Discovering Empathy: Walking in Others’ Shoes in “To Kill a Mockingbird” and Eminem’s “Beautiful”

But you would have to walk a thousand miles in my shoes, just to see what its like to be me. Ill be you, lets trade shoes just to see what itd be like. To feel your pain, you feel mine. Go inside each others eyes, just to see what we would find looking stuff through each others eyes. This small, but powerful chorus from the song Beautiful by Eminem mirrors the trait learned by a small child in Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird. The narrator of this complex novel is a small, 6 year old girl named Jean Louis Finch, Scout. Scout learns many morals but none as significant as empathy. Empathy is a skill people learn throughout their lives. It is the trait that allows someone to look at things from other peoples point of view. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, there is multiple times where Scout tries to put herself in other peoples shoes to try and see things from a different perspective.

Like everyone, Scout has to start somewhere on her journey to having an empathetic mindset. At the beginning of the novel Scout has a closed mind and doesnt see where people are coming from. Scout is mad at her caretaker Calpurnia and says this I told Calpurnia to just wait, I'd fix her: one of these days when she wasn't looking I'd go off and drown myself in Barker's Eddy and then she'd be sorry. Besides, I added, she'd already gotten me in trouble once today: she had taught me to write and it was all her fault (33). Scout is blind at first to see why Calpurnia tells her to be nice to her company. Scout does not see that people are only trying to help her, not just to tell her what to do. Scout needs to try to see things through the eyes of those people like Calpurnia, in order to see why they are saying what they are saying. This simple accomplishment would make Scout a more understanding and respectful young lady.

People do not just acquire a trait; they have to learn it first. Scout, who could not see others points of view, needs to learn the valuable moral of empathy. She is angry at her teacher and does not include that the teacher is new to town in her grudge. Atticus tells Scout 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). Atticus, who is a highly intelligent lawyer and Scouts father, knows why it is important to show empathy towards other people. Scout has tremendous respect for Atticus, and although this new idea made no sense to her, she tried it anyways.

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Scout is a very observant young girl and watches her father quite closely. Her father is quite good at walking in peoples shoes. Atticus was spit on and threatened by Mr. Ewell after the Tom Robinson trial. Atticus was very calm and simply wiped it off. Atticus told his children see if you can stand in Bob Ewells shoes a minute. I destroyed his last shred of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with. The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always does (292). Atticus sets a perfect example for his children for not retaliating, but also for showing them how he too walks in others shoes. This act of empathy was a perfect example of why he told Scout to walk in other peoples skin. Scout is lucky to have a father who teaches her such great things, and that cares for her daughter to grow up to be an understanding individual.

As Atticus had advised Scout to do, Scout tried the new moral that her father had taught her. Scout and Jem had recently tried one last attempt to see Boo Radley, the town outcast, and were caught in the act. The children escaped but Jems pants got caught on the fence so he left them. That night Jem went back for them, got them, and returned home silent. Scout was curious but decided As Atticus had once advised me to do, I tried to climb into Jems skin and walk around in it: if I had gone alone to the Radley Place at two in the morning, my funeral would have been held the next afternoon. So I left Jem alone and tried not to bother him (77). This new tactic Scout tried out paid off, and later Jem explained exactly what happened that night to Scout. Scout then learned; if you see where someone is coming from, then you will understand them better than you once had before.

Like everything in everyday life practice makes perfect. When Dill is crying and they have to step outside, they run into Mr. Dolphus-Raymond. He gives Dill a drink of Coca-Cola and Scout gets confused about why he pretends that he has alcohol in his brown paper sack. Scout asks Then you just pretend youre half-? I beg your pardon, sir I didnt mean to be (268). Scout was about to ask Mr. Raymond why he pretends to be a drunk all of the time, but doesnt because she thinks that would be jumping to conclusions. Scout uses empathy and puts herself into Mr. Raymonds shoes and realizes why he pretends. He pretends, simply because he would rather people hate him for being a drunk than having a black mistress and mixed children. This is a great deal in Maycomb, for white people should not have a black mistress. Scout does not quite understand this and feels for Mr. Raymond because he is hated for something as simple as the color of someones skin.

Empathy is a way of figuring out what it is people do, and why they do it. People do not take the time to stop and see why these people are the way they are. When we are young we are taught to not judge a book by its cover; but why do we still do this? It is because we are ignorant and do not take the time like Scout does to see where people are coming from. If human-kind used empathy regularly; the ridiculous reasons that we make fun of people or criticize people would not be there, and we would live in peace and harmony.

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