Compassion does not only have an effect on emotions, but futures of people as well. Ultimately compassion shows a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for someone. Harper Lee characterized the act of sympathy through Atticus’ life raising children. Atticus’ act of living as a calm man showed Jem and Scout how they should continue to live their lives. His goal in life depicted instilling his children to have a strong sense of morality and justice. He did every thing he could to use kindness as a galvanizer for his kid’s lives. Similar to God and how he extends his grace unto those who love him for all the days of their life. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus showed compassion towards his kids, parallel to how God uses compassion to his children. …show more content…
Scout and Jem being close in age were very close as siblings, since they only had a father to rely on in life. Atticus displayed how difficult it was to be a single father, especially dealing with the Great Depression and racism issues. Throughout his children’s lives he often finds teaching point in every thing they go through. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee 31). This applies to the issue of judging and Atticus wants his children to know that one does not know what someone experiences in their life. Unless, the person climbs into the others skin, therefore judging does not benefit others. The little aspects of life improve the way Jem and Scout live their
Scout and Jem’s decisions were impacted greatly by how much Atticus has taught them. The methods he uses to bring them up are differ greatly, and give his children a very different set of beliefs than the majority of the people of Maycomb. For example, he teaches them about empathy, a ‘skill’ that much of the community does not know. “You can never really understand a person... until you climb into their skin and walk around in it” (39). Atticus teaches his kids how to empathize with someone, giving them an ideal to live by. As a child grows up, a lot of times they inherit their parent’s belief system as well. He will continue his open-,minded accepting attitude into his children, and their future decisions will be affected greatly by Atticus’s
Many people see Atticus’ teachings or method for upbringing as being ‘wrong’, nonetheless little do they know what the outcomes the kids are having. Having people like Atticus and Calpurnia quite involved in their lives, even people like Aunt Alexandra help to build a sense of morality. These morals are built around who and what they are exposed to, and as Jem and Scout grow up, they seem to learn more about the world and about how people aren’t always as good as they thought that they were. However they also realise that most people are good. This is what they learn to realise not everything is as it seems or made out to be. A classic example is Boo Radley. To the kids, he was made out to be a terrible person, when ironically he was the one that saved them from evil. Arguably this wouldn’t have been possible or have happened if Atticus hadn’t given the kids as much freedom as they had, and then the kids would have still been numb to the idea of questioning things and would have just taken someone’s word for
Sympathy is understanding between people as well as sharing a common feeling for one another. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. (Lee 39)” Atticus defines sympathy by saying: “Consider things from his point of view.” Throughout To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus shows Jem and Scout that you can get along with everyone if you sympathize with them, not for them. The novel follows the young kids, Jem and Scout as they mature during a time of the Great Depression in a small town called Maycomb, in Alabama. Throughout this time, as they grow as people they learn important lessons
1) Atticus is an empathetic person who tries to make sure people are treated equally, and in the case of his children, that people should grow up and make a positive difference. Atticus shows his empathy by telling Scout to try to understand what Miss Caroline is going through. Harper Lee is trying to show that with empathy, everyone benefits, and there would be less hate and injustice. Atticus says, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (Lee 39). Atticus is telling Scout to look at the world through Miss Caroline’s eyes, to see why Miss Caroline reacts the way that she does. Atticus believes that if Scout can see how scared Miss Caroline is, with teaching a new school in a new way, then Scout can understand what makes Miss Caroline act the way that she does. When Scout asks Atticus why he is angering the town by defending Tom Robinson, he says that he must, or else he would no longer be reputable. Atticus says, “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.” (Lee 101) Atticus leads by example, and that if he did not hold himself to the same standard that he wants Scout and Jem to be at, then he is no better than the rest of the town. He knows that he is going to lose, but wants to show his children that it is important to do the right thing no matter the consequences or result, and
In this lesson Atticus teaches Scout that you must understand where someone comes from in order to show true sympathy and compassion. Now before Scout judges someone she steps into their shoes. Allowing her to show compassion towards that person and many more. She has learned that the most compassion you can give someone is sympathy and understanding. Jem also learned these lessons but through experiences and challenges he had to face and go through.
When you stand in another's shoes it help you understand the world in a different way and allows you to help others. It also allow to feel compassion and empathy for them. The book “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee has many cases where characters are forced to stand in others shoes and feel compassion for them. To stand in another shoes will help you understand them better.Atticus teaches Scout empathy through fatherly courtroom tactics. "First of all," he said, "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 consider things from his point of view ... until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." The meaning of the above quote is the importance
Atticus is a wise father and helps his children accept people no matter how they look or act. This is evident when he says “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.” (Lee 33). Throughout the novel, Jem and Scout mature at different paces. Atticus guides his children as they begin to grow and mature. “It ain’t right, Atticus,” said Jem.” “No son, It’s not right.” (Lee 243). When Atticus lost the case, Jem expressed how he felt. He had tears on his face. Here was a turning point for Jem because he was old enough to understand the case. Atticus comforted him and agreed it was not right. Atticus shows affection towards his children when they saved him from trouble with “the mob”. “As they passed under a streetlight, Atticus reached out and massaged Jem’s hair, his one gesture of affection.” (Lee 176). At first, Atticus may have been frustrated with his children being at the office. Then, their innocence saved him. Atticus has many characteristics and is a loving father. Atticus displays a valuable lesson about equality and fairness for his children.
Doing this helped Jim to realize that there is more to a person than what’s visible and to look at things from their perspective before judging them. As a result, later on in the book Jem stops Scout from killing a roly
In conclusion, To Kill A Mockingbird has many examples of how characters show empathy to other characters. In this novel, one of the main themes or lessons Lee tries to teach the reader is empathy for others. To judge a person, you must walk in his “shoes” or “skin”. Throughout the novel, Atticus, Jem and Scout Finch mature and start showing empathy more and more and to more and more people. If it weren’t for empathy, no one would have defended Tom Robinson. A wise person told me many of our lawyers today as kids they decided to be lawyers because of Atticus Finch’s heroic
In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Lee evokes compassion in the audience to help them better understand the world and take action. In my opinion, authors can best evoke compassion or empathy in their audience by developing strong characters that experience conflicts. This can be seen in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and “Statement on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.”. It is first shown in the book when Atticus is given Tom Robinson’s trial, and then again when Ms. Dubose overcomes her addiction to morphine. It is also proved in “Statement on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.” when Robert F. Kennedy states that Martin Luther King, Jr. has been murdered.
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view— until you climb in his skin and walk around in it,” says Atticus Finch. This iconic quote from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird highlights the compassion for others that shows up several times in the story. Empathy is a prevalent theme in To Kill a Mockingbird and is displayed by several characters. Atticus Finch is one of the most compassionate characters. He sets an example for his kids, who also learn to empathize. Several other characters besides the Finch family show compassion for each other. The title of the novel itself symbolizes empathy for the innocent and accentuates the role of compassion in this novel.
How can a story brimming with racism and resentment also be filled with compassion? Although the world is filled with people who do appalling things, there are still some out there who practice generosity and lead by example. In To Kill a Mockingbird, these people are characters like Scout, Atticus, or Tom. Throughout the novel, these characters and more take action to show humanity in circumstances that they don’t have to, and add a layer of compassion to the theme. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the actions of Maycomb County citizens during the harsh times of the 1930’s show that any given person, regardless of race or societal status, should be worthy of compassion. These principles are demonstrated in the story by the Cunninghams, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson.
Empathy can be defined as making a connection to someone during a situation. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, empathy is a main part in some of the characters’ lives. Without empathy, the novel would lack many components that make the main characters, Jem and Scout, who they are.
As Scout begins to consider people?s opinions about prejudicial behavior she soon feels obligated to understand these racial judgments. Scout, being the curious and forthright girl she is, feels that only way to do so is by interrogating these estimations. ?As Atticus had once advised me to do, I tried to climb into Jem?s skin and walk around in it? (57). At this specific point in the novel, it is clear that Scout has learned a valuable lesson. The social lesson accomplished is never to judge anyone before determining their past experiences or hardships. Not only Scout?s social well-being, but her mental and emotional well-being progress extensively throughout the events of the novel. This is clearly defined by the following quote. ?Atticus had promised me he would wear me out if he ever heard of me fighting anymore, I was far too old and too big for such childish things, and the sooner I learned to hold it in, the better off everybody would be?(74). The quote stated by Scout proves that she is willing to mature at such a crucial time as the trial. She discovers that it is more important for Atticus to
Atticus is compassionate, this allows him to sympathize and forgive. Furthermore, He tries to incorporate this trait into his children. An example of him demonstrating this is when he talks to Scout about school. “You’ll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”(30). this quote demonstrates compassion from Atticus because he explains to scout that everyone thinks and feels differently. Also, he tries to help Scout because she did not want to go to school anymore. One of the reasons is because she did not understand why Miss Caroline did not allow her to read at home. Scout use this compassionate quotes from Atticus to realize Miss Caroline felt mad because her knowing how to read was not a part of Miss Caroline's plan to teach the kids. Another example of Atticus