Empathy and Masculinity in Harper Lee's to Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird illustrates a troubled relationship between lawyering and empathy
and between empathy and masculinity. To begin, empathetic understanding has two sides: it can
produce compassionate or altruistic behavior, but there is also a strategic value: a competitor who
understands the thoughts and feelings of others is better able to anticipate an opponent's next move
and stay one step ahead. Atticus Finch demonstrates both aspects of empathy: his ability to imagine
the world from the perspective of others makes him a more compassionate and helpful father and
neighbor, but also a more effective lawyer, better able to cross-examine adverse witnesses and to
make arguments that (might) appeal to jurors. Atticus understands better than anyone else in
Maycomb the tragic predicament of MayellaEwell, but he uses his empathy to harm her, that is, to
help his client Tom Robinson by exposing her as a liar. The irony is that the empathetic insight that
makes Atticus the best person to cross-examine Mayella also makes him (among all those who
believe she is lying) feel the most compassion for her. But the role of zealous advocate leaves limited
room for showing compassion to one's adversary.
Empathy connects with the novel’s focus on masculinity. The novel offers a new version of white
manhood in the Jim Crow South. The conventional white southern male of the 1930s romanticized
the Lost Cause of the Confederacy and adhered to a strict code of chivalry that required the use of
violence to assuage insults to honor, particularly the honor of white southern women. According to
this chivalric ideology, the greatest threat to white womanhood was black male predation, and the
manly response was the lynching, not only of alleged black rapists but of other black men whose
behavior seemed to question white supremacy. The novel offers Atticus as a male hero who rejects
the white supremacist assumptions of lynching. Less obvious are the tools the novel uses to draw
our attention to the concept of manhood and to invert its standard meaning. Atticus' courage is
nonviolent, which the novel contrasts with cowardly violence; Atticus fights for a lost cause that is not
the Confederacy, but its victim; and Atticus acts valiantly by protecting an innocent black man from
the accusation of a white woman. Southern chivalry is turned on its head. The connection to empathy
is that Atticus' sense of empathy is one of the key ways in which he systematically violates period
expectations for masculinity.

CONS: “Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird illustrates a troubled relationship between lawyering
and empathy and between empathy and masculinity.” It is not a good example of a topic sentence
since it does not provide background information about the author or the book itself. It should start
by giving general information about them both.
Next, the abstract is over 300 words (412) and is not concise. According to some of the suggestions
for a good abstract, it should be between 200-300 words and not 412.
Sentences are too long and it makes it harder to keep track of the information provided.
Linking words are missing, they only use “to begin” and it’s wrong. It should be “to begin with”. Linking
words help to build a logical argument and would have been useful for this abstract.
PROS: it uses a lot of academic vocabulary.
Motherhood in African Literature and Culture - Remi Akujobi, Covenant University

In her article "Motherhood in African Literature and Culture" Remi Akujobi analyzes the place and the
role of women in African Religion and tradition and also interrogates the place of Motherhood in the
production, circulation and consumption of items in African tradition. Akujobi examines Motherhood
as a sacred as well as a powerful spiritual component of the woman's life. Emphasis is put on literary
discourse where motherhood is a recurrent theme, where motherhood is also a lifelong commitment.
The article particularly explores motherhood as a discourse in African women creative efforts. A key
intention of the article is to explore their perceptions regarding themselves as mothers and the sense
they make of their experiences of motherhood. The purpose is to interpret these from a feminist
perspective and see whether or not the institution of "motherhood" can ultimately empower women
to be visible in vital areas of human endeavours. The study appraises motherhood as both a concept
and an institution.

PROS: It provides background information article and a good description of the purpose for its
analysis. However, the topic sentence could be shorter. This way the research question is
separated from the description of the topic.
They also give information about the method and what they emphasized on.
The purpose is also present and shortly after that there is a conclusion.
It is concise and well-constructed.

CONS: It does not use enough linking words either which would help to build a more logical
argument.

A DYING TRADITION? AFRICAN ORAL LITERATURE IN A CONTEMPORARY CONTEXT

Elizabeth Gunner, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London

This paper on the use of performances of oral literary genres in South African political organisations
such as Inkatha, in Zulu Royal institutions, and in trade union movements (FOSATU, MAWU,
SAWU, and others), is concerned with the use of the past in contemporary political activity, and with
the question of whether oral literature will survive as a viable genre. The pressure exerted on oral
literature by written genres seems to threated their continued existence, yet oral genres continue to
have significant power in contemporary culture and politics. Several examples are presented to
show the adaptation of the oral izibongo genre, and other forms of orally-performed poetry, to
contemporary contexts.

CONS: Although there is an introduction sentence, the organization of the information is wrong and
messy. They should state what the paper is about and serve as an introduction along with the title.

The passive voice “is concerned with” stands too far from its original subject. The information
provided after “this paper on the use…” which is specific information should have been placed after
the general information “the use of the past in contemporary…”

PROS: The text has a purpose and a method.