To Kill A Mockingbird Compassion Quotes

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the worth of compassion persists as a relevant theme. Throughout their childhood, Jem and Scout encounter many people who do nothing to earn any compassion. But as they mature and endure countless moral conflicts, compassion evolves from a form of pity into a determining and necessary moral factor. Even though people often act deceitful and immoral, everyone deserves compassion.
First, the need for compassion presents itself in difficult ways. Because of the poor manner in which some people are raised, their life tends to be increasingly difficult. During Tom Robinson’s testimony, Scout concludes, “It came to me that Mayella Ewell must have been the loneliest person in the world” (218). This quote does not only show that Scout thinks Mayella’s lack of a social life makes her lonely, but that she recognizes that no one is advocating

Compassion remains important because of the insight it gives to another’s situation. After hearing how Scout responds to Walter Cunningham using a generous amount of syrup, Calpurnia scolds, “There’s some folks who don’t eat like us---but you ain’t called to contradict ‘em at the table if they don’t” (27). Walter is very poor, and his family can hardly afford to put any food on the table, let alone a meal like the Finch family has laid out. Scout finds his actions outrageous and confronts him. Calpurnia shames Scout for her lack of compassion towards Walter. Scout acts and responds based on what she knows to be “appropriate”, but Walter is in a whole different situation than her. She learns from Calpurnia that to practice compassion she has to realize others don’t live the same life as her, with the same privileges as her. Scout knows Walter is poor, but until this confrontation she does not try to understand how what she says may impact him differently. Once she does this, her respect for Walter increases and she is ashamed of her