#7-
A detail that was particularly striking to me was when Miss Gates tells the class about Hitler and she says, "Over here we don't believe in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced. Prejudice" (Lee 245). This was striking to me because it shows how hypocritical the people of Maycomb really are. All of the people who live in Maycomb were so prejudiced during the trial, and it was unbelievable to me that Miss Gates could teach the class that the U.S. is not prejudiced like Germany when they see people being prejudiced to black people every day. Maycomb has a striking sense of conformity and the residents are prejudiced toward anyone who does not perfectly conform to their society. They are racist, biased people and it is ironic and surprising to me that Miss Gates would teach her class the complete opposite of what Maycomb really is.
Another phrase that was striking to me was when Scout brings the topic of Hitler home to Atticus, and when she asks him if it is okay to hate Hitler he answers, "It's not okay to hate anybody" (Lee 246). I think that this is another example that shows how empathetic and wise Atticus really is because he is saying that no matter how immoral a person is, it still doesn't make it okay to hate them. He is not directly saying it, but it adds to the theme of empathy in TKAM because even when talking about one of the most ruthless men in the history of the world, Atticus still uses empathy to understand why a person does the things he does. He is saying that even if you don't respect another person's actions, you can use empathy so that you will not go so far as hating them.
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