"To Kill A Mockingbird" Loosing Innocence Essay
People can get away with killing pigeons, cardinals, and blue jays, but it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. A mockingbird wouldn’t hurt anything; it’s only purpose is to sing songs for the everyday people. Jem and Scout had to restrain from shooting the mockingbirds due to their father’s warning. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is written from the view point of a little girl, Scout, in the 1930’s during the Great Depression. Her father, Atticus, is assigned a court case where he has to defend an African American that is accused of raping and assaulting a white woman. While her dad is away at work, Scout, her older brother Jem, and summertime friend Dill try to make their mysterious and perhaps dangerous neighbor, Boo Radley, come out of his house. A major theme throughout the novel is loss of innocence. When people lose their innocence it changes their viewpoint on life. It also can cause them to have a sudden realization that can mess with their emotions, which causes them to have a new outlook on life. In To Kill a Mocking Bird, all of the characters lose their innocence one way or another, and it has given them a more mature viewpoint of life. First, Jem lost his innocence, and it made him very troubled. Next, Boo Radley lost his innocence, and it caused him to look out for Scout and Jem. Lastly, Scout lost her innocence, and it caused her to learn that life isn’t fair.
First, Jem lost his innocence when Atticus unfairly lost the court case even though it was clear that he should’ve won. All of the evidence in the case was in Tom’s favor, but since this case took place in the 1930’s down south any jury was going to rule against any black man. Jem didn’t understand that, though. Jem only looked at the facts, not what they look like or the race of Tom. Scout looked at him in the court room when they were receiving the verdict, “I peaked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as
First, Jem lost his innocence when Atticus unfairly lost the court case even though it was clear that he should’ve won. All of the evidence in the case was in Tom’s favor, but since this case took place in the 1930’s down south any jury was going to rule against any black man. Jem didn’t understand that, though. Jem only looked at the facts, not what they look like or the race of Tom. Scout looked at him in the court room when they were receiving the verdict, “I peaked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as