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Examples Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Innocence: the lack of experience with the world and with the bad things that happen in life. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, innocence is something that has to be lost in order to make room for compassion to grow. To Kill a Mockingbird follows a young girl, Scout, as she faces many life experiences that help shape her childhood. In the beginning of the novel, Scout continuously bothered a man named Arthur “Boo” Radley. Boo Radley never came out of his house, or had any social interaction with other members of the community. At first, this really confused Scout, and ultimately led to many late night plots to try and make Boo Radley come out. However, when Scout began school, she worried less about Boo Radley. As she progressed …show more content…

While talking to Atticus, Scout outlines the past couple of years chasing Boo, and how she finally got to know the true Boo: “‘An’ they chased him ’n’ never could catch him ’cause they didn’t know what he looked like an’ Atticus when they finally saw him why he hadn’t done any of those things… Atticus he was real nice’” (Lee 376). Once Scout got to know Boo for his true character, she realizes that the last three years of chasing Boo was a waste of time. In addition, Scout now understands why Boo stayed at home all the time, because now she has dabbled into the reality of life instead of the fantasy of childhood. She becomes conscious of the fact that just because Boo did not follow society's norms, that did not make him an evil person. While standing on the porch of the Radley house, everything clicks for Scout as she gains empathy for Boo. “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough” (Lee 374). Throughout the novel, Atticus always said “you can’t really understand a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them,” this motif comes full circle when Scout truly empathizes with Boo. Scout plays the events of the past three years in her head, and realizes that in these years many events have occurred such as the fire, the Tom Robinson case, and the incident with Mr. Ewell that helped shape Scout into a mature into a young lady. However, standing on the Radley porch Scout is able to look at these events from Boo’s perspective, and truly empathize with Boo. Once Scout learned more about the world around her, she built the foundation for compassion and

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Scout learns what it is like from the beginning of the book from this quote. “The doors of the Radley house were closed on weekdays as well as Sundays, and Mr. Radley’s boy was not seen again for fifteen years” (Lee 13). This quote shows that Boo was locked up in his house for fifteen years. For Boo, that what be a hard time for him because he would not be able to talk with friends or neighbors for that whole time period. The last way Scout walks in Boo’s shoes is what it is like to save a man’s life.

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Immediately from the outset of the novel, Scout and Dill and the other kids in the neighborhood judge Boo Radley and imagine that he is some sort of “monster” or “boogeyman” just because he is different and does not come out much in public. Just based on what they have heard or imagine about Boo, Scout races past his house as if her life depended on it. She did not take the time to get to know him at all until he saved her life at the end of the story when Authur “Boo” Radley saves her land Jem’s lives does Scout see him as a human being and realize that he is actually a good guy. In the end, Scout even likens Boo to the “mockingbird” that her father told her it was a sin to kill because it hurts no one when she hugs her dad and thanks him

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544 Words | 3 Pages

The theme of the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is, all children experience a loss of innocence at some point in their youth. When a child loses their innocence they realize that the world was not as they thought is was. Jem and Scout Finch experience a loss of innocence after finding out that Boo Radley isn’t a “Malevolent Phantom”. Jem’s thought of Boo being a “Malevolent Phantom” emerges on (page 13) when he portrays Boo like this to Scout, "Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained -- if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time.

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Scout learns to not judge people by the things they do. Scout most clearly learns this when she realizes how Boo Radley secretly helps her. For example, when Miss. Maudie’s house catches on fire, Boo came up behind her and put a blanket around her when she was outside, cold. Also, at the end Boo saved Scout from being hurt by Bob Ewell.

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As one of the main protagonist of the story, through her various experiences, the environmental factors, and the brilliance wisdom given by her father, Scout revolved as a character and gradually continue to reach maturity at the end of the book. From all of her numerous changes, the most pivotal moment is how she treated and thought about her neighbor Arthur Radley whom she calls as “Boo”. In the beginning, along with Dill and Jem, they created a play/game about Boo’s life and try to lure to come out and even try to demonstrate their courage by touching the Radley’s house. To understand Boo, Scout mostly used the life lesson Atticus had provide her with. As the season change and she grows, the place has “ ceased to terrify [her]” as she

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Stories of Innocence “Nice guys finish last,” an unfortunate truth where the innocent are sometimes persecuted, harassed or even killed even though they have done nothing to harm anyone else. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, A mockingbird symbolizes innocence and is shown through few characters .Tom Robinson and Arthur Radley are the two main mockingbirds. Real life mockingbirds could be found as civil rights activists who fought for the rights of African Americans during the 1960’s. According to Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, the meaning of the mockingbird as a symbol of innocence is shown through Tom Robinson, Arthur Radley and real life civil rights activist Rev. Bruce Klunder.

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She comes face to face with Boo Radley, and learns that she had judged him too quickly — as many people had. After Scout has met Boo for the first and the last time, he asks her to walk with him back to his home. Upon reaching the porch, he disappears inside his home, leaving her with her thoughts. After consideration, she comes to the conclusion that "Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around it in them.

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The loss of innocence is a difficult experience for many, but it is a challenge we all go through. Jem, Tom, and Boo all relate to the loss of innocence. Boo was labeled as an evil person, Tom was judged by the color of his skin, and Jem was exposed to the adult world. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses a mockingbird to represent innocence in an attempt to portray the cruelty in the world.

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Innocent is defined as being not guilty of a crime or offense. These are good innocent people who are still hurt even though they did nothing wrong, these people are called Mockingbirds. Mockingbirds symbolize people who are proven innocent but are still harmed. Jem doesn’t understand what is right and what is not because he still has childhood innocence Jem playing the Boo Radley clearly his childhood innocent because he doesn't understand it is wrong to make fun of someone you have never met “No, putting his life’s history on display for the edification of the neighborhood” and Jem replies with “I didn’t say we were doing that, I didn’t say it!” (Lee 65).

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When one grows up, it is inevitable they will lose their innocence. Seeing the world through rose colored glasses can only take one so far, and eventually they will have to open their eyes to real issues in their lives. While this happens at different ages for everyone, Atticus in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee believes that his kids should not be sheltered from the real world. As Scout and Jem, Atticus’ children, grow up, especially in a time where Maycomb is so segregated, Atticus teaches his kids real life lessons and to not become like the rest of their town; racist and judgemental. This comes with a cost, however, as the kids “grow up” at an expedited rate.

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Loss of innocence is when someone comes to a realization through an event that alters their perception and understanding of reality. The novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in the small town of Maycomb in the 1930s, also known as the Great Depression. Many characters play a specific role in the novel, for instance, Boo Radley plays a mysterious character that scares children unintentionally because of events in the past. Atticus Finch, who is a white lawyer, becomes well-known to the black activists in the community because he takes on the case of Tom Robison, a black person accused of raping a white woman. The aftermath of taking the case was sizable.

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When children are born, they have a certain quality. Everything in the world is new to them, and they see things through a different lens. Eventually, this quality will leave a person as they grow accustomed to the world, but some hold that characteristic longer than others. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, this purity, known as innocence, is one of the main themes throughout the text. In the novel; a mockingbird is a symbol of an innocent person.

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Boo had done nothing but stay inside and try to create peace, just as how a mockingbird does nothing but make music for all to hear. To kill a mockingbird was seen as a sin, just as how scaring Boo Radley was also a sin. But as the story continues, the times where Scout sins by bothering Boo lessen, as she begins to understand and see life from Bob's point of view. Scout had ceased to be afraid of the Radley house, even having a “twinge of remorse when passing by the old place, at ever having taken part in what must have been sheer torment to Arthur Radley-” (Lee, 324).

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Innocence is a word used to describe someone 's purity. Children are prime examples of innocence, as they don’t have judgments and don’t understand mature topics. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the reader can interpret innocence as the growing up of the children. Specifically, Jem Finch showed a loss of innocence as he grew up. He showed his loss of innocence by not playing games, his more mature use of words and body language, and his different view of the world around him.

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The Mockingbird Spirit of Innocence How do you define innocence? Is there someone out in the world who is purely innocent? To understand innocence you should look at what a mockingbird does, because all they do is sing. In Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus and Miss Maudie teach Scout and Jem that it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.

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