To Kill A Mockingbird Critical Lens Essay

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view.” (Lee, 39). Authors have the power to show us others point of view, they can put us in their shoes. Literature teaches empathy, gives us a deeper look at things. To Kill a Mockingbird and “A Bronzeville Mother Loiters in Mississippi. Meanwhile a Mississippi Mother Burns Bacon” shows us things very differently than what we initially thought it would was. Things aren’t always what they seem, the truth is mostly being overshadowed by what others want it to be.

Authors can show us characters that are looked down upon because people believe that they’ve done wrong but in reality they are actually good people with good intentions. In To Kill a Mockingbird
Mayella Ewell, from To Kill a Mockingbird, accuses Tom Robinson of rape and assault, which was a lie. The only thing he did wrong was help Mayella, who was lonely and abused by her father. When she met Tom, he was nice to her. She develops feeling for him and tried to kiss him, she was caught by her father, Bob Ewell. Although what Mayella did was wrong and cost the Robinsons family Tom’s life, we feel empathy for her because she was lonely and no one was ever nice to her. Similarly Carolyn Bryant accuses Emmett Till of things he didn’t do, just to get her husband’s attention. She thought her husband was her knight in shining armor and she was his damsel in distress “By the Dark Villain. Rescued by the Fine Prince.” (Brooks, 8) She thought her husband saved her from the villain of her story, Emmett Till. Later in the poem she realizes that Emmett isn’t the villain but her husband is, that he wasn’t the hero she thought he was. Her bad deeds would probably haunt her forever but we see her side of the story and understand why she did the things she did. People that do bad things might not always mean harm but seeing their take on things does help understand