Preview

Essay On Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
523 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Essay On Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird
Losing one’s innocence, or rather the simple act of growing up is inevitable. The children of primary focus in Harper Lee’s classic, “To Kill A Mockingbird”, succumb to their eventual fate by evolving into mature characters with help from the influential events in the town.
These occurrences in Maycomb eradicate the naivety of the children to prepare them for the real world. Scout initially begins to lose her prevalent innocence when her cousin subjects her to the use of derogatory tongue. Additionally, the two most significant deaths evoke a maturation in Jem when he realizes the subject matter involved in one of the two. Bob Ewell’s subsequent vengeance moreover eradicates all indications of Scout’s innocence as she is exposed to violence, revenge and murder. A child’s innocence is a crucial variable amongst many in their development, although it must be left behind for the sake of comprehending the actuality of the world; no matter how harsh it may be. Deaths are cruel, albeit imperative as they allow children to lose their innocence, preparing them for the real world. In “To Kill A Mockingbird”, the usual string of events that Jem Finch is accustomed to changes, providing him with adequate experience to mature. Jem better grasps the concept of death following Tom Robinson’s impending demise rather than at the time of Mrs. Dubose’s sudden passing. At the time of her death, Jem is indifferent; he shows no signs of sorrow whatsoever. Upon his father’s revealing of their neighbour’s death, Jem responds, “Oh…well” (Lee 147). This goes to show that in the eyes of Jem, dying is incomprehensible. He does not quite understand the impact that it has. However, later on in
…show more content…
The diction of the citizens in Alabama proves that the town is predominantly racist, however, Scout does not embrace the use of these words because her family teaches her

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, loss of innocence is seen specifically with the characters of Jem Finch and Boo Radley.…

    • 508 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    "Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the…

    • 2457 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    A songbird's melody can evoke happiness in anyone, as can the smiling face of a child. The mockingbird sings for the sake of singing, and an innocent child possesses an inborn joyfulness, as natural as instinct. Yet a mockingbird's song dies as easily as the innocence of a child. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem are portrayed as innocents, uncorrupted by our world of prejudice and racism. Their world is simple, sensible, a child's world. However, three years in the life of 8-year-old Scout Finch, her brother, Jem, and their father, Atticus, are consumed by the arrest and eventual trial of a young black man accused of raping a white woman. By the end of the novel, their world has expanded to enclose the irrational nature of humans. Jem and Scout's growing up is portrayed by a series of events that shatters their innocence as easily as a mockingbird can be silenced. Lee uses a combination of insignificant and profound events: the trial of Tom Robinson, Walter Cunningham, and their relationship with Boo Radley to develop and display the children’s growth in maturity.…

    • 1054 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    These occurrences in Maycomb eradicate the naïvety of the children to prepare them for the real world. Scout initially begins to lose her prevalent innocence when her cousin subjects her to the use of derogatory tongue. Additionally, the two most significant deaths evoke a maturation in Jem when he realizes the subject matter involved in one of the two. Bob Ewell’s subsequent vengeance moreover eradicates all indications of Scout’s innocence as violence, revenge and murder…

    • 1334 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. Thats why its a sin to kill a mockingbird”. This is one of the most important quotes in the book “To kill a mockingbird” it is said by Miss Maudie in chapter 10. This quote relates to the overall theme of the book which is innocence. In this case, the mockingbird represents innocence. One example of innocence used in the story is the court scene. In this section of the book, a young black man named Tom Robinson is accused of raping Mayella Ewell; a white woman. In this paper I will prove how innocence is represented throughout the book.…

    • 308 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    We started to see the flaws that our once idolised town has. Going through the Tom Robinson case, where Jem is so sure that he is innocent, then he is found guilty, breaks his heart. He knows that the jury’s votes were based on racial preferences. This is shown when scout says ‘It was Jems turn to cry’. He has finally come to the realisation that the town of Maycomb is very racist and prejudice. Also, seeing his father lose the case, after so much investing went into it, Jem hated to see his father so disappointed. As a result of growing up, Jem has lost his…

    • 820 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Everything in life can teach you a lesson, you just have to be willing to observe and learn” -Ritu Ghatourey. Everyone learns crucial life lessons in their lives through various aspects of life around them, whether they realize it or not. Learning these lessons is a crucial part of losing one’s simple, childlike way of life. Throughout the novel To Kill A Mockingbird Jem and Scout lose their innocence through numerous life lessons they learn. One way in which they learn these lessons is through their personal experiences. Another way is through their personal discoveries caused by their maturity. Finally, they learn life lessons that cause them to lose their innocence through events they observe.…

    • 825 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, someone says a phrase that will not be repeated again in the book but continues on in it as an underlying theme. It is a sin to kill a mockingbird, Atticus states this and when he does he is not just talking about birds. He is also talking about people and objects. He uses a mockingbird as a metaphor of innocence. This innocence represents Scout, Tom Robinson, and even “Boo” Radley. Atticus may not have directed this quote towards these people but they are included in it. Scout is seen as a mockingbird to the reader during the Tom Robinson trial, Tom Robinson is also seen as a mockingbird during his trial, and finally “Boo” Radley is seen as a mockingbird throughout…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the words of William Shakespeare, “The silence often of pure innocence persuades when speaking fails.”(Shakespeare SearchQuotes). In Harper Lee’s unforgettable novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the innocence of children is the key to communicating several significant aspects of the story. The novel is narrated by Jean Louise ‘Scout' Finch, who relays the story of a series of events involving social issues that take place in the quiet town of Maycomb County during her childhood in the 1930’s. Harper Lee establishes a distinct narrative voice for Scout through the use of her adult narration reflecting upon childhood memories in the limited perspective, which communicates the malevolence of other characters present in Maycomb County and simplifies complex issues through the naïveté of childhood observation.…

    • 1055 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    TKAM ESSAY

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Jem shows signs of maturity at the beginning of the Tom Robinson trial through Jem’s personality change. When Jem enters middle school, he starts to become “difficult to live with, inconsistent and moody” (115). During this time, Jem becomes aware of the racism that is present in Maycomb. Jem also matures physically making it overwhelming for Jem to accept all the new concepts he is discovering. Jem starts to think like an adult and his sudden behavior shows he is starting to grow up. Jem and Scout are inseperble but even Scout notices the change in Jem. Mrs. Dubose affected Jem where he “acquired and alien set of rules” and even told Scout, “ it’s time you started being a girl and acting right” (115). After the death of Mrs. Dubose, he looks at the world a different way. He matures a lot more and tries to imply them on Scout. Before, he would tell Scout to stop being such a girl, but now he says the opposite. It shows Jem thinks like an adult and acts like one. Because of the experiences with Maycomb, Jem acts more responsible and a little of his innocence is taken away.…

    • 417 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Innocence is a term used to indicate a lack of guilt, with respect to any kind of crime, sin, or wrongdoing. In a legal context, innocence refers to the lack of legal guilt of an individual, with respect to a crime. (Wikipedia-Innocence) Innocence, that is the main theme in the book To Kill A Mockingbird. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the mockingbird as this symbol of innocence she also uses the characters in this story to portray the loss of innocence. The loss of innocence one of the most dominant and recurring themes throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the characters Scout, Jem and Tom Robinson to create a story where innocence and the loss of it is the most powerful theme.…

    • 1762 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the fictional novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, one of the main characters goes through various situations that ultimately contribute to his coming of age. Scout, the main character and narrator, retells the remarkable events of her childhood that lead up to the explanation of how her brother, Jem, broke his arm. During the flashbacks, Scout also documents and comments on Jem 's maturation into a young adult, as well as the lives of the Maycomb residents. Jem 's devastation over the outcome of Tom Robinson 's case forces him to see the people of Maycomb in a darker light, erasing his childhood ignorance. Connecting Tom 's innocence to other instances in his life, such as saving the roly poly, prove his morals change. Jem taking responsibility for Mrs. Dubose 's flowers shows that Jem evolves and realises that he must take accountability for his actions. The verdict of Tom Robinson 's case, saving the roly poly, and taking responsibility for Mrs. Dubose 's flowers contribute to the shaping of Jem into a mature, young adult.…

    • 700 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Coming Of Age Experience

    • 1078 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Have you ever seen real courage? Not the kind you see in movie and books, I’m talking about the kind not many talk about. The people who have that kind of courage, are the ones who have the tenacity to persevere no matter what. Many children don’t see this, until they witness it and learn from it, this is what you would call a coming of age experience. The Finch children encounter this in their life after many serious events. Some of these events in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee include Mrs. Dubose’s death, the men arriving at the jail, Tom’s trial, and Bob Ewell’s attack and death. This will be mainly about the coming of age experience of Mrs. Dubose’s death for Jem. Before her death, Jem, after weeks of reading for Mrs. Dubose, had…

    • 1078 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The book To Kill a Mockingbird has many different themes. One that really stood out to me was Childhood Innocence, because the story is written from Scout’s point of view it portrays her childish and immature thoughts towards all of the events that happen in her life. Not only is Scout childish at times her brother Jem and her friend Dill also show irresponsible actions through the games they choose to play and the way they react to different things such as getting in trouble or just barely getting out of a tight spot. This analysis will go into depth of the continuous example of childhood innocence throughout the book.…

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The most important responsibility people have is to protect the innocent regardless of the situation. In the world as we know it the strong prosper and the weak suffer, but what about the innocent? Who provides, cares, and protects them? It’s not only a responsibility but a moral and ethical obligation.…

    • 920 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays