The Necessity of Empathy
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, empathy is the ability to understand or share another’s feelings. When one thinks about empathy they may not care about its importance. However in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird the narrator’s father, Atticus, ensured that his children knew and cared about “The Necessity of Empathy.” Even if someone is positive that they understand a person’s situation , there will always be a factor that was forgotten and that the person will not truly understand until they “climb into his skin and walk around in it.” Some of the main characters learned and demonstrated empathy, such as Atticus, Jem, the narrator’s brother, and Scout, the narrator. For instance, when Atticus is given Tom Robinson’s case by the court many of those the family once considered close turned their backs on the. One of these instances was at the jailhouse, after this situation Atticus thanked his children for making “Walter Cunningham stand in” his “shoes for a minute…” This demonstration of empathy could have, and most likely did, save Atticus’ life in the novel. Tom Robinson was also attempting to teach those in the jury and court empathy. Only a few probably empathized, but almost everyone was too against him to
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However, some of the characters are so far in their ways that they could not and did not learn “The Necessity of Empathy.” This novel was written more than fifty years ago, but the relevance is all the same, which is disappointing concerning the social progression of our country and world. There is a necessity for empathy in the world that most do not realize until they have already made the wrong assumption. All who have read this novel should have some idea of why empathy is so important and how to apply the lesson throughout difficult