Atticus Empathy Quotes

In To Kill a Mockingbird a lot of crazy events happen, and a lot of true human nature is revealed. Harper Lee does a great job showing good traits like empathy in a story with murder, racism, drug abuse, and injustice. The main characters of the novel are the Finch family. The Finch’s consist of the dad Atticus, the children Jem and Scout, and Calpurnia their African American cook. The novel follows their lives growing up and the hardship that comes when their father is tasked with defending a Negro in an unjust court system. The children are exposed to many harsh things about life very early in theirs, and Atticus is trying to ready them for it. Atticus is the ideal father because he shows great courage, determination, and most of all empathy. …show more content…
Dubose is a neighbor of the Finch’s, and a morphine addict. She is a grievous old lady that does nothing but talk bad about Atticus. Jem had heard enough from her and took his anger out on her flowers, destroying them all. Jem is then forced to read to her everyday for more than a month and Atticus will not let him quit. Jem doesn’t realize she has a drug addiction until after she passes. although she talked bad about Atticus it did not fritter his empathy towards her. Atticus had great respect for her because before she died she had beaten her Morphine addiction, with the help of Jem’s reading. Atticus said to Jem, “According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew.” This passage really shows Atticus’ empathy. To praise the person who had done nothing but berate him her whole life, and to do so in front of his children so they could learn from it, is a true showing of empathy and kindness. Jem did not understand, after Atticus said she was a great lady he said with a scarlet face, “A lady? After all the things she said about you, a lady?” He could not believe Atticus could say such things about her. It took Jem some time but he eventually understood what Atticus had taught him about empathy. Jem learns one of his greatest lessons of the story and a great life skill to understand other’s feelings towards you, good or bad. What Jem does not know is that he will need that wisdom more than ever in the events to come in …show more content…
The man’s name is Bob Ewell. Atticus made a fool out of Bob in the courtroom and showed the whole town that Tom was innocent and that Bob actually beat his daughter, not Tom. The court however, is unjust. They sentence Tom guilty on no evidence except Bob and his daughter Mayella’s words. Although the whole town knows Tom is innocent and it was a sham, racism prevails and he is sent to hang. Bob holds a grudge against Atticus because he made him look like a fool in front of the town and exposed the evil inside of him. Here is part from the novel showing Bob Ewell’s hate for Atticus, “it was Miss Stephanie’s pleasure to tell us: this morning Mr. Bob Ewell stopped Atticus on the post office corner, spat in his face, and told him he’d get him if it took the rest of his life.” Atticus is a non violent man and his reaction to that was nothing but telling his children, “I wish Bob Ewell wouldn’t chew tobacco.” When his children questioned why he didn’t retaliate, he says that if him getting spat on would prevent Mayella Ewell another beating then he was fine with it. That is a huge showing of empathy by Atticus. He let a impetuous man spit in his face and threaten him just so he could save that man’s daughter a beating. That is Atticus’ greatest showing of empathy throughout the story. He truly puts others first, no matter where they come