TKAM response journal chapters 18 and 19

#3-

How can we use empathy to break through the barriers of prejudice?

According to chapters 18 and 19, we can use empathy to break through the barriers of prejudice by understanding how another person feels and relating to their struggles. This helps us to forget about the things we judge others for and remember that deep down we are all humans. For instance, when Scout reflects on Mayella Ewell's testimony she thinks, "When Atticus asked had she any friends, she seemed not to know what he meant, then she thought he was making fun of her. She was as sad, I thought, as what Jem called a mixed child: white people wouldn't have anything to do with her because she lived among pigs; Negroes wouldn't have anything to do with her because she was white" (Lee 192). This justifies that we can use empathy to break through the barriers of prejudice because although Mayella comes from the Ewell family and is not liked by the town, Scout tries to understand what she is going through and relate to her loneliness. This helps Scout to be less prejudice to Mayella Ewell, and she understands that even though they both come from different families and backgrounds they are still both humans.


Dill also shows that empathy can be used to break through the barriers of prejudice by relating to another persons life and realizing that we are all humans no matter what. For example, when Dill tells  Scout why Tom Robinson's testimony upset him he says, " I don't care one speck. It ain't right, somehow it ain't right to do 'em that way. Hasn't anybody got any business talkin' like that- it just makes me sick" (Lee 199). This displays that we can use empathy to break through the barriers of prejudice because even though Tom Robinson is black, Dill is empathetic toward him and understands that he is human and he should not be spoken to in any way that a white person would be spoken to.  He can relate to the way that Tom Robinson feels when Mr. Gilmer talks to him so disrespectfully, and this is why Dill is not prejudice toward Tom Robinson like most of the town residents are.