Tom Harpaz
Survey English, Per. 2
Mrs. Jones
11/17/17
Empathy: The Trouble of Saying Sorry
Why is it so easy to cause pain, yet so hard to say sorry? Throughout the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee conveys the message of how humans need to be empathetic in order to succeed. The story takes place in the late 1920s to early 1930s, after the Great Depression, in Maycomb, a small fictional southern town in Alabama. The story teaches about prejudice and courage in the small town, about Atticus Finch, a white lawyer who represents Tom Robinson, a wrongly-charged black man convicted of raping a white girl. Atticus’ children, Jem and Scout, slowly get to learn empathy throughout the course of the book, as they grow older and begin to understand more about their surroundings. By looking upon their father, Jem and Scout are able to get a sense of their racist society that is filled with prejudice. The kids grow older and learn how to empathize with blacks and other people that have their own opinions. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee conveys the message of how empathy helps one understand one’s surroundings better, and shows that empathizing with others is the only way to have successful relationships in life; if all of the people practice empathy, the world will be a safer and more inviting place for everyone.
To start, empathy helps people understand the world and it helps one get a better understanding of others. In order to be open to one’s ideas that may or may not be opposite to those of another, one must first think about other’s opinions. A good example of this in action is in the beginning of the book, where Scout begins to learn about empathy, and Atticus tells her that “you’ll 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” (39). Harper Lee uses the word “skin” in this conversation for several reasons. First, the “skin” could be a metaphor for what goes on inside of that person’s mind, or what he or she is thinking. What a person needs to do in order to understand others is get into another person’s thoughts. To be empathetic, one must really understand the feelings of another. Second of all, it makes it seem as if the world is so large and expansive that one needs to really focus on some small point, in this case, the “skin” of the person, and explore his or her thoughts. Skin is something that is easily found, like someone’s outside and public opinions; but what is covered by the skin, in this case a person’s personal thoughts, is what one needs to be able to comprehend. This goes to show that as a wise adult, Atticus knows that one must take up other opinions that may contradict another’s because one will get a better view of an idea or thought from that. As it says in the book, in order to understand another, one must first be considerate of his or her believes and of people’s in the surroundings. It is only then, after one has considered that point of view, that he or she will be able to succeed because the person now has a better understanding of the people around him or her. Towards the end of the novel, after growing more mature and understand other points of view, Scout “[comes] to the conclusion that people were just peculiar, I withdrew from them, and never thought about them until I was forced to” (326). Lee uses the word “peculiar” in this context because it helps explain how the world looks to Scout at a young age. In this case, “peculiar” means different than Scout, it is what is not similar to her beliefs. She believes that what she was taught at home is right, but she needs to slowly empathize with others to be able to understand that one is not “peculiar,” he or she just has different ideas. This shows that until one does not look at others in an open way, one cannot be assertive about others, nor or be able to understand others. The ability to see that one has his or her own ways is not given, rather it is taught and learned by having the skill of empathy. As Scout demonstrates throughout the book, having the capability to come to conclusions about characters and people around the world would not be possible without having empathy towards others.
To continue, empathy shows its effect on one as a person because of the mental capability it takes to enhance one’s relationships by learning from other’s morals, values, and ideas. After long arguing between Atticus and Heck Tate about Arthur Radley, Tate tells Atticus that “to [his] way of thinking, Mr. Finch, taking the one man who’s done you and this town a great service and’ dragging’ him with his shy ways into the limelight – to me that a sin” (370). The use of the word “limelight” in this context means the people of Maycomb County because Heck Tate refers to Arthur Radley in this conversation as the mockingbird, he explains how he believes that it would be a sin to kill Radley even after what he has done to Bob Ewell, killing him. Boo Radley saved Scout and Jem by protecting them from Bob Ewell, and Heck Tate wants Atticus to empathize with Radley, and understand that he did nothing wrong. Throughout the years, no one has really known anything about Arthur Radley, and in this case, the “limelight” would mean the publicity and unwanted attention that Radley will receive if his story is told. Here, Heck Tate tries to emphasize with Arthur Radley and tries to tell Atticus to be empathetic towards Radley, too, because he may be able to understand more about his surroundings if he takes Arthur Radley’s point of view into consideration. One must understand that in order to become smarter and wiser, a necessary power is being able to look at others and know what he or she feels, and what must happen in respect to those feelings. Aunt Alexandra shows empathy after she is told that Tom Robinson was shot dead. In a conversation with Miss Maudie, a friend, shortly after the news broke, she tells that “‘I can’t say I approve of everything he does, Maudie, but he’s my brother, and I just want to know when this will ever end.’ Her voice rose: ‘It tears him to pieces. He doesn’t show it much, but it tears him to pieces’” (316). Harper Lee uses the word “approve” in this conversation, which could mean that Aunt Alexandra cannot necessarily stop Atticus from doing something, but she can disagree with him. In this case, “approve” is what Aunt Alexandra uses as a phrase or word of explaining her thoughts and how they are different from Atticus’. Even though Aunt Alexandra may not agree with Atticus’ opinions about Tom Robinson or other opinions in general, she can still empathize with her brother because she is open to his ideas, and that is something that could help her later in life. In order to be successfully connected with people in one’s society, one must first take into consideration the thoughts of other ideas and build on them. In order to have good relationships, one must try to see things from another’s point of view, and could possibly benefit from the change of perspective.
Empathy is the most important skill one can practice because it grows relationships and connections with society. With healthier relationships comes the ability to understand others better. In a better society, people will be able to empathize with others, there will be no need to fear prejudice against one another, nor will anyone be turned away because of his or her ideas. While we try as people to make our society better, we must understand that empathy is crucial for success in our lives. If everyone practiced empathy, we would all feel safe, there would be no hate, and there will be a place for everyone. With empathy, we would all be more powerful, kinder, and more caring. As we all know, saying sorry is one of the hardest things to do. It is just one step towards an improved future. Empathy is that indispensable skill that we must learn to become better.