed as a villain in the novel, because she has no empathy despite her knowledge. Finally, Atticus is seen as the hero and he carefully balances his broad knowledge with empathy and understanding. Harper Lee uses the character Miss Caroline, a schoolteacher, to highlight that knowledge without empathy, is not necessarily valuable.

Read More
906 Words | 4 Pages

Scout and Jem have both matured throughout this book and have been exposed to many things as they grow older throughout this book. They have both grown about two years throughout this story and have seen a lot in those few years. At the beginning of the story they would not be able to understand some of the things that they understood at the end. One of these things is the happenings of the court case and even then they did not know a lot about said case. Meeting new people and learning more perspectives can also help you to learn to empathize with others.

Read More
1059 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout history, people have used racism to discriminate and antagonize others, based on the belief that their own race is superior. They have also come to their own opinions or prejudices based on no reason or actual experience, but rather their individual preconceptions of a person. Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. To simplify, it means being able to put yourself into someone else’s shoes. Within the first part of To Kill A Mockingbird, quite a few instances of racism and prejudice arose.

Read More
1163 Words | 5 Pages

The Power of Understanding Empathy Alfred Adler once said “Empathy is seeing with the eyes of another, listening with the ears of another and feeling with the heart of another.” this relates to the story ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by making the characters understand empathy with being in someone else shoes. The story "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee is a novel that explores the theme of empathy through the experiences of its main character, Scout Finch. Set in the 1930s in a small town in Alabama, the story follows Scout as she learns about the unjust treatment of African Americans in her community and witnesses her father's efforts to defend a wrongly accused black man in court. Through these experiences, Scout develops a sense of empathy

Read More
622 Words | 3 Pages

Atticus displays compassion for others far more than any of the other characters in the novel. Atticus has so much compassion that in fact he is able to teach his own children how to love and respect others. Atticus shows his compassion when he is being called names during the trial, choosing to be kind to those who ridicule him, and to the innocent Tom Robinson. Without Atticus having his compassion, the other characters in the novel will never grow and learn to

Read More

More about Importance Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

Related Topics

Open Document