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Lack Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

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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. Harper Lee creates Boo Radley as one of the symbols in the story to represent an archetype …show more content…

Mayella’s symbol indicates that one’s values and self-worth are different from what is seen on the outside. This evident from the following quote: “...[Mayella] wasn’t from a fine...family. Maycomb gave [the Ewells]...the back of its hand.” (Harper Lee 257). Mayella’s lack of association with any class of Maycomb is attributed to her of failure to reform to Maycomb’s societal standards. Harper Lee creates this power difference between society and Mayella in order to establish that society’s absence of empathy is not worth the amount of power it has abused from Mayella. In addition, Lee argues that in any scenario of such, one should empathize with others, which leads to the equilibrium of power. Lee writes: “‘She watered them red flowers every day’...” (Harper Lee 256). Mayella’s geraniums represent the growth of her care and empathy despite her bleak life. Connecting this to the thesis, Lee emphasizes that with the power of empathy, one’s prejudice against another vanquishes and leads to an equal amount of shared power. Harper Lee uses Mayella’s empathy amongst her flowers to prove to the reader that Mayella’s lifestyle is a consequence of her father’s values solely. Harper Lee created Mayella Ewell as a caring mockingbird who was shot due to society’s prejudice over her social …show more content…

Boo Radley’s low amount of power is caused by society’s lack of empathy towards him. Tom Robinson’s limited amount of power is evident due to society’s absence of empathy towards his ethnicity. Mayella Ewell’s insufficient amount of power is due to society’s shortage of empathy towards her societal status. As Obama had stated previously, a lack of empathy leads to wars. His message connects to Lee’s call to action: empathize more with others instead of being prejudiced against them. If one empathizes with another, they form an equilibrium of power based on their

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One day in Maycomb, Alabama during the great depression a young girl named Mayella Ewell was raped. This shows Mayella is one powerful young girl in the story To Kill A Mockingbird. It will show how she is power through class, race, and gender. First Mayella is powerful through her class ranking. In the story it said that the “Maycomb’s Ewells lived behind the town garbage dump in what was once a Negro cabin…”.

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In Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, Mayella Ewell is powerful and gains power as the story goes on. Mayella Ewell is a poor white woman who lives in a dump, her mom left her family when she was young. Mayella has stepped into the mother role in her family. In the story Mayella is abused mentally and physically by her father Bob Ewell. Mayella Ewell is a woman no one wants to associate with, she is white so on African-American man will talk to her and she is poor so no white man will.

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269 Words | 2 Pages

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the theme of “empathy” is frequently apparent. Throughout the novel, the mockingbird is used as a symbol, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy….That ’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 103). The mockingbird relates back to the theme of empathy because it represents the people who were innocent, yet treated unjustly.

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709 Words | 3 Pages

Mayella was was just a poor girl who had never been to school a day in her life and suffered so much abuse from her father, she didn’t give herself the opportunity to be powerful. In a time of oppression and depression Mayella standing up would have been a monumental change but she never seized it and took advantage, she let everyone else take advantage of

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632 Words | 3 Pages

Mayella was born in the lowest class. Being poor in Maycomb wasn’t uncommon but as poor as she was, it was a little much. Mayella tried to be normal compared to her family. When being described, “Mr. Ewell had a scalded look; as if an overnight soaking had deprived him of protective layers of dirt… Mayella looked as if she tried to keep clean,” (Lee 239) Mayella tried to be a decent person unlike the family she was born into.

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In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Lee took the minor character of Mayella Ewell and made her into a sympathetic role to her readers in a latent way. Mayella's life at home is told through the story's background and foreshadowing references. This is how Lee made Mayella memorable enough to the reader to know who she is and her family situation without needing her point of view of her side of the story. Once Mayella enters the storyline, her actions will become understandable to the reader and generate sympathy. One way Lee makes Mayella a sympathetic character is how before entering her into the story, one of Mayella's younger siblings was introduced.

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Vanessa Rodriguez Mrs. Muñoz-Matheny English 9, Period 1 12 May 2016 Family Families will always grow together, like a bouquet of flowers. In the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ Harper Lee clarifies the importance of a supportive family. Harper Lee walks around and clears up that having a supportive family is significant in the Maycomb town. Lee highlights the Finch family relationships and supplies a variety of quotes to prove their devoted bond with each other. A theme in the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ is that family is priceless and worthy to rescue from danger, and this theme connects with real life crisis in the modern world today.

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Showing them the harsh reality of life with honesty and fearlessness. During this time the Great Depression was hitting the southern town of Maycomb. This novel compares many of its characters to mockingbirds, a symbol of pure innocence. One summer, Atticus, who is a lawyer, finds himself in the middle of a controversial case, involving a African American man, Tom Robinson and a white woman, Mayella. Despite the town throwing hatred towards Atticus and his family, he doesn’t back down because he takes pride in helping the innocent.

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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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Taylor McAllister Period 3 11.08.16 TKAMB Essay Thesis- Injustice and ignorance can be shown through the narrow-mindedness of people, such as Mayella Ewell, Aunt Alexandria, and the even the town of Maycomb. To kill a Mockingbird shows and depicts many characters and the attitude toward life, Tom Robinson, and the people in the town of Maycomb. Injustice is shown throughout and complimented by that is narrow-mindedness. Some of the characters show that narrow-mindedness and ignorance can take a toll on how maycomb operates.

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1045 Words | 5 Pages

In Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”, empathy is at the heart of the story. It is represented in different events and characters. This literary piece is an effective example of demonstrating understanding towards others. Empathy can be seen in many different characters throughout the novel such as Scout, Atticus, and Tom Robinson. They gain wisdom and show sympathy to the people that deserve it.

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732 Words | 3 Pages

But she said he took advantage of her, and when she stood up she looked at him as if he were dirt beneath her feet.” Mayella’s loneliness and powerlessness drove her to have an affair with a black man, breaking a societal code. She is a victim of poverty because of the hatred and discrimination occurring in Maycomb. Although some might view Mayella Ewell as a victim, others might view her as a villain because she broke a societal code by attempting to have an affair with a Negro.

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779 Words | 4 Pages

Life is overfilled with messages, like weeds in a sea in unmaintained grass. Whether it’s warning a person, or pointing out a flaw; these little lessons are there to further grow the positive parts of that person’s personality. A simple demonstration of this is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. An old, children’s book serving no meaningingful purpose is what it may seem, nevertheless, it actually is a novel that offers a unique outtake on all aspects of human life. In the book, two children Jem and Scout, who learn about equality, racism, and social class through court cases, tea parties and more.

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In society, there are very few people who have the unwavering dedication to stand up for what they believe. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a black man was convicted and accused of a crime he didn 't commit, raping a white women, which is not in anyway tolerable in society. In Harper Lee 's To Kill A Mockingbird, the author used point of view and symbolism to acknowledge how the the several social divisions which make up much of the adult world are shown to be both irrational and extremely destructive. To begin with, the short story To Kill A Mockingbird, used point of view to show how the many social divisions in the world are irrational and destructive. Scout; a first grade student at the time, was telling the story from her point of view and what had occurred from her childhood perspective.

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996 Words | 4 Pages

Everybody has two different sides to him or her- one that is seen by others and one that is buried in their personal lives, completely hidden from others. People tend to perceive themselves as how they are seen by other people, but can open up or be exposed when they are put in that position. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, both of Mayella’s sides are evident. On the outside, she can be dismissed as a lying cheat, as she lied while on the witness stand.

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