How Does Jem Lose Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

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The book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is an inspiring story about a troubled family just trying to survive in their small town during the Great Depression. Atticus is a single dad raising his two kids Jem and Scout. Jem and Scout go through many traumatizing events during their younger lives. Everything you wouldn't want to happen, happens in a small town called Maycomb during the early 1930’s. When Jem and Scout start doing more rebellious things they lose their innocence. Lee characterizes this theme through children losing their innocence because they haven't experienced real life situations. Jem starts to lose more innocence when he notices that not everybody can get past the color of Tom Robinson during his trial. When Jem finds out …show more content…

Jem and Scout loved going past the Radley’s place and finding the things they think Boo Radley have left them in a tree. Boo Radley is a older guy who has been stuck in his house for stabbing his dad in the leg with scissors. Boo was then put apart from everyone because they didn't want a him with colored people. He was put in the basement but developed lung problems and got released from jail. Ever since Boo has been stuck in his house. The only contact Jem had with Boo Radley ends when Nathan Radley covers up the tree hole with cement. Scout realizes that Jem seemed very upset about the cement in the tree “when [Scout] went in the house [Scout] saw [Jem] had been crying; [Jem] was dirty in the right places, but [Scout] thought it odd that [she] had not heard [Jem]” (Lee 84). Jem was upset about the fact that he won't be able to get anymore things from Boo Radley. That made Jem realize that Boo never gets out of the house and it made Jem even more mad about the whole situation. Jem notices that Boo is stuck in his house for a awful reason and the only real outside contact he got was giving things to Jem and Scout, which makes him feel bad for