Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird
To Kill a Mockingbird
“If we’re going to find our way back to each other, we have to understand and know empathy”(Brown). As humans we have the ability to get to know someone well but we can also completely ignore the fact they even exist or we can label them based off physical appearance and past actions. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates how two children learn from people and their actions to respect everyone no matter what they have been docked or labeled as. Our society has created a brick wall of expectations that mask who we all are on the “inside”. This causes the need for someone to “break the wall” or us as an individual to “break free”. Throughout the novel, Harper Lee fully shows the central theme that …show more content…
There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face…” (13). Additionally, Boo takes the blame for anything bad that goes on in Maycomb because of his past history. As the story continues Boo furtively involves himself in Jem and Scouts lives. He does small deeds like putting a blanket on Scout’s shoulders during a fire at Miss. Maudie’s house. “You were so busy looking at the fire; you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you”(74) Atticus points out to Scout . In the same way, Boo further showed his kindness when he placed small gifts inside a tree for Jem and Scout. All of these events prove that Boo is a great person, but his label acts like a “curse” on his …show more content…
He was accused of raping a white girl after entering her house without consent. Although many people thought Tom was a wonderful man who would never do anything to anger a white man, he was jailed based on his skin color and the majority would not let that difference pass them. By the time the jury was over everyone in the courtroom knew that Tom was innocent, but because of his skin, he was sentenced to jail because “a white man's word always beats a black man’s”. Although Tom was innocent he made a few mistakes of mentioning things like, “I felt right sorry for her, she seems to try more n’ the rest of em-“(197). Everyone in Maycomb knew Tom was a wonderful person on the inside no matter what the color of his skin was which is why Atticus fought hard for him until the day he was killed. This proves how race is a big part of judgement and does not help society move
“If we’re going to find our way back to each other, we have to understand and know empathy”(Brown). As humans we have the ability to get to know someone well but we can also completely ignore the fact they even exist or we can label them based off physical appearance and past actions. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates how two children learn from people and their actions to respect everyone no matter what they have been docked or labeled as. Our society has created a brick wall of expectations that mask who we all are on the “inside”. This causes the need for someone to “break the wall” or us as an individual to “break free”. Throughout the novel, Harper Lee fully shows the central theme that …show more content…
There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face…” (13). Additionally, Boo takes the blame for anything bad that goes on in Maycomb because of his past history. As the story continues Boo furtively involves himself in Jem and Scouts lives. He does small deeds like putting a blanket on Scout’s shoulders during a fire at Miss. Maudie’s house. “You were so busy looking at the fire; you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you”(74) Atticus points out to Scout . In the same way, Boo further showed his kindness when he placed small gifts inside a tree for Jem and Scout. All of these events prove that Boo is a great person, but his label acts like a “curse” on his …show more content…
He was accused of raping a white girl after entering her house without consent. Although many people thought Tom was a wonderful man who would never do anything to anger a white man, he was jailed based on his skin color and the majority would not let that difference pass them. By the time the jury was over everyone in the courtroom knew that Tom was innocent, but because of his skin, he was sentenced to jail because “a white man's word always beats a black man’s”. Although Tom was innocent he made a few mistakes of mentioning things like, “I felt right sorry for her, she seems to try more n’ the rest of em-“(197). Everyone in Maycomb knew Tom was a wonderful person on the inside no matter what the color of his skin was which is why Atticus fought hard for him until the day he was killed. This proves how race is a big part of judgement and does not help society move