Harper Lee's novel, To Kill A Mockingbird generates empathy in readers and characters through the lessons that the children learn from and through Atticus, however it is undermined by the hypocritical viewpoints of characters. The novel is set in the 1930s during the Great Depression, in Maycomb County, told in the voice of a young girl. It follows a court trial where a black man is prosecuted for supposedly raping a white woman even though when the evidence was cross examined had raised significant questions. Although the novel is usually analysed for racial prejudice, on closer examination, the audience can see how it also addresses prejudice against gender and disability. The novel aims to create an awareness of one's own prejudices against others. …show more content…
The two part structure of the novel helps us to first build empathy for a character who is 'easier' to understand, rather than a black man. Boo is presented to us in the children's perspective, "People said he existed… People say he went out at night", the repetition involuntarily emphasising that anything that the children know about Boo is through rumours. When the children play an elaborate game imitating the lives of the Radley family, Scout tries to convince them look to stop, partially because she suspects Atticus knows what they are doing but mostly due to the fact that she heard "Someone inside the (Radley) house was laughing." Although Scout sees this as being creepy, the readers views it as an adult being amused by the children's antics. Giving us something to relate to and allowing us to see Boo's fondness of the children although they harass him rather
There are some people in this world that can truly understand, or try to understand people and their feelings. They can relate to them on some sort of level. Then there's is plenty of people in this world who have no empathy at all. They don’t feel for people or even try to understand. That's exactly why everyone should read To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The book is about a little girl named Scout and her older brother Jem, who is going through some changes as they grow older in the racist south where their father, a lawyer has a case about a black man raping a white woman. Over the course of the book, both characters grow in great measures. Their father is always teaching them in little ways what’s right/wrong, and what’s good/bad.
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in Alabama in the 1930s, and concerns itself primarily with the interrelated themes of prejudice and empathy. These themes are explored as the story follows Scout Finch as she learns lessons in empathy, ultimately rejecting prejudice. While all characters in Lee’s novel learn from their experiences, not all are able to grow in the same manner as Scout. The idea of a positive role model, typified by the character of Atticus Finch, and the ramifications of its absence, is a concept that Lee places much emphasis on. The isolated setting is also pivotal in the development of characters. Lee uses the contrast between characters that learn lessons in empathy and compassion, and characters that cling to the ideals of a small town, to explore factors that nurture or diminish prejudice.
In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, empathy is demonstrated throughout the novel. Empathy can be defined as the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. Atticus tries to explain to Jem and Scout about what he experiences and the things that are happening in Maycomb County. Several characters learn empathy and understand how they feel about certain things and understand the experiences of others. This plays a major role in the novel.
In the beginning of the story, Boo represents the unknown. The children wonder about Boo and his strange way of life, but really have no concept of who he is. At first, the children ask questions about Boo with regards to his "weird" living style. When this does not satisfy their curiosities, they make up games and stories about Boo which present him as being a monster. At one point, the children invade the Radley property in hopes of finding some clue which will better explain Boo's character
They want to get to know him as he leaves them surprises in the tree, and even saves Jem’s life (Best). Finally, Scout decided to put herself in Boo Radley’s shoes. She began to see the view from his side. Kasper says, “Scout at last begins to see Boo Radley as a human being.” (Kasper).
Another very crucial point to the overall story is the mutual fascination between the children and Boo Radley (Arthur Radley). Boo constantly leaves objects (a watch, two soap dolls, a knife…etc) in the hollow of a tree on his property. Just as Boo does this, the children are constantly devising plans to look in the windows of the Radley house, to sneak into the back yard…etc. This was largely important to the story because it built upon the viewer’s opinion of the children, leading us to believe them having large capacity for imagination from their stories on Boo eating only squirrels and any cats he can get his hands on, and having them believe the stories as well! And all of these instances, the children’s stories, the fact that Boo never comes out of his house in sight of others, the stories of others concerning the Radley’s, the gifts in the tree hollow, lead us to believe Boo to be some sort of...
It is valuable to understand someone’s point of view. Scout detects Boo Radley is doing the troublesome work to become their friends and he is not greedy. At first, Scout’s judgement about Boo was that he was mean and intimidating when she heard the gossip about him stabbing his father in the leg with scissors. She feels anxious because the horrifying rumors made her feel insecure.
Empathy is one of the greatest powers that a human being can ever hope to achieve; one person being able to understand the inner-workings of another is something truly amazing. However, empathy isn’t something that one is always naturally able to accomplish; in fact, it usually takes a long time for one to develop any empathy at all. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, the reader follows Scout Finch as she experiences her youth in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. In this story, we experience her empathy for others as it increases or decreases. Though there are many examples of these alterations in Scout’s relationships, there is one that is both prominent and more complex than a few others; her relationship with her aunt, Alexandra. There are three specific instances in which we can track the progression of Scout’s empathy towards her aunt; meeting Aunt Alexandra, Scout wanting to invite Walter Cunningham over, and the assault by Bob Ewell of Scout and Jem.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the children develop a relationship with Boo (Arthur) Radley and it is important because they learn lessons about not judging someone without looking at things from someone else’s point of view. In the beginning, the children only knew what they had been told about Boo. Then, they start to have more interactions with Boo. Finally, when Scout meets Boo. First of all, the children have not talked to or seen Boo yet because he never goes outside.
In To Kill A Mockingbird , Harper Lee describes the life of the Finch family and the society they revolve in. It shows how people in Maycomb County denigrated each other depending on their different viewpoints . It portraits different point of views from racist(Aunt Alexandra and Bob Ewell) to pacifist(Atticus and his kids).She shows that if you have empathy than you can understand the whole story of someone because it is necessary to know what the other is going through, just that in real life it is tough to get in someone's skin because you need to have background knowledge to be right because were are not perfect, just like Scout in the end of the book she looks at the world from Boo’s perspective . In Maycomb county 1960 society, it is crucial for some people to understand the circumstances others encounter , but this is extremely rare for that to happen, since the people possess a selfish mind and a minor amount of care towards each
This demonstrates that Scout realizes what Boo had been through for the past few years. This led to her understanding why Boo Radley liked to stay locked up in his home and be isolated from the rest of the world. At this moment, Scout understood that he
In the town of Maycomb, innocent recluse, Boo Arthur Radley is injured by the evil and separated from interacting with the outer world. In the beginning of the story, the children assumes Boo is evil because Radley’s such awful past. The children imitate and exaggerate Boo’s character in their play. “Give me those scissors,” said Atticus. “They’re no things to play with. Does this by any chance have anything to do with the Radleys?” This scene clearly shows that the children are imitating Boo’s character in a play to get a sense what he is really like. They are being disrespectful to Boo even though Boo is actually innocent and cares about children. In the beginning of the story, the children are fascinated by Boo’s assumed character and want to have a chance to see him. They try many different tactics to get a glimpse of him. “Why do you want Mr. Radley to come out?” Dill said , ...
To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee's only novel, is a fictional story of racial oppression, set in Maycomb, A.L. in 1925 to 1935, loosely based on the events of the Scottsboro trials. Unlike the story however, the racial discrimination and oppression in the novel very accurately portrays what it was like in the 1920's and 1930's in the south. Tom Robinson, the black man accused of raping a poor low class white girl of 19, never stood a chance of getting a fair trial. This can be supported by giving examples of racially discriminatory and oppressive events that actually took place in the south during the time period in which the novel is based. In addition to actual historical events, events and examples from the book that clearly illustrate the overpoweringly high levels of prejudice that were intertwined in the everyday thinking of the majority of the characters in the book supports the fact that Tom Robinson never stood a chance of getting a fair trial.
As the novel progresses, the children’s perspective towards Boo Radley matures and this replicates the development of the children. Boo Radley was once an intelligent child, only to be ruined by his cruel father, one of the most important mockingbirds as his innocence was destroyed. Luckily for Jem and Scout, Boo was merely a source of childhood superstition, often leaving presents for them.