To Kill A Mockingbird Empathy Analysis

Empathy, the ability to put yourself in another person’s position, is a key factor in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone elses shoes and know what they are feeling. As Atticus puts it, “You 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). This quote is told to Scout when she does not want to go to school. But, it can be used as a guide throughout the book. Since many boundaries are stretched, a number of characters in this book show varying degrees of empathy. The racism boundary is one of great importance, because a black man, Tom Robinson, seems innocent, but could still be convicted because of the color of his skin. Loyalty is also a key factor in empathy. Many characters stay true to who they are, even if the going gets tough. Miss Maudie, Jem, and Atticus all have empathy in some sections or in the entirety of To Kill a Mockingbird in their own unique ways.
Miss Maudie is empathetic to many of the townspeople, especially Boo Radley, whom she calls by his formal name of Arthur Radley, which shows she respects him and his name. The name Boo Radley symbolises the horrible human being most people believe lives in the Radley house. But, when she calls him Arthur, he sounds like
One of To Kill a Mockingbird’s themes, if not the largest, is empathy. Every character has empathy at some point in the book. Some characters have more empathy than others, such as Miss Maudie, Jem, and Atticus. Miss Maudie not only teaches, but shows the children the ways of empathy. Jem did not have a big heart at first, but as the plot went along, he had the most empathy next to Atticus. Atticus is by far the most empathetic character in the book leading by example. The book also has others. Empathy is all