Importance Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

A Walk in Someone’s Shoes

Empathy is defined as the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, a skill most humans do not acquire. That is why Atticus Finch stresses the point of being empathic and not quick to judge through several situations regarding three different people. The reasoning behind this is due to the fact Atticus understands how first impressions of people can be misleading and incorrect. The most feared person, as shown as Boo Radley, could end up being a town hero. Having empathy for everyone despite their differences leads to the realization of the importance of being optimistic and compassionate as shown in harper lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, through a “scary” neighbor, a less fortunate child, and an immature man with the realizations made by Atticus Finch with his children Scout and Jem Finch.

Through a young child in the book called Walter Cunningham, Scout learns to be empathic for the less fortunate. Walter Cunningham came from an impoverished family and not as fortunate as scout who was of the same age. Atticus’

daughter was innocent to Walter’s circumstances and she becomes aware of this as Walter comes to her house for lunch one day. He was eating more food than was normal to Scout and she exclaimed a rude comment that she would not have said if she known of the circumstances. Calpurnia, the help at the Finch house, pulled Scout to the side saying, “There’s some folks who don’t eat like us” (Lee 32). This struck Scout in the heart and she realized she needed to be compassionate in these types of situations. Having a polite manner was one of the best ways to go. Apprehending what she did wrong, she realized, “[one is not] called on to contradict [someone] at the table when [the person] don’t. [The visitor is company] and if [the guest] wants to eat up the table cloth [one is to] let him” (Lee 32). This is one of the first lessons of empathy taught in, To Kill a Mockingbird. Scout learned to show compassion to those in need and closing her mouth so that a rude comment will not fly out.
Another lesson where the Finch children are taught to not be quick to judge comes from impressions made by a neighbor, Boo Radley. There were many negative rumors associated with Mr. Radley and the children chose to believe them. Jem and Scout Finch described their neighbor as a man who was “over six foot tall”, had “rotten teeth”, “drool[s]”, and ‘eats children” (Lee chapter 1). Obviously, their knowledge of him was inadequate, unrealistic, and unreliable when they had not even met Boo yet. They associated Boo’s description of his physical appearance with his actions. When their parent heard of their assumptions he told them, “[A human] never really understands a person until [they] consider [their] point of view…until [the person] climb[s] into [their] skin and walk around in it” (Lee 39). Atticus taught his children that after hearing of their “observations” of Boo. Later in the book, Mr. Radley ends up saving both of the Finch children from a crazy man trying to kill them both. This is just another incident in the book that practices Harper Lee’s idea of not being quick to judge when it comes to other people.
An additional example of how empathy is displayed in the book is when Atticus demonstrates this characteristic when a man named Bob Ewell spit in his face. There was an unpleasant tension between Mr. Ewell and Mr. Finch, although Atticus chose not to act violently. On the other hand, Bob was aggressive and pig0headed. After the incident occurred, Atticus explained to his children how he felt when Mr. Ewell spat in his face. He told his kids, “If spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell (Bob Ewell’s daughter) one extra beating that’s something I’ll gladly take” (Lee 293). Atticus’ statements show he had empathy for the Ewell children, and he was willing to put himself in harm’s way if it meant the Ewell children were safe. Harper Lee made Atticus step into the Ewell children’s shoes, and immediately he had compassion for them. Scout and Jem’s father taught them to stand in someone else’s shoes, and see from another perspective. Later on, Mr. Finch continues by saying if Bob had to “take it out on somebody [he’d] rather it be on [him] than a houseful of children” (Lee 293). By putting others’ lives first Atticus felt sorry for those kids and he decided to be compassionate. This example from, To Kill a Mockingbird, clearly demonstrates the idea of empathy and how it is taught in this book.
Empathy is not just something that exists in a book, this understanding and comprehension of others feelings should also exist in society’s daily lives.

Harper lee grew up in a time period where African-Americans did not have much choice and were not treated equally. She was able to see firsthand how segregation played a roiled in the injustice happening. Now a day, even though segregation is nonexistent, there is still controversy between black and white lives. There is still injustice occurring such as in the police department today. Although there are different campaign such as Black Lives Matter, equality between different ethnicities/races is not being measured out equally. When Harper Lee wrote thus book she wanted to leave the reader with a message. This message was to be kind and compassionate to others despite our differences and to be empathic to those

suffering.