Nafisi Empathy Essay

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What is emmpathy? As Oxford Dictonary, it is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another. AsSaul J. Weinera,* and Simon Austerb It is defined as the sharing the feelings of another as a means of coming to a direct appreciation of the other. However, to Azar Nafisi, the author of “Mysterious connections that link us together”, it is shaped by two factors: imagination and intimate, personal relationships. By the ingenious combination of logical structure, ethos and anecdotal evidence, she successfully persuaded the reader. The highly structured article starts with a simple sentence: “I believe in empathy”. The assertion created the expectation in the reader’s mind. They eagerly wanted to see how the author can express her belief. She defined empathy constructed by two factors: imagination and intimate, personal relationships. To portray the first perspective, she depicted the story of Huck Finn, a small boy who was against to what he was taught in the school to fellow with Jim, a black slave. Suck thing was unacceptable in the 19th century when the slave was not considered as human. However, with the meticulous description of what happens within Huck Finn’s mind, the author polarized the process to the final decision of Huck Finn. The story of Huck Finn is a beautiful set-up for Nafisi’s experience. She was expelled from the University where she was working. Surprisingly, the two students were involved in a fierce altercation with her. In the article, Nafisi provide a broad range of examples, ranging from a literature story, from her own experience to historical events. The story of Huck Finn, a small boy who was against to what he was taught at Sunday school to fellow with Jim, a black slave required the reader to imagine the friendship between them through their action: “talking, singing and laughing”, in “the day and night-time, sometimes
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