ipl-logo

Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

1118 Words5 Pages

The Mockingbird 's Songs “Mockingbirds don 't do one thing except make music for us to enjoy.” These famous words come from the equally famous work of literature, How to Kill a Mockingbird. The book is about a young girl, Scout, and her family who live in the racist southern town of Maycomb during the Great Depression. Scout grows up oblivious to much of the injustice around her and fascinated by the reclusive societal outcast Boo Radley. The book uses the mockingbird as a powerful symbol of innocence and is portrayed through several people and concepts.
Perhaps the most compelling evidence of the mockingbird 's symbol of innocence is the character of Tom Robinson. Tom is a young, married black man who lives in Maycomb. During the book, the people of Maycomb convict Tom of a crime he did not commit, eventually leading to his demise. In reality, his only crime, as Atticus Finch, Scout 's father says, was having, “the unmitigated temerity to ‘feel sorry’ for a white woman.” The woman mentioned is Mayella Ewell, a young poor woman abused by her father. As Tom feels empathy for her situation, he does little chores for her. Mayella makes a move on Tom, and upon refusing her, she accuses him of rape. Under these circumstances, Atticus fights tooth and nail against the racism of the time to prove Tom Robinson is innocent with weapons of blatant evidence and powerful words. “You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some

Show More
Related

  • Tom Robinson Transformation

    951 Words  | 4 Pages

    Tom Robinson is caught kissing a white woman from Maycomb named Mayella Ewell. To prevent being frowned upon by the local citizens, she instead said that Tom Robinson raped her even though that was far from the truth. He’s taken into trial with the help of Atticus, and the case is unarguably one of the factors that help further the theme of innocence in Scout’s view. Atticus is determined to help Tom, even if it means that the citizens will turn against his own family because “killing a mockingbird is a sin.” As events progress, Scout is taught that discrimination solely because someone is “different” is

    Read More

  • Empathy Quotes In To Kill A Mockingbird

    269 Words  | 2 Pages

    Tom Robinson is an example of a “mockingbird,” he is accused of a false accusation, mainly because he is a black man. This can relate back to one of the many themes of the novel, “prejudice.” Atticus, Scout, and Jem are round and dynamic characters that help to progress the theme of “empathy,” as well as many lessons that Scout and Jem will learn. Morality

    Read More

  • Examples Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

    666 Words  | 3 Pages

    Roger Ebert once stated, “I believe empathy is the most essential quality of civilization.” Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings of others. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird possesses empathy and the impact the trait can have on everyone. This story shares the life of Scout as she faces difficult events and finds a way to empathize with the people around her. In Harper Lee’s

    Read More

  • What Does Bob Ewell Symbolize In To Kill A Mockingbird

    655 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the “mockingbird symbol” to help the reader understand the innocence of many characters in the story one example of a “Mockingbird” Is Arthur Radley. Arthur has never really done anything wrong to become hated as he is at the time all he wants is to have a connection with the outside world like he used to, people change from when they were when they were younger to where they are now. In the same fashion, another example of a mockingbird’s innocence is the black man Tom Robinson. Tom is an example of a mockingbird; he is an innocent man who supposedly did bad things with Mayella Ewell. Mayella Ewell is a mockingbird example, during the trial her father forces her to lie about what happened between Tom and herself but sincerely she has no resemblance of him.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

    493 Words  | 2 Pages

    Another well known lesson taught by Atticus is about empathy. Empathy is defined as: the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. This is shown in chapter three when Scout encountered some problems with her new, first grade teacher, Mrs. Caroline. The little girl was mature well beyond her years, therefore, when she was asked to read out loud, Scout read with near perfect fluency. However, the teacher was surprisingly displeased with her advanced level in literature and flow, and assuming it was Atticus who was educating his daughter, Mrs. Caroline wanted the ‘lessons’ to come to a stop.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Sympathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

    555 Words  | 3 Pages

    Children have absolutely nothing to worry about since they are just kids there are naturally innocent. Once they see the cruel and unreasonable world, they learn about sympathy and lose their innocence. In “To kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, sympathy is a significant example Scout and Jem learn about sympathy at the same time losing their innocence. Throughout the novel, Jem learns to be sympathetic to others such as when he realizes that Boo Radley has problems.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

    719 Words  | 3 Pages

    Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. To me the word empathy in “To Kill A Mockingbird” means “putting yourself in someone else’s shoes.” Harper Lee’s novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” suggests that empathy is a universal feeling, but everyone experiences it in different occasions and in different ways. Many people empathize through real life experiences. Scout is one of those people.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Sympathy Analysis

    1212 Words  | 5 Pages

    It is very important that writers are able to send a message to their reader with their book. Authors best do this by bringing about empathy. In order to send this message, authors often develop strong characters that go through various problems and struggles. The book, To Kill a Mockingbird, shows this very well with its characters Scout Finch and Tom Robinson. This book helps the readers learn from the character’s reactions to their problems.

    Read More

  • How Does Tom Robinson Show Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

    732 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee the term mockingbird symbolizes innocence in a person. In the novel it focuses on the fact that innocence, represented by the mockingbird, can be wrongfully harmed. There are two characters: Tom Robinson and Arthur “Boo” Radley that are supposed to represent the mockingbird. In the novel, Tom Robinson is the best example of a mockingbird because he is prosecuted for a crime he did not commit. Also, he was judged unfairly based on the color of his skin in his trial.

    Read More

  • The Symbols Of Tom Robinson's To Kill A Mockingbird

    776 Words  | 4 Pages

    “ ​Mockingbirds don’t do one thing except make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat uppeople’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 119). Tom Robinson, a minor yet importantcharacter, is indirectly described as a mockingbird throughout the whole book, since he waskilled for entertainment purposes and not because of the crime he was guilty of, when he wastruly innocent. He did not do one thing but be honest, but his skin color made the people thinkotherwise (Gladwell).

    Read More

  • Theme Of Racial Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

    754 Words  | 4 Pages

    Tom Robinson is a black man who is wrongfully convicted of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell. This novel goes through Scout's life from when she was 6, till she is 9. She lives in the town of Maycomb Alabama, and lives an innocent life until about halfway through the story, where she begins to ask questions. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout shows the readers that racial inequality creates an unjust society through the African American community, through the people surrounding colored folks, and through Tom Robinson’s Case. The first example of the consequences of racial inequality is the African American community in Maycomb.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Point Of View Essay

    614 Words  | 3 Pages

    In society, there are very few people who have the unwavering dedication to stand up for what they believe. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a black man was convicted and accused of a crime he didn 't commit, raping a white women, which is not in anyway tolerable in society. In Harper Lee 's To Kill A Mockingbird, the author used point of view and symbolism to acknowledge how the the several social divisions which make up much of the adult world are shown to be both irrational and extremely destructive. To begin with, the short story To Kill A Mockingbird, used point of view to show how the many social divisions in the world are irrational and destructive. Scout; a first grade student at the time, was telling the story from her point of view and what had occurred from her childhood perspective.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Bully In To Kill A Mockingbird

    830 Words  | 4 Pages

    Blue Jays and Mockingbirds Who are the blue jays and mockingbirds of To Kill A Mockingbird? Set in the early 1930’s of America, Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is a coming-of-age book that tells the story of an innocent, naive child becoming an adult through the experience and intake of racism, discrimination, and social injustice throughout the book. Harper Lee’s development, usage and characterization of her characters throughout To Kill A Mockingbird help establish two of her most important themes of the book, which are the presence of social injustice and the coexistence of good and evil. Social injustice is consistently seen throughout To Kill A Mockingbird.

    Read More

  • To Kill A Mockingbird Coming Of Age Analysis

    1037 Words  | 5 Pages

    To Kill a Mockingbird is a story that takes place during the Great Depression in a small town located in southern Georgia in the 1930s. The book focuses on Jean Louise “Scout” and Jeremy Atticus “Jem” and their coming of age and the major events that made the two grow up. One of the events was the trial of the Mockingbird, Tom Robinson, in which their father, Atticus Finch, was defending Tom, a man of color. Mockingbirds are used throughout the book to represent people that were harmed by the society even though they were innocent. There is a common misinterpretation of the meaning behind the Mockingbird leading many to believe that Scout is the Mockingbird in the story.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

    714 Words  | 3 Pages

    Through To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee teaches us the righteousness of empathy. Harper Lee 's technique of writing and coinciding Christian beliefs weaved through emphasizes the importance of the story 's moral and themes. It is through Scout, the young dynamic and protagonist, that Lee opens the reader 's eyes to a realistic world of prejudice and inequality during the 1930s. Though introducing many characters throughout the novel, it is through Lee 's wise father character, Atticus Finch, that she further helps teach her readers life lessons, one being empathy. While narrating in first person, Lee further details her novel with the setting and use of style and diction.

    Read More

More about Empathy In To Kill A Mockingbird

Open Document