Atticus once 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 16). The previous line is a perfect definition of compassion, a trait many desire but seem to lack. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a shining example of this solicitude, which she shows through many examples within the novel. Through the plethora of characters a few shine or learn to shine with compassion: Jem, Reverend Sykes, and Heck. Their actions could be comparably small but have a large impact on those around them.
To illustrate, Atticus forced Jem to read to Mrs. Dubose, an old, hateful woman. This is important because Jem didn’t know why Mrs. Dubose was always so insulting, and according to Atticus once again, “If you hadn’t fallen into her hands, I’d have made you go read to her anyways” (Lee 60). It turns out Mrs. Dubose was a recovering morphine addict, and Jem was unknowingly walking her through her withdrawal. Jem learned an important lesson right then, people aren’t as black and white as the people of the novel believe. Anyone can have an infinite amount of problems you may never know, but with compassion you can help anyone through their hardships without
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Tom Robinson, a member of Sykes church, was falsely accused of raping a white woman. Tom’s church attempted to raise money for his wife and many kids. This is because his wife, Helen, couldn’t find any work due to the manner of the accusations on her husband. On the first run of donations they didn’t acquire enough money for the family, so Reverend had the doors locked, and passionately stated, “You all know what it’s for--Helen can’t leave those children to work” (Lee 65)! Invoked by his compassionate and passionate demand for the kids well being enough money was soon