The teaching of empathy
The music artist Tom Finn once said, “We have to teach empathy as we do literacy”. Atticus and his son Jem, in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, demonstrate the meaning of these words in how Atticus teaches Jem to be empathetic. Atticus, a hard working man with great morals, wants to teach his children the importance of empathy. His son, Jem, learns from different experiences that if he wants to understand what is happening in his community, he must step into their shoes. Through these morally developed characters, Lee proves the theme that one should not judge someone else unless they put themselves in their situation.
Atticus is one character in the novel who is respected for his morals because he can see things from …show more content…
Atticus first teaches this to his daughter Scout, who is angry when she comes home from school because the teacher told her not to read anymore at home. Atticus tells her that she need to, “‘-climb into his skin and walk around in it’”(Lee 30). Scout now realizes that her teacher is new to town so she wouldn’t know the way Maycomb runs until she lived there for a while. By walking around in someone’s “skin”, Scout learns from Atticus to always consider things from the other person’s point of view. Not only does Atticus teach his kids the importance of seeing things from another’s point of view, but also not to judge anybody based on their skin color. Atticus demonstrates this when he represents Tom Robinson, a black man who was convicted of rape,
The music artist Tom Finn once said, “We have to teach empathy as we do literacy”. Atticus and his son Jem, in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, demonstrate the meaning of these words in how Atticus teaches Jem to be empathetic. Atticus, a hard working man with great morals, wants to teach his children the importance of empathy. His son, Jem, learns from different experiences that if he wants to understand what is happening in his community, he must step into their shoes. Through these morally developed characters, Lee proves the theme that one should not judge someone else unless they put themselves in their situation.
Atticus is one character in the novel who is respected for his morals because he can see things from …show more content…
Atticus first teaches this to his daughter Scout, who is angry when she comes home from school because the teacher told her not to read anymore at home. Atticus tells her that she need to, “‘-climb into his skin and walk around in it’”(Lee 30). Scout now realizes that her teacher is new to town so she wouldn’t know the way Maycomb runs until she lived there for a while. By walking around in someone’s “skin”, Scout learns from Atticus to always consider things from the other person’s point of view. Not only does Atticus teach his kids the importance of seeing things from another’s point of view, but also not to judge anybody based on their skin color. Atticus demonstrates this when he represents Tom Robinson, a black man who was convicted of rape,