You need to have read thru chapter three of To Kill a Mockingbird to respond to this topic.  If you have NOT read thru chapter three, please do NOT read further (as it will spoil/give away information you haven't read yet).

  • When talking with Scout towards the end of chapter three, Atticus tells her, "If you can learn a simple trick, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks.  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" (Lee 39).  
  • Discuss and explore the meaning of this advice.  Why do so many people consider this a great piece of advice?  How might it apply to us today?  How could we use it in our everyday lives?  How is it like other texts we have read this past year?  (You do not need to answer all the questions--just explore Atticus' advice to his daughter.)

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I say that this is a great piece of advice because it tells you that you really cant know the other person or how he is really feeling  until you be in their shoes and their perspective and how they are living. This Advice can relate to today because just like homeless people, we don't give money to them because we judge them from their cover but if we put ourselves in their shoes we might give them money because we know how they are living and what they do everyday. And we will know their story and not judge right away next time.

This can be considered as a great piece of advice because it supports the point that when you start putting yourself in others shoes you start to realize their perspective and why she/he thinks like that. Which starts to reduce the misunderstanding or hate in between two sides. I would also like to point out when Miss Caroline yelled at scouts for talking about Walters family issues. it was definitely wrong of scouts to intrude they way she did and if she put her shoes in Walters shoes than she probably would've understood why what she did was wrong. But at the same time they are first graders and children have the tendency of speaking the truth or whatever is on their minds. Miss Caroline did take action but i feel like she could've done more than just make her stand in the corner but actually tell why she was wrong and explain it to her. To further support this point in the book when Walter was eating at Jem's and Scout's house; Walter was eating differently and then scout once again starts disrespecting Walters. Calpurina took action by stating " there's some folks who don't eat like us... Hush your mouth! Don't matter who they are anybody sets foot in this houses yo' comp'ny, and don't you let me catch you remarkin' on their ways like you was so high an mighty"(Lee 24). This goes to show that Calpurina punished scouts in rightful manner she was telling her why she was wrong which can create a better understanding of why Walters was eating in that manner and it also shows that they're are different people than us and we have to put an effort into understanding them. Its better to teach the kids when they are young so they can understand a certain topic more.

Thank you!  Calpurnia sounds just like Atticus, doesn't she!?!  I LOVE her character--she really does seem to be a mother to Jem and (especially) Scout in every sense of the word.  She doesn't just take care of them, she teaches them lessons and tries to make them better people.  She's on the same page with Atticus with regards to how to raise children--just as a mother and father should be.  I absolutely adore her character, and it sure seems that Jem and Scout will be better people in the future, not only because of their father, but because of their mother Cal.

I wonder if I should give Cal her own discussion topic?  I also wonder who is more effective at teaching lessons: Atticus or Cal?  Cal is tough and Atticus is gentle, but they both have the same message--about seeing things from another's point of view before judging.  Scout seems to appreciate and listen to Atticus more, but I wonder if that is because Cal has already introduced the idea to her.  Perhaps Lee is telling her reader that you need both styles/parents.  What do you think?

yes you do need both because you always need a balance and they create the balance in their family

Yes, I believe the author, Harper Lee, is sending out the message that you need both types/styles because both have something very important to contribute that will make the children better people in the future, even though their methods may differ. 

While I agree with you that you need both styles of parents, I feel like there might be arguments of whats best for the kids. While one is gentle and the other is tough, there will be things that they would disagree on but that might be what Lee is pointing out, that even though you need both styles of parents it won't guarantee that there won't be disagreements because each person has their own point of view. But that's good for the children because they get a point of view from two sides, not just one. 

          This evidence is truly beautiful. It tells one to feel empathy, care and have companion for one before judgement. When Atticus - character in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, that plays the father of main character, which is the narrator- stated "Until you consider thing from [his/her] point of view...until you climb into [his/her] skin and walk around it" (Lee 39). Before one is to place judgement, and create an idea founded on ignorance, one might step in an others shoes, and as the expression goes, "walk a mile". An individual might have some sort of previous knowledge a persons race, family, or culture, but the only way to understand and have full empathy towards one, is to put ones self in an others position in society. In brief, this piece or evidence is a great one, telling all to care, have knowledge, and understand one before judgment.             

In the novel "To Kill a Mocking Bird", Atticus states, "If you can learn a simple trick, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. 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" (Lee 39). Atticus gives the scout that advice he means that someone's can't really know how another person feel so until he has expirience how that person lives and how he feels. Similar to the phrase "In his/her shoes" the meaning of this advice isn't just to feel sympathy but to actually feel and experience the struggle of a certain person. This advice could help people today because there are many cases of racism in society and the work force. We also begin to judge people based on their actions and not based on the reasons behind those actions. With this advice this can be changed and people will begin to see the persons point of view in an effective way.

I think that this is a great piece of evidence because you cant be judging people if you don't know what they are going through or the reason behind it. In chapter 3 of the book "To Kill A Mockingbird", Atticus said "If Walter and [Scout] had put [themselves] in [Miss Caroline's] shoes, [they] would have seen it was an honest mistake on her part."(Lee 30). This evidence shows that you have to know what people are going through and be empathetic, get in their position before judging them. If you do this then you will start to know what that person feels and maybe change your mind.

But Mr.Zeal in "To kill a mocking bird", when Harper Lee, Author and writer, writes, "She had learned not to hand something to a Cunningham, for one thing, but if walter and I had put ourselves in her shoes we'd have seen it was an honest mistake on her part" (Lee 40). Do you think she doesn't "hand something" to the Cunninghams it's because she's shy? How would you interact with the Cunninghams if you were on her shoes.

      Empathy is a powerful lesson to be learned and is expressed in this book and through many people's everyday lives. When Atticus tells this to Scout, it opens her eyes to the world and she finally was able to understand the meaning behind Miss Coraline's actions. His advice implies that one should not only see from another's point of view, but to understand where they're coming from as well. This is due to the fact people come with all their experiences, pains, truths, secrets, and memories that we can only fathom how they persevered through all of it. As a result, we are quick to judge, stereotype, and shame people for their mistakes. Even Scout- who is only six at the time- realized that it was an honest mistake and comes to the conclusion, "we could not hold [others] responsible when [they know] no better,"  (Lee 40). When people do things they have a reason for it and if we don't hear them out we lose a part of them, we build up their anger and are unable to progress. One can apply this to their everyday lives by looking at all the stereotypes that encompass us, that we are so quick to imply on to those people, and stop doing them and actually move forward. Because the only time in history that we progress is when we hear out others pleas and look at the situation from their perspective. 

I think the reason why so many people find the advice, “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" so great is because in a way, it introduces a solution to some of the problems we have faced in the past, and still face today in the present (Lee 39). The solution being empathy. When we empathize, we can understand that person or that group's motives, why they do what they do. This can lead to, “[getting] along a lot better with all kinds of folks” because when we do empathize, we understand one another, and this can lead to friendship, having real, meaningful relationships and moving beyond mere tolerance (Lee 39). An example of a problem that can be solved through this is the issue of homelessness. When one understands a homeless person’s situation, and how they got to where they are, one might be more inclined to help that homeless person. We can also use this advice in our daily lives when meeting someone new. Usually when we meet someone new, we are quick to judge, but we should see it from that person’s point of view. For example, if we see someone new who’s wearing dirty, old clothes, we are quick to judge, and that closes our minds from thinking new things about that person because the initial thoughts just stick. But if we try to think of it from that person’s point of view, we can get past the fact that they’re dirty, because we can understand that maybe that person is poor and can’t afford nice clothes. We become more open-minded and understanding when we try to see a situation from different perspectives. 

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