Theme Of To Stand In Someone Else's Shoes In To Kill A Mockingbird

In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, one huge theme in the book is to stand in someone else's shoes, and look at situations from someone else's point of view. This lesson is mainly taught by Atticus, but other characters can be seen practicing it. First when Scout was upset about her first day of school, Atticus told her that “if you can learn a simple trick, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee, 1960, p. 39). Although Scout didn't exactly change her views on Miss. Caroline, this lesson made her consider other people's feelings. Atticus is a great role model, he thinks about how other people are feeling before he comes to conclusions.

This lesson have been seen more than once in the book.

When Bob Ewell spit on Atticus’s face, Atticus made the decision to just walk away. Jem was confused why he did this, but Atticus asked him if he can stand in Bob Ewell's shoes a minute” Atticus explained that he “destroyed his last shred of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with. The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always does“ (Lee, 1960, p. 292). This shows the kind of character Atticus is and how he steps up and is the bigger person. Scout grew as a character because of this lesson, and readers could really see that demonstrated when she walked Boo Radley home. . Scout was standing on the Radley doorsteps and she stated that she “had never seen our (her) neighborhood from this angle” (Lee, 1960, p. 39). Scout saw how Boo sees the neighborhood physically and she was also realizing at this point how life is for Arthur. Scout and Jem both changed by learning this lesson for the good because it helped them think about other people's

sides.
There is two sides to every story, but sometimes you have to stand in someone else's shoes and see how they viewed a situation. A large successful campaign going on right now is the Spread The Word To End The Word campaign. This is to try to stop the use of the “r word” which is retarded. This word is very offensive to people with disabilities and can really hurt people's feelings. Many schools across the country have been making their own campaign. Some people do not even understand that they are being offensive but Casey Thomas describes it “used as a weapon, to make me think I'm worthless” (McNamara, 2016, p.1). If people would stand in someone with a disabilities shoes, they would realize how much this word really hurts. If they would climb into casey's skin and walk around in it, they would maybe think of choosing a different word. This book still has relevance 55 years later because it could change the world with these lessons. Just one lesson from the book is to stand in someone else's shoes, and that lesson alone could make the world a happier place. Think about amazing it would be if everyone followed and listened to all the lessons in the novel.