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How Does Jem Show Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

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In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, when Jem finds out Tom Robinson is convicted of raping Mayella Ewell his innocence is corrupted because he always believed the people of Maycomb would do the right thing, but when the jury presiding over Tom’s case does not do what he expected Jem realizes the sadness of life. This novel is told from the perspective of Scout Finch, a six year old girl, and it takes place in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. Towards the end of the book Scout and her brother Jem are fascinated by their father Atticus’s court case in which he is defending a black man, Tom Robinson, who is on trial for his life after being wrongly accused of raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell. When Scout and Jem are watching the trial …show more content…

I always thought Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world, least that’s what they seemed like” (288). In this passage Jem compares not knowing of the racism in Maycomb to being a “caterpillar in a cocoon”—Jem has been sheltered from the harsh reality of life in his hometown all throughout his childhood. Moreover, Jem compares his previous innocence to being “asleep wrapped up in a warm place”, which shows how he thinks his ignorance was bliss. Warm has a positive connotation, and sleeping in a warm place may refer to being ignorant in a blissful place. Lastly, Jem uses past tense words like “thought” and “seemed” to show how he no longer thinks favorably of Maycomb’s citizens; Jem’s innocence of believing people in Maycomb are “the best folks in the world” has been corrupted through Tom Robinson’s conviction. Before the verdict of Tom’s trial had been decided Jem was sure that Atticus was going to win the case because he was too innocent to suspect racism in Maycomb, but after the trial Jem loses faith in the people who live in his town and replaces his innocence with

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Tom Robinson would have lived if it were not for the citizens of Maycomb. This situation is shown by the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, which is set in the 1930s in Maycomb, Alabama. Tom was charged with raping a 19-year-old woman named Mayella Ewell. Through this trial, the different social standings of white and colored people make themselves known. Tom was given an unfair trial simply due to people’s beliefs that they are unwilling to change.

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After hours of waiting, the jury came back in. Scout explains how “A jury never looks at the defendant if it has convicted, and when this jury came in, not one of them looked at Tom Robinson… Judge Taylor was polling the jury; ‘ Guilty...Guilty...Guilty’”(211) When Scout and Jem hear the verdict, they are distraught. As they were walking home, “It was Jem’s turn to cry.. ‘It’s not right, Atticus’”(212)

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Jem, a young and smart boy develops and matures through many unique situations in the novel. Jem is exposed to the harsh belief, judgement and circumstances of the court at a very young age. Following his father, Jem involves himself in the trial between Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell yet takes Tom’s side due to his father's involvement. Jem slowly loses faith in the justice system and is faced with a loss of innocence as explained by Scout“It was Jem’s turn to cry. His face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crowd.

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"Like something ' asleep wrapped up in a warm place. I always thought Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world, least that 's what they seemed like." this evidence shows that Jem before the trial saw everyone is good but after all the persecution his family got during the Tom Robinson trial he is forced to look at the people of Maycomb as what they truly are and not all of them are good like he thought. Although Jem does not physically die the child inside of him does.

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Even though Scout displayed innocence but still was excluded from games with Dill and Jem because of her gender, Harper Lee did not intend for her to be perceived as a Mockingbird. On the contrary, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are portrayed as mockingbirds, birds recognized for their innocence but also targeted. Body Paragraph #1 Topic Sentence #1: Tom Robinson, a black man convicted of rape, was an example of à Mockingbird because he was targeted even though he was innocent. Integrated Evidence #1: After the town of Maycomb found out about the tragic killing of Tom Robinson, “[Mr. Underwood] likened Tom’s death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children”(Lee 323) in an editorial. Analysis 1: Tom Robinson was wrongfully accused of raping Mayella Ewell.

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