The Presentation Of Compassion In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird there are three instances that are lacking the presents of compassion. First, Scout and her teacher, then Tom Robinson and the jury, lastly Mayella Ewell and her father. In the second chapter Scout goes to her first day of first grade. Her teacher, miss Caroline, is new to the school. This is also her first year teaching. Miss Caroline, because she is new, has an odd way of teaching. She does not want the children to already know how to read. Atticus (Scout 's’ father) has already taught Scout to read. Scout is sure to let the teacher know this. “Now you tell your father notot teach you anymore. It’s best to began reading with a fresh mind. You tell him I’ll ktake oiver from here and try to undo the damage-

This man was named Tom Robbins. This was not at all true, but back in the 1930s white man’s word was over black man’s word every time. Mayella’s father caught the two of them inside the house. Bob Ewell, her father, beat her and called her terrible names. He even told Mayella he would kill her. She was all alone; her mother died and her father was drunk all the time. She was always alone in her house with no freinds or even someone to love her. Mr. Bob showed no commpasson to Mayella. All she wanted was love and attention. Tom Robbinsion shpwed her a hint of that with his freindship. latstly , and most imposrtantly, the juryy should have shown compassion to Tom Robbinson. The jury was made up of all white people. They knew how poor and low the Ewell’s were but, as much as the hated the Ewells they hated Tom , and all black men, even more. The cases makes it very clear that Mr. Robinson had not raped Mayella. In fact he had not even beaten her. It was her father who had given her the wounds for being with the black man. The jury was biased to Mr. Tom Robinson and the found him guilty of a crim he had not even commited.

The novel would have gone a complete different direction if only the charecters showed more compassion. From the small things like Scouts opionion of school. To the major things like a man spending his life in prison for a crime he did not even commit. This just goes toshow you the