Being empathetic to others is not easy, but once it is learned, getting along with people will become easier. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is about Jean “Scout” Louise Finch growing up in the town of Maycomb and learning about the world through her father, Atticus’s lessons. Atticus teaches Scout and her brother, Jem, how to react in situations involving Boo Radley, an unseen neighbor, Tom Robinson, a black man going through a trial, and other social groups of Maycomb. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee uses Atticus and his children to show that a person putting himself in a different perspective can open up understandings of others. Firstly, Atticus is a character that demonstrates empathy and compassion. Atticus has
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When Scout meets Boo Radley for the first and final time, she is finally able to really “climb into his skin and walk around in it” (39). After many times of trying to do what Atticus tells her when she first started school, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” (39), she learns that he was right. When Atticus mentions that to Scout, she is upset with her new teacher, Miss Caroline, and Atticus is trying to teach her that maybe Miss Caroline is like that for a reason. The reason being that she is a new teacher and is probably insecure that she might not teach Scout anything. What Atticus says instigates Scout to try to be empathetic towards others. When Scout walks Boo Radley home, she stands on his front porch looking out to the neighborhood like Boo would have seen it. Scout reminisces and thinks about how Boo might have seen events that had happened. She juxtaposes how she thought of Boo before, and how she sees him now. Before, she never really thought about looking through his perspective because he was just a creepy man that probably wanted to eat her. In retrospect, Boo saw Jem and Scout as his own children and that is why he helped them. Scout learns about empathy and compassion and learns that it is a big part in understanding …show more content…
From a rudimentary lesson taught by Atticus, Jem and Scout use that in other situations to create a better understanding of others. In society, if no one knew how to have empathy, everyone would be close minded and not understanding. Relationships would not be as strong. Harper Lee teaches that being able to relate to others is important in any kind of relationship. Readers learn from Lee that for a person to be able to fully understand someone, they have to think about what it is like to be
When Scout meets Boo Radley for the first and final time, she is finally able to really “climb into his skin and walk around in it” (39). After many times of trying to do what Atticus tells her when she first started school, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” (39), she learns that he was right. When Atticus mentions that to Scout, she is upset with her new teacher, Miss Caroline, and Atticus is trying to teach her that maybe Miss Caroline is like that for a reason. The reason being that she is a new teacher and is probably insecure that she might not teach Scout anything. What Atticus says instigates Scout to try to be empathetic towards others. When Scout walks Boo Radley home, she stands on his front porch looking out to the neighborhood like Boo would have seen it. Scout reminisces and thinks about how Boo might have seen events that had happened. She juxtaposes how she thought of Boo before, and how she sees him now. Before, she never really thought about looking through his perspective because he was just a creepy man that probably wanted to eat her. In retrospect, Boo saw Jem and Scout as his own children and that is why he helped them. Scout learns about empathy and compassion and learns that it is a big part in understanding …show more content…
From a rudimentary lesson taught by Atticus, Jem and Scout use that in other situations to create a better understanding of others. In society, if no one knew how to have empathy, everyone would be close minded and not understanding. Relationships would not be as strong. Harper Lee teaches that being able to relate to others is important in any kind of relationship. Readers learn from Lee that for a person to be able to fully understand someone, they have to think about what it is like to be