Ignorance In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird Literary Analysis
What is ignorance? Ignorance is a lack of knowledge, understanding, or education. Throughout this book, ignorance plays a key role in the major events which occur. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird claims that the problem of ignorance causes the death of not only Tom Robinson, but the death of childhood, gender roles, and the innocence of the kids.
The idea of ignorance killed Tom Robinson. Even before the trial began, he was guilty. The fact that he was a black man in Alabama in the early 1900s proves that. Ignorance through racism is the most persisting topic throughout the whole book. The continuous use of the n-word, the results of the trial, and the whole idea of the blacks being the lowest social

For example, when Atticus takes the case many people say things to Scout and Jem and when Scout asks Atticus what a n*****-lover is, Atticus responds, "Scout, nigger-lover is just one of those terms that don't mean anything—like snot-nose. It's hard to explain—ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody's favoring Negroes over and above themselves. It's slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label somebody” (108). Atticus shows Scout the right way to act and confront racism by exemplifying it through his own actions. If everybody in town had the same mindset that Atticus had, Tom Robinson

The childhood and innocence of Scout and Jem die during the trial. Whether it’s people yelling racial slurs at Scout or even their own family members looking down upon Atticus, the kids are affected a lot by the trial. The book begins with Scout and Jem playing together in the yard and as the trial goes on, they grow up and start to realize the crudeness and ignorance of the real world. After the conclusion of the trial, Jem leaves the courtroom in tears due to his realization of the unjust, racist, final decision. Throughout the book, Jem stops playing outside with Scout and begins to have his own responsibilities. Jem begins to grow up as he sees the how the world works. The same happens to Scout as she starts hanging out with Mrs. Maudie a lot more instead of playing around the yard. The kids begin to comprehend that Tom Robinson isn’t going to win against the racist and ignorant people of Maycomb. The ignorance of the trial changes the kids into young adults as they start to understand what’s going on around