Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

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Atticus Finch said “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view-...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”(Lee 39). As a result of this quote out main character will change. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee uses the character and characterization of Scout to show how empathy can change someone’s life for the better. Throughout the book Scout changes quite a bit. In the beginning she was very tomboyish choosing to wear overalls instead of dresses, she also liked to beat other kids up. During the middle of the story she began to have a change of heart. She started to hang out with her aunt more and realized it takes a lot of effort. During this time of self discovery she noticed small details about her friends and family. But by the end of the book she starts to see things from others views to give her insight to how others might see things.
Early in the book Lee writes about how some of the characters are kinda simple in the things they do on a day to day basis. Scout, is one of …show more content…

Throughout the book Scout is a character of great change. In the beginning she was a tomboy who liked to beat up weaker people, like when she beat up walter early on. The summers when Dill came by had great influence on Scout because those summers also had Aunt Alexandra come by and stay with the Scout. When Aunt Alexandra and Atticus start arguing it allows Scout to see a different part of Atticus. Towards the end of the book Scout’s empathy arises and she uses it see what things could be like from Boo’s perspective. Harper Lee tells us to be hopeful for the future because when our children can understand other people’s emotions just as we can it only can shine a bright light. Children understanding others emotions before they can understand theirs properly is great sign because it can put some of