Courage and Empathy in To Kill A Mockingbird Essay

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee teaches us about courage and empathy through events, characters and their actions. The novel is about Jem and Scout Finch and their childhood in the south of America. Their town is overturned when a Negro is charged with the rape of a white girl. Their father, a lawyer, is called to defend him. The statement To Kill a Mockingbirdteaches us about courage, and more importantly, empathy aptly describes some of the main themes and is correct in saying that empathy is more important than courage. This is particularly important in the context of the 1930s, because it was rare for white people to empathise with black people. Empathy is a step more than courage, and is being able to feel what others feel and to put yourself in their position. Atticus displaying and teaching empathy in the instance of Mrs Dubose, Tom Robinson and Dill crying at the trial are all examples of these qualities.

Atticus, Jem and Scouts father, teaches the children about empathy. You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them is one thing he says to Scout to teach her about understanding how people feel. Another example of Atticus being empathetic and teaching empathy is through Mrs Dubose. Mrs Dubose was an old lady who lived on their street. She was very sick and a morphine addict. One day Jem and Scout walk past her house and she insults them and calls their father A Finchin the courthouse lawing for niggers! This makes Jem so mad that he ruin Mrs Duboses flowers. As punishment Atticus makes Jem read to her, even though he knows what was said about him. This shows that Atticus has empathy because he is able to understand what Mrs Dubose is going through, and also why she says what she does; considering is was bout him. Atticus is one of the most integral and likeable characters in the text and him, being one of the most empathetic characters in the novel, shows that the lesson of empathy is more important than the lesson of courage.

To Kill a Mockingbird also teaches us about the quality of courage. The most obvious example of this is Tom Robinson during the trial. Tom Robinson was a Negro man who was wrongly convicted of the rape of a white female. Tom Robinson, being black, was looked down upon by the wider community, because of the prejudice which was deeply ingrained in the society. Tom knows that he will lose the case simply because he is a black person putting his word against a whites. However, this does not stop him from testifying and saying what actually happened. Atticus sums up this type of courage when he says real courage iswhen you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway he said this in relation to Mrs Dubose but it most definitely applies in this situation. Tom Robinsons courage at the trial and throughout the novel is an example of how courage is taught about in To Kill a Mockingbird.

Children and their innocence is a strong theme throughout the novel. The notion that, because children are innocent, they can be empathetic more easily as they are unaffected by ideas and values of others, is a strong subtext in To Kill a Mockingbird. An example of this is Jem and Scouts friend Dill crying at the injustice at Tom Robinsons trial. Dill can empathise with Tom at the desperation of the situation and the frustration Tom must be feeling. Atticus describes this innocence and empathy when he says and when they do it - seems that only the children weep. This shows that empathy is more important in the novel than courage is because it is an emotion that only certain people can possess.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee teaches us about courage, and more importantly empathy through characterisation, characters actions and events in the novel. Examples of these are Atticus being empathic towards Mrs Dubose and teaching it to his children, Tom Robinson and the trial and Dill crying at the injustices. I believe that the empathy taught, is more important than the courage, as it is a step further and it is being able to put yourself into the position of another.