How Characters In To Kill A Mockingbird Show That Empathy Is At The Heart Of Moral Behavior
Empathy is at the heart of moral behavior, and moral behavior forms a sturdy foundation for Harper Lee’s famous book, To Kill A Mockingbird. Some may believe that the characters in To Kill A Mockingbird are the opposite of empathetic because of some of their sexist, racist, and classist comments. Contrary to this belief, Harper Lee’s characters are incredibly kind and empathetic. Many of Harper Lee’s characters started the book unable to empathize, but they grow and mature into good people that can empathize and make moral decisions. Jem and Scout are a great- tremendous example. At the beginning of the book, Jem and Scout cannot empathize and do not feel for anyone. When Atticus, their father, teaches them to empathize, and they learn through the horrible experiences that they endure, they transition into very empathetic people. Three characters in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird demonstrate that empathy is at the heart of moral behavior.
The first character in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird who demonstrates that empathy is at the heart of moral behavior is Atticus. Throughout the book, Atticus exhibits empathy in even the toughest times. For example, when Tom gets convicted of rape, Atticus steps in and takes the case. Atticus feels that, had he not taken the case, he would disappoint his kids, the town, and himself. Atticus wanted to be moral, and he shows it by empathizing with Tom and doing his best to prove him innocent, even against social norms. Atticus also empathizes with Mrs. Dubose when her ferns get destroyed by Jem. Atticus tells Jem to empathize with her and do the moral thing, read to her, as she asked him to. Atticus shows this when he says, “Easy does it son, she’s an old lady and she’s ill. You must hold your head high and be a gentleman. Whatever she says to you, it’s your job not to let her make you mad.” (115) Finally, towards the end of the novel, Bob Ewell Threatens Atticus with hurting him. Atticus tries to empathize with him; however, he ends up empathizing with Mr. Ewell too much.(I;ca,I)Atticus believes that he is just blowing off steam, and is not mad. Later, Bob Ewell tries to kill Jem and Scout. Atticus tried to give Mr. Ewell a second chance and tried to empathize with him. Atticus didn’t want to get Mr. Ewell in trouble, so he did the moral thing, and just ignored the threat. Despite this moral action, Bob Ewell still attempted to murder Jem and Scout. Atticus does his best to empathize and make moral decisions and is able to effectively do so.
. The second character in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird who demonstrates that empathy is at the heart of moral behavior is Scout. Throughout the book, scout grows- matures into an incredibly empathetic person.(D,I) Scout grows and develops through her experiences throughout the story. She starts out not being an empathetic person, and at the end, she is one of the most empathetic characters in the book. One great example of this change is at the end of the book when Scout finds out that a Cunningham was on the jury for the trial. Realizing what lovely people the Cunninghams are, Scout empathizes with Walter.(Verbal Phrase) Scout states that she would like to have Walter over sometime for lunch, and is extremely offended when aunt Alexandra calls the Cunninghams “trash.” Scout says, “Soon’s school starts I’m gonna ask Walter home to dinner, he can stay over sometimes after school, too… Maybe he could spend the night with us sometime.” (255) Furthermore, Scout Empathizes for Tom and his family when he dies. Scout cannot stop shaking, and it is hard for her to pull herself together when she finds out that Tom has been killed.(ID) In chapter 24, Lee writes, “I found myself shaking and couldn’t stop. I had seen the Enfield prison farm, and Atticus had pointed out the exercise yard to me, it was the size of a football field.” (270) This shows how lousy Scout felt when she stepped in Tom’s shoes, and empathize with him. The way Scout reacts to tragedy proves what a moral person she is.
The final character in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird who demonstrates that empathy is at the heart of moral behavior is Jem. At the end of the trial, Jem could not believe the outcome. He found it hard to comprehend that a jury would find a man guilty just because of the color of his skin. He empathizes with Tom and keeps saying that the outcome is not right. He says that, if he were on the jury, he would not convict Tom. He finds it crazy that a jury could discriminate like that. Jem is exhibiting moral behavior and is right in criticizing the jury’s decision. Furthermore, Jem empathizes with Atticus and is worried about him when Mr. Ewell threatens him. When Mr. Ewell threatens Atticus, he does not tell anyone, because he does not think that it is a big deal. Jem overhears someone say it and tells Scout. Scout and Jem begin to worry about Atticus. Jem states how concerned he is about Atticus, and he even tries to convince him to buy a gun for protection.(I,ccI) Jem wants his father to be safe, and help him by being moral. Jem is a very moral character in the book, and even helps Scout learn to be empathetic.
It is important- crucial to know that empathy is at the heart of moral behavior because being able to empathize with people, and making moral choices are critical life skills. Atticus, Scout, and Jem all flawlessly exhibit morality and empathy in the best ways possible. They all grow and improve over the course of the book, especially Scout and Jem, and they end up being very moral and empathetic people. People do not need to go through traumatic experiences to become more empathetic like Scout and Jem, but people do have to learn from their experiences and learn to step into someone’s shoes and walk around in them to fully understand what that person is thinking. Empathy and morality are significant for life, and humans can only truly appreciate the people around them if they have this skill. Exhibiting moral behavior is always the right thing to do under any circumstances, and can usually improve a bad situation. If people are unable to be moral, they will be faced with challenges that they would not typically have. Empathy is the bricks by which good people are made.
Works Cited
Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird. Grand Central Publishing, 1960.
