William Waters ELA Mead 3-12-24. Life Lessons In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee shows important life lessons through fictional characters such as Atticus Finch, Jem Finch, and Scout Finch. Harper Lee explores ideas that include bravery, the ability to do the right thing, and most importantly, empathy. Harper Lee teaches all these lessons in the book, not for the characters to learn them, but for the readers to learn them and to better themselves. In To Kill A Mockingbird, the most important lesson that Harper Lee teaches is empathy. Throughout the novel, Lee shows many examples of how important empathy can really be. Throughout the novel, Atticus Finch Teaches Jem and Scout about how empathy can affect a situation. Atticus teaches Jem about empathy when he sends Jem to read to Mrs. Dubose before she passes away. Harper Lee shows Atticus’s empathy “I’d have made you go read to her anyway” (111). Atticus also teaches Scout about empathy when he shows her that he is going to spend time in jail to …show more content…
Harper Lee uses the character Jem to show this life lesson throughout the novel. When Jem sees what happened in the Robinson trial, he doesn't like what happened, even though that was going against the normal opinions of the people in Maycomb. He doesn’t care because he knows that it is not right. Harper Lee shows “It ain’t right, Atticus,“ (212). Harper Lee also shows Jem's ability to do the right thing when he and Scout get attacked by Bob Ewell. Harper Lee shows this “He was up like lightning and pulled me with him, but though my head and shoulders were free, I was so entangled we didn’t get very far” (262). This shows how even though Jem could have run away safely, he didn’t because he didn’t want to leave Scout behind. Harper Lee used Jem as an example of doing the right thing because she wants the readers to better