Empathy: Read It. Live It.

Scout Finch was one lucky little girl.  The wisdom bestowed upon her by Atticus surely helped her navigate through some very trying times. But Scout and her brother Jem aren’t the only people to learn from Atticus’ advice and life lessons.  Anyone who reads To Kill a Mockingbird learns the importance of one of life’s most valuable soft skills: empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings and emotions of others.

My job as a high school English teacher entails working with students to become better communicators through reading, writing, speaking, and listening.  But studying and discussing literature can do so much more. It’s vital that young people today develop empathy towards others in order to combat the polarization, discrimination, and intolerance currently at play in society.  The study of literature and the lessons it imparts can help build empathy in our leaders of tomorrow.

Recent studies on empathy have shown alarming results.  For example, a University of Michigan study of 14,000 college students indicates that empathy levels of college students have dropped 40% since the 1990s. Other studies show that our empathy levels lessen towards people who are different than us, specifically in terms of race, nationality, and religion. These trends are quite worrisome given the current social climate.

The list of America’s divisions is long.  Should we welcome and provide homes for refugees? Do our police discriminate against people of color? Why do some feel justified in treating Muslim and Jewish people like second class citizens? What should happen to illegal immigrants? Which bathroom should transgender folks use? I suggest that people lacking empathy probably are not going to care too much about how others are being treated.  Such a “me first” attitude can lead to close-mindedness and separation, characteristics that do not foster unity among citizens. 

Here’s where literature comes into play.  When students read and use their imagination, they can understand the situations of people different from themselves. And from this understanding comes empathy. A young person reading To Kill a Mockingbird, for example, not only feels outrage for the injustice Tom Robinson experiences.  He also comes to understand Boo Radley and his need for privacy.  Both Scout and the reader are able to put themselves in Boo’s shoes and take a walk in them. 

Now consider all of the other great characters in literature that students can connect with while reading.  For example, in Trouble by Gary Schmidt, readers come to feel compassion for  Chay Chouan, the Cambodian refugee fighting racism in his small New England town.  Or Piri Thomas, the Puerto Rican who must find a way to fit in with the Italian kids on his block in “Alien Turf.” Or Melba Beals, one of the Little Rock Nine who experiences horrendous discrimination as she desegregates the white school in “Warriors Don’t Cry.” Or Sandra Cisneros’ Ezmeralda, who exemplifies the southwestern experience of Latinos in The House on Mango Street.

Reading great literature opens wide the door to understanding the feelings and experiences of others.  By using their imagination students can get out of their own little worlds and see the lives of others as represented in fiction.  When students feel empathy towards fictional characters, they are taking the first step towards understanding real people in the real world, people who don’t look like them and who lead very different lives from them. 

And that’s when empathetic transformation happens.  Literature gives students the foundation of stepping into the shoes of others. Perhaps they will stop making fun of the quiet kid in the corner.  Perhaps they will realize the kid sitting next to them in the cafeteria doesn’t have money for lunch and never has money for lunch. Perhaps they’ll feel badly for the girl whose mother or father sits in jail awaiting deportation. They may not be able to fix the problems of others, but at least they can empathize with them and leave their judgements by the wayside.

Now clearly studying literature is not the answer to cure all of society’s ills.  Racism, discrimination, and intolerance won’t disappear overnight. Some argue that empathy is an inherent skill which cannot be taught.  But I challenge anyone to read To Kill a Mockingbird and not feel empathy for Tom and Boo. 

           

The truth is we all have the capacity to empathize. And whether young or old, we should all read great literature to understand our fellow man a little bit more.