Topic sentence…………… something about lack of empathy in today’s society important as book teaches why it is an important skill to have. Often nowadays people tend to ignore the feelings of others, so this novel is an amazing reminder on why empathy is so crucial in life. In the book Atticus enforces this message strongly onto his kids, which also comes across to Harper Lee’s readers. When Bob Ewell is frustrated after the trial and takes his anger out on Atticus, Atticus completely puts himself in Bob’s shoes and states to his son “I destroyed his last shred of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with. The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kinds always does. So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take.” (Lee 292-293) Even after all the horrible acts, such as spitting in his face (Lee 290) towards Atticus, Atticus is able to remain a positive outlook and understand how Bob must be feeling to justify his actions.
Former President Barack Obama had stated, “It’s the lack of empathy that makes it very easy for us to plunge into wars.” Obama infers that when people lose empathy, they lose the ability to understand others, which is a key emotion that helps people interact. His message connects to Marxism, a literary theory involving an imbalance of power. In the story “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, the characters’ experiences prove the reader of the significance a lack of empathy causes to the balance of power. An application of Marxism reveals that an imbalance of authoritative power is caused by a lack of empathy.
Empathy is a quality difficult to attain. Not many people can really look through the eyes of someone else most of us are sympathetic. Empathy is almost a rare feeling how often are you going to feel empathy for the syrian refugees or children in Africa? It’s hard to feel empathy for things that we haven't experienced. But in every bundle of people their is an Atticus Finch. The book To Kill A Mockingbird, is about social issues through the eyes of a little girl, Scout finch. The book takes place in the dead town of Macomb county where life is so boring the main source of entertainment to the youth and elderly is the mysterious family the Radleys. The Radleys live in a creepy house with all sorts of legends the son, Boo Radley gets specific attention for not leaving the house, rumors of him are told such as, he’s a killer who roams the night and eats cats when in reality he is just a victim to an
Individuality means the quality or character of a particular person or thing that distinguishes them from others of the same kind. Independence means freedom from control, influence, support, aid, or the like, of others ("The Definition Of Independence"). Within the three texts that I chose for my project, a person can see many examples of individuality; including Scout from To Kill A Mockingbird, Lily Owens from The Secret Life of Bees, and from the character A in Every Day. All of these characters show that fear can only limit your potential if you allow it to. They also show that to become an individual one must develop independence, and not follow the influence of others.
As the hero of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch has an unorthodox outlook on racism. He says, “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it— whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.” (252). This outlook allows him to approach the obstacles that come with a trial of a black man vs a white woman. Harper Lee, the author of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, worked on revisions for 2.5 years on the novel before it was published in 1960. Many events and characteristics in the novel are real memories experienced by Harper Lee. Scout Finch’s character
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.
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. Also, the idea that authors build well developed characters to bring about a deeper understanding is shown through the poem Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar. In this poem, the speaker explains of being trapped in the things that society says about him. Through these texts, it is evident that authors can best create empathy in their readers by developing great characters because when characters go through daily events that are challenging and troublesome, the readers are able to relate and understand what they are going through or we are able to learn from their experiences and influence us to adjust our lifestyles.
So·cial jus·tice, noun, 1. justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. 2."individuality gives way to the struggle for social justice.” (Google Search). Social Justice is a term used to justify the equality in the world; equality of race, equality of gender, equality of religion, of age, of background; equality of all people not dependent on any outside factor, but of the people themselves. One of the most recognizable forms of social justice is the character of Atticus Finch in the 1930’s setting of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird. In To KIll a Mockingbird, the author, Harper Lee’s ideas on social justice are revealed through detailed representations of wisdom, loyalty, and selflessness
Without compassion the world would be a dark place, there would be no such thing as love and there would be no one to lend a helping hand. Even in society today, people approach situations with no compassion, humans discriminate against others because of differences in color or appearances. In the book "To Kill a Mockingbird" the author, Harper Lee, writes about a town that shows no compassion towards people of color even when there are lives at risk. In the book, we learn that "[you 'll] never understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."(Lee 30) All members of the Finch family show compassion towards others in the book "To Kill a Mockingbird", Scout shows compassion
Atticus displays compassion for others far more than any of the other characters in the novel. Atticus has so much compassion that in fact he is able to teach his own children how to love and respect others. Atticus shows his compassion when he is being called names during the trial, choosing to be kind to those who ridicule him, and to the innocent Tom Robinson. Without Atticus having his compassion, the other characters in the novel will never grow and learn to
This quote relates to morality because it portrays how society was like several years ago. Morality is the ability to decipher what’s right and wrong to establish the truth. For instance, racism took a huge part in the county as many white citizens bestride over the negroes to show power. During the case with Tom Robinson, Atticus was able to provide substantial evidence to prove that Tom Robinson was not guilty regardless of what the other witnesses had said. However, since the jury consisted primarily of white race, the final verdict was announced as guilty. This shows how even though it was obvious that Tom would’ve won the case, it isn’t fair that they determined this by categorizing their race. It shows morality when Atticus acknowledges the fact that they are living in a racist world where the innocent could potentially be punished for an act that they did not commit to.
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.
threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and I’d rather it be me than that houseful of children out there. You understand?” (249)
First, Atticus takes the perspective of Scout’s school teacher, Miss Caroline. When Scout comes home from her first day of school, she complains about Miss Caroline penalizing her for her ability to read. Instead of becoming enraged, Atticus takes the perspective of Miss Caroline and explains to Scout the difficulties her teacher faces when stepping into a foreign community. He states: “First of all, if you can learn a simple trick Scout, you’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you understand things from their point of view- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”(39) This advice summarizes Atticus’s approach to people. His ability to interpret other people’s views makes him an extremely righteous character. Another example of Atticus’s empathy reflects in his reaction to Bob Ewell’s threats. Atticus realizes Bob Ewell's determination to retaliate on him for defending an African American during the trial. However, Atticus still sincerely understands Bob Ewell's perspective and attempts to find goodness in it. After Jem asks for Atticus's reasoning regarding his forgiveness of Bob, Atticus points out: "Jem, if you can stand in Bob Ewell's shoes a minute. I destroyed his last bit of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with. The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always does..."(292) Atticus’s explanation indicates his acceptance toward anyone, no matter the circumstance. It also proves his ability to understand the point of view of others. Atticus uses great insight to show compassion, though it could mean defending his enemies. Empathy defines Atticus as a person and distinguishes him from countless other