“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” is a quote spoken beautifully by a wise man named Atticus Finch. Throughout Harper Lee’s novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, empathy is openly displayed and is a recurring theme. Empathy is the art of understanding or feeling what another person is experiencing from within the other person’s frame of reference. Dill, Scout and Atticus are prime examples of people whom demonstrate this characteristic at some point in the novel. When Scout asks Dill, “Why do you reckon Boo Radley never ran off?”, he replies with an empathic response of, “Maybe he doesn’t have anywhere to run off to”. Through his words, Dill demonstrates a conscious to identify with Boo’s struggles. Dill understands the dilemma of wanting to run away but having no one to turn to. The …show more content…
She has the compassion to show understanding to Boo Radley, a man she previously feared and avoided at all costs. When she first sees Boo, she sees him looking quite frightened, and simply says “hey, Boo”, and soon “the tension drained from his face”. Sitting outside on the porch she led him to the chair furthest from Atticus and Mr. Tate because it was “in deep shadow, boo would feel more comfortable in the dark”. This is an innocent example of empathy shown by Scout as she realises that Boo must not be used to so much exposure and attends to his needs. This small act of kindness also shows how much Scout has matured compared to the beginning of the book when she was extremely intolerant of other’s situations. For example, when she participates in spreading rumors about Boo Radley and making fun of Walter Cunningham. Scout has at last learnt to see that there is a story behind every person, a reason why they are the way they are and in order to truly understand them she must put herself in their