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Lack Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird Analysis

1086 Words5 Pages

Lack Of Empathy Leads To An Imbalance Of Power: Former president Barack Obama once 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 for others, they lose the ability to understand others, which is a key emotion that helps people to interact with others. Furthermore, his quote 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 to the reader the significance that a lack of empathy can cause 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 of a kind soul who is neglected by society. The author uses Boo Radley as a disguised phantom to prove that underneath this disguise is a compassionate soul. Lee demonstrates this in the following quote: “Any stealthy small crimes committed in Maycomb were [Boo’s] work...A Negro would not pass the Radley Place at night…” (Harper Lee 10-11). Boo is perceived as a phantom by society since he failed to meet the town’s …show more content…

Boo Radley’s low amount of authoritative power is due to society’s lack of empathy towards him. Tom Robinson’s limited amount of authoritative power is evident due to society’s lack of empathy towards his ethnicity. Mayella Ewell’s small amount of authoritative power is caused by society’s lack of empathy towards her societal status. As Obama had stated before, a lack of empathy can lead to wars. Obama’s message connects to Lee’s call of action: to empathize more with others instead of being prejudice against them. With a lack of empathy, one can abuse power from others. However, if one empathizes with another, they can form an equilibrium of power based on their

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