To Kill A Mockingbird Empathy Analysis

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In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch says how “You never really understand a person until you consider things for his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” in chapter three. This is referring to the feeling of empathy. Both Scout and Jem Finch are able to understand how other people around them are feeling in the novel. Scout feels empathy towards Boo Radley and Mayella Ewell, and Jem feels empathy towards Tom Robinson. In the novel, Scout finally understands how Boo Radley feels at the end of the book. She finally understands this when she is walking with him and she steps on the porch of his house. The reason she finally can understand is because she realizes how much Boo has been helping her out. He has…show more content…
Firstly, he is able to feel what Tom Robinson is feeling after the verdict is said at the courthouse. When he is walking home, he asks why they had convicted Tom even if they knew that he was not guilty. This is additionally why he cries inside the courthouse when the verdict is spoken by the jury. He can finally understand Tom Robinson in a different way. Also, his empathy for other beings is shown when later on in the book, Scout is about to crush a roly-poly. Right before she does, Jem says that she shouldn’t. In return, she asks why. He then says that it had never harmed Scout in any way so why should she harm it. This shows a reference to what Atticus and Miss Maudie had said earlier in the book about mockingbirds. Atticus had said “Remember, it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” Miss Maudie had later added to this by saying “Your father’s right,” she said. “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy . . . but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” This shows how Jem is learning from other people and he finally understands the lessons his father had taught him and
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