Theme Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

There is a common saying that says, "Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes.” It is important to have empathy for others, or, as the saying goes, to walk in another’s shoes. This theme can be explored in texts such as “A Christmas Memory”, “Marigolds”, Mississippi Trial, 1955, and To Kill a Mockingbird. In “A Christmas Memory”, a young boy of seven named Buddy lives with his distant cousin, a sixty-year-old woman, whom he calls his friend, until he is forced to leave due to his disapproving relatives. In “Marigolds”, a teenage girl named Lizabeth loses her childhood innocence after an incident in which she heartlessly crushes her neighbor’s flowers. In Mississippi Trial, 1955, a teenage boy, Hiram, visits his grandfather in a quiet Southern town during a murder and its subsequent trial, to the dismay of his father. Finally, in To Kill a Mockingbird, a girl, Scout, matures during a race-related rape trial. The theme of empathy is evident in many aspects of life, as is revealed in “A Christmas Memory”, “Marigolds”, Mississippi Trial, 1955, and To Kill a Mockingbird.

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Capote’s “A Christmas Memory” expresses the theme of empathy by providing to the reader examples of Buddy’s narrow-minded relatives. Buddy narrates, “Enter: two relatives. Very angry. Potent with eyes that scold, tongues that scald…’A child of seven! Whiskey on his breath…Shame! Scandal! Humiliation” (Capote 345). Buddy’s relatives storm in

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during the Christmas season, expressing dissatisfaction with Buddy’s care. He later remarks, “Life separates us. Those who Know Best decide that I belong in a military school…I have a new home too. But it doesn’t count. Home is where my friend is, and there I never go” (Capote 350). Buddy has been ripped from his home and friend, and put sadly into military schooling. This causes sadness for both Buddy and his friend, with no apparent care from the relatives.
Eugenia Collier’s “Marigolds” expresses the theme of empathy by providing examples of the protagonist’s mistreatment of her neighbors. Lizabeth explains, “We children made a game of thinking of ways to disturb John Burke and then to elude his violent retribution” (Collier 445). Lizabeth mistreats a character, with absolutely no respect shown to him for the sake of cruel fun. She also notes, “She never left her yard…When we were tiny children, we thought Miss Lottie was a witch” (Collier 450). Lizabeth muses on her treatment of Miss Lottie, making up a cruel rumor about her for trivial reasons, such as that she would not leave the yard and keeps to herself. Lizabeth later tosses stones at Lottie’s flowers, and deeply regrets her antics later because she finally thought about how Miss Lottie felt.
Chris Crowe’s Mississippi Trial, 1955 also expresses the theme of empathy by giving examples of one character speaking about the Hillburn family dynamics, and another on how a criminal is forgiven. The character Harlan Hillburn says, “…But then I realized that no matter how wrong or bad your father is, he’s still your father…he loved me, and for that I love him” (Crowe 229). Harlan Hillburn, son of Grampa and Hiram’s father, talks about how he had hated his father for having opposing views and sentiments than him when Harlan was younger. However, he remarks that he has forgiven his father, finally considering his father’s feelings during that period of time. In addition, the character R.C. explains, “I been in trouble with the law before, and I can take it, but like I said, he knows Pa and what’s been goin’ on at home” (Crowe 200). The town criminal R.C. had just told the protagonist Hiram that he had beaten his abusive father, but would
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be tried at a lesser sentence than murder by Sheriff Smith, because of his family circumstances, in case his father had died as a result (although the reader discovers later that R.C.’s father
survived.) Sheriff Smith kindly considered the situation at hand from R.C.’s point of view, giving R.C. a chance to revamp his life for the better.
Finally, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird shows the theme of empathy by giving examples of how two characters realize their narrow-minded sentiments are wrong.

The protagonist Scout Finch remarks, “I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all the time…It’s because he wants to stay inside” (Lee 304). In the quote, Scout has an epiphany about how to treat Boo Radley, her reclusive neighbor whom Scout had tried to make leave his home. Next, Scout’s father Atticus says to his son, “Jem, see if you can stand in Bob Ewell’s shoes for a minute. I destroyed his last shred of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with” (Lee 292). In the second, Atticus teaches Jem the reason why Bob Ewell’s actions were committed, instead of letting Jem hold onto the assumption that Bob is solely a horrible person who commits bad deeds with no

reason.
The theme of empathy is heavily demonstrated in life. Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory” demonstrates the importance of having empathy by showing the faults of Buddy and his friend’s relatives, who are expressed as the antagonists in the story. Eugenia Collier’s “Marigolds” also shows the importance of having empathy by demonstrating how the narrator regrets her earlier, less considerate behavior. In addition, Chris Crowe’s Mississippi Trial, 1955 perpetuates the theme of having empathy by showing the regrets of one Harlan Hillburn towards his father, and the kindness of a sheriff who prevented a young man from a possible murder charge. Lastly, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird demonstrates empathy by having two young characters learning lessons on not jumping at assumptions and having respect. Having empathy is essential to getting a full, unbiased view of a situation. Through literature, readers are better able to understand empathy.