Failure of Empathy in To Kill a Mockingbird The Oxford English Dictionary defines empathy as “the power of projecting one’s personality into the object of contemplation.” Furthermore, Katie Rose Guest Pryal proposes that empathy takes action, not just an emotion. Often confused with sympathy, empathy requires the ability to understand a predicament from another person’s perspective, while sympathy only entails the feeling of pity for another’s difficulty. In To Kill a Mockingbird, although Atticus advocates empathizing with others, Pryal rather implies that Atticus exhibits sympathy. In addition, the jurors lack empathy in that they do not perceive the world from African Americans’ point of view. This nonexistent cross-racial empathy originates
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To start with, in the trial, Atticus exercises logic rather than emotion. This strategy shows how Atticus never truly conveys empathy in the courtroom. Moreover, Atticus never suggests to the jurors to look at the trial through a blacks’ eyes, or even Tom’s eyes. Consequently, the jurors never need to overcome their “fear of revelation (183).” Instead of talking about Tom’s life, Atticus discusses the Ewell’s poor life, how they could make “dandy [shoes] from strips of old tires (TKAM 208).” Thus, Atticus diminishes the empathy between the jurors and the Ewells. Before the trial, a lynch mob arrives at Tom’s jail to kill him. Throughout the entire scene, Tom hides and never talks while Atticus faces the mob. The mob eventually clears out, but only because Scout finds the interconnectedness with the whites, not blacks, by reminding Mr. Cunningham of his debt to Atticus. After the standoff, Atticus treats Tom as a child, telling him to “get some sleep” (TKAM 175). Portrayed as a helpless, powerless character, Tom presents “no risk of revelation to white audiences of the novel” (183). Lastly, when Calpurnia brings Scout and Jem to her church, Lula questions Calpurnia, yelling, “why you bringin’ chillum to nigger church” (TKAM 135). This irony of white people feeling displaced in a black majority shows that both races may feel unwelcome in certain places. Consequently, Zeebo, Lula’s son, intervenes and says, “Don’t pay no ‘tention to Lula” (TKAM 136). Just as readers may feel cross-racial empathy where they start to understand the world through the blacks’ eyes, Zeebo diminishes this empathy and the ironic words of
To start with, in the trial, Atticus exercises logic rather than emotion. This strategy shows how Atticus never truly conveys empathy in the courtroom. Moreover, Atticus never suggests to the jurors to look at the trial through a blacks’ eyes, or even Tom’s eyes. Consequently, the jurors never need to overcome their “fear of revelation (183).” Instead of talking about Tom’s life, Atticus discusses the Ewell’s poor life, how they could make “dandy [shoes] from strips of old tires (TKAM 208).” Thus, Atticus diminishes the empathy between the jurors and the Ewells. Before the trial, a lynch mob arrives at Tom’s jail to kill him. Throughout the entire scene, Tom hides and never talks while Atticus faces the mob. The mob eventually clears out, but only because Scout finds the interconnectedness with the whites, not blacks, by reminding Mr. Cunningham of his debt to Atticus. After the standoff, Atticus treats Tom as a child, telling him to “get some sleep” (TKAM 175). Portrayed as a helpless, powerless character, Tom presents “no risk of revelation to white audiences of the novel” (183). Lastly, when Calpurnia brings Scout and Jem to her church, Lula questions Calpurnia, yelling, “why you bringin’ chillum to nigger church” (TKAM 135). This irony of white people feeling displaced in a black majority shows that both races may feel unwelcome in certain places. Consequently, Zeebo, Lula’s son, intervenes and says, “Don’t pay no ‘tention to Lula” (TKAM 136). Just as readers may feel cross-racial empathy where they start to understand the world through the blacks’ eyes, Zeebo diminishes this empathy and the ironic words of