Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

To Kill A Mockingbird Empathy

You can’t just open a book and judge the story on the random chapter you happened to end up on, you start from the beginning and read the full story. Empathy is just like that. Empathy is like reading someone else’s story: being one with the characters and events and feeling the emotions of the main character, observing, listening, and understanding. When you read someone’s story is when the solution of racism and prejudices within communities is really possible. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird the author, Harper Lee, shows empathy is the solution to the prejudice and racism that has unfortunately afflicted America throughout its history. These characters include Scout, Atticus, Miss Caroline, Boo
Boo Radley has a reputation of being this monstrous creature and as Jem stated previous to having empathy for Boo, “Boo was about six-and-a half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained-if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time.” (Lee 16) This is what everyone thought of Boo. The residents of Maycomb are frightened of Boo because they make no effort to learn more about him and see things through his eyes. Once Jem had empathy he had lost the prejudice toward Boo, he lost whatever judgment he had on just the page he walked in on. The day Jem fully had empathy towards Boo was when he lost the prejudice he had. As author stated, “When we went in the house I saw he had been crying; his face dirty in the right places, but I thought it odd that I had not heard him.” (Lee 84). Jem was crying because at this point he finally realized all the rumors weren't true. As he matured, he understood all the clues Boo was dropping for communication. From the gifts in the knothole to Boo giving Scout a blanket the night of the fire. From here, he understood Boo’s perspective and how he's actually living a genuinely sad life. Feeling how Boo felt made
The Ewells are a family that act like animals and don't act like everyone in maycomb. Mr. Ewell has a drinking problem and his kids have to deal with that. The Ewells were in this bad situation and it was the county's empathy that helped them out. “It’s against the law, all right… and it's certainly bad, but when a man spends his relief checks on green whiskey his children have a way of crying from hunger pains… he’ll never change his ways. Are you going to take out your disapproval in his children?” (Lee 41) Because of the Ewell’s situation the community as a whole decided to give them a leeway and allow the Ewell’s children go to school a minimum one one day per year in order for them to be able to hunt and have food. In this case the community had empathy, which did not necessarily solve prejudice, but it allowed there to be some solution that helped as a whole. On the other hand, some may counter the Ewells’ situation is just a minor solution and does not represent the solving of prejudice as a whole. This is not true. Though this is a minor example in order to solve something and create an impact, you start with small steps. Empathy helped the Ewell’s situation even if it wasn't a predominate solution to the prejudice against them, it helps and any help is beneficial in the prejudice