Examples Of Compassion In To Kill A Mockingbird

Going above and beyond for others can turn out great or not so great, but the satisfaction of helping others should be enough. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates showing compassion through many different characters. It is told from a 10 year-old, Scout Finch’s point of view. The novel takes place in Maycomb, Alabama. The Finch family has many challenges to face, such as Atticus being assigned to Tom’s case, which he was accused of raping a white girl. No one likes it because Tom is black. At the end of the novel Scout and Jem get into a life or death situation, even though they had no clue it was coming, and Scout finally gets to meet Boo! Compassion is not about going above and beyond for someone like Jem, Boo, Scout, and Atticus

After Jem breaks up the fight between Scout and Walter, Jem says to Walter “Come on home to dinner with us, Walter,” “We’d be glad to have you” (30). Jem invites Walter over for dinner because Scout just beat him up because she got in trouble for defending him. Walter is not sure about going at first but then Jem tells him that their fathers are friends. Another way Jem shows compassion is when his father is talked about. Jem got so worked up about how Mrs. Dubose called Atticus trash because he was defending Tom. He did not calm down until he cut off the tops of every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose owned (137). Jem cuts up Mrs. Dubose’s camellia flowers because she called Atticus trash for defending Tom, and he did not like that. She found out and now he has to read to her every

Atticus told Scout and Jem to stay put while he was over helping with the fire and when he got back he asked them how the blanket got there if they had not moved from this place. “I looked down and found myself clutching a brown woolen blanket I was wearing around my shoulders, squaw-fashion” (95). Jem and Scout had to stand outside in front of Boo Radley’s house while Atticus helped Miss Maudie while her house was on fire. It was cold out and Boo came out without anyone knowing and put a blanket over Scout. Boo did this out of the kindness of his heart because he could have stayed in the house the whole time and watched everything happen or stayed sleeping because it was 1 o’clock in the morning. Another way Boo shows compassion is when he saves Scout and Jem’s lives. Scout could not find Jem and he was not responding, so she got up and saw this. “He was carrying Jem. Jem’s arm was dangling crazily in front of him” (352). Boo realized Scout and Jem were in trouble, so he went out and helped them. While fighting off Mr. Ewell, Boo stabbed him with a kitchen knife and killed him. Boo did not have to help Scout and Jem because him killing Mr. Ewell could have backfired on Boo and made him look bad, when all he was doing was