In her novel To kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee writes about the story of a man and his children, a trial of rape between an African American man, and a white woman unfolds. “You never really understand a person until you consider things form his point of view-until you climb into his skin and walk around in it. ” (Atticus 30) This means that the author is trying to say you should not judge somebody until you know what they are going through. The author describes this purpose so well that people today are saying the same thing.
There comes a time when everybody has to be empathetic at some point whether it is from a teaching by their parents or something else. This essay will be about how Atticus is empathetic. The best realistic fiction always seems believable and logical within the context of the story line. This certainly is true in To Kill a Mockingbird. When Atticus says “There’s a lot of ugly things in this world, son. I wish I could keep ‘em all away from you. That’s never possible. ” (Atticus) This quote shows that Atticus wants to keep Jem away from the ugly things in life. He wants his son to be a good man in life so he does not end up like Bob Ewell.
His son did not follow what he said very closely because he went to the trial for Tom Robinson and Bob Ewell, but he did learn what a good and bad man was from the trial. This quote shows that Atticus was being empathetic and that he wanted his son to be innocent for as long as he could. Another quote of Atticus showing empathy is “I have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief of witness for the state. She is the victim of cruel poverty and ignorance. ” (Atticus) This happens during the trial of rape and he is referring to Mayella as the chief witness of state.
This shows that Atticus is showing empathy for her because he still feels as if she is one to be pitied. Just like Atticus told scout to walk in someone else’s shoes before judging I also had a problem of my own. A few years back I had to get dressed for church the day before Christmas. My mother wanted me to wear a sweater that was very itchy and uncomfortable. I wanted to wear a regular t-shirt. This argument lasted for a while and we were running out of time before church started. My mom eventually won and got me to wear the sweater, but I was still kind of angry.
From that experience I learned that my mom just wanted me to look nice and make a good impression. Form her perspective she was pretty angry as was I. she was probably even stressed out because we were running out of time before church started, and I was holding everyone back. If I would have realized all of this back than I would have worn the sweater with much less resistance against her. I would still have expressed my opinion but not turn it into an argument. What Atticus said to Scout was very important and could have ended that argument a long time ago.
Atticus was a great and passionate man. He stood up for what he believed in and did not let anyone persuade him otherwise. Just like when the mob came to the jail and threatened him to not go through with the trial. He was very empathetic and said some great quotes that would last through the ages. In my opinion I think that he was the best character in the book and taught his children some good lessons. Those are some quotes about why Atticus is empathetic and a story of my own. Just as id did you could use some of Atticus’ quotes to end an argument of your own.
