ipl-logo

Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird Essay

398 Words2 Pages

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the theme of innocence is shown through the lessons learned from Dolphus Raymond, and Calpurnia's Church scene. The theme of innocence is displayed through the lessons that Dolphus Raymond teaches the kids. Such as, “Mr. Raymond said, ‘I don’t reckon it’s-miss Jean Louise, you don’t know your pa’s not a run-of-the-mill man, it’ll take a few years for that to sink in-you haven’t seen enough of the world yet “‘ (296). This relates to the theme because, Mr. Raymond explains that Scout does not know enough about the real world to understand how black people are treated unfairly in the justice system. In the novel, it also says, “He jerked his head at Dill: ‘Things haven’t caught up with that one’s instinct yet. Let him get a little older and he won’t get sick and cry. Maybe things’ll strike him as being-not quite right, say, he won't cry, not when he gets a few years on him”’ (205). This also relates to the theme because Dolphus Raymond explains that the children will start to realize what is wrong with Maycomb as they get older. Dolphus Raymond was stressing about how unfair …show more content…

It is our church, aint it, Miss Cal?’ (120). This displays themes of innocence, because Scout and Jem do not know the real reason why they should not be at the church. Both Jem and Scout are now realizing that white and black people are similar when it comes to many things, like going to church. Another example of innocence is displayed when Scout says, “‘Well, if everybody in Maycomb knows what kind of folks the Ewells are they’d be glad to Helen…what’s rape, Cal?”’(125). This displays themes of innocence, because Scout does not know what rape is. Once Scout grows older, she will eventually see the deeper meaning behind the

Show More
Related
419 Words | 2 Pages

This quote illustrates the beginning of Scout’s loss of innocence, which essentially results in her gaining the knowledge of the racist society that she is living in. Scout begins to persecut by kids

Read More
1348 Words | 6 Pages

Harper Lee, author of To Kill a Mockingbird, wrote the book in 1960’s while the events in the book take place in the early 1930’s. During the 1930’s, the Great Depression just hit the United States, the unemployment rate grew and many families lived in poverty. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee describes the childhood of Scout, also known as Jean Louise Finch, and her older brother Jem which is short for Jeremy Atticus Finch. The Finches were fairly wealthy compared to the rest of the residents of Maycomb County, Alabama, which is due to Scout and Jem’s father, Atticus Finch, being a lawyer. Throughout the beginning of the novel, Harper Lee uses symbols to foreshadow the loss of innocence leading up to Atticus’ big trial with Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell.

Read More
571 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the all-encompassing theme of the narrative, loss of innocence, through several of the characters as a means of illustrating the innocence found in all that can be instantly gone by an earth-shattering event. Loss of innocence is found throughout “Scout” Finch, “Jem” Finch, and Tom Robinson. Scout can best be described as an outgoing, strong willed young girl with fists to match. With no inherent desire to dress or remotely act lady like, (“I felt the starched walls of a pink cotton penitentiary closing in on me”) ( Lee 136) ,as evidenced that she shuns her real name, Jean Louise, and instead prefers to use her more tomboyish name, Scout.

Read More
1336 Words | 6 Pages

Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, and Pulitzer Prize winner uses her book as a way to write about her own life growing up. Sometimes a sleepy town in Maycomb County has more to the story. Jem and Scout Finch learn this through Atticus’s acts of bravery and by losing their innocence through the Tom Robinson trial. Throughout the book Harper Lee uses many themes including courage, loss of innocence, and walking in someone else’s shoes.

Read More
626 Words | 3 Pages

The major theme in To Kill a Mockingbird is the loss of innocence. Not only do Scout and Jem lose their innocence, but other characters do as well. Scout and Jem grow up throughout the book, as they are exposed to the realities of racism, hatred and child abuse. They witness racism in the Tom Robinson case when Mayella Ewell claims he took advantage of her, when it was really Bob Ewell that did it. The court voted Tom Robinson guilty because he was African American, and most of the town would have been furious if a white man was convicted over a black man.

Read More
729 Words | 3 Pages

A woman approached Cal and said that the white children weren’t welcome there. Cal stood up for them and they entered the church. Scout didn’t understand why there were no hymn books, and was even more confused when Cal told her that most of the folks in the church couldn’t read. She had been sheltered from the harsh reality by Atticus for so long that she couldn’t comprehend why black people were being treated differently. Then she asked Calpurnia if she could visit her house sometime.

Read More
852 Words | 4 Pages

Cael Schofield Mrs. Lawson English 10 11 January 2023 The Innocence of Tom Robinson African Americans are often judged by the color of their skin. This is shown in the story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, it takes place in the 1930s in Maycomb, Alabama where African American named Tom Robinson is accused of mistreating a woman named Mayella Ewell. Mayella is the daughter of Bob Ewell and they have one of the messiest home lives in the town.

Read More
812 Words | 4 Pages

He heard gossip about his father from the whole town and he sees firsthand the evil in the people of Maycomb. “I always thought Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world, least that’s what they seemed like” (Lee 288). Jem recognizes that there are that there are different types of people in his community. He watches his community send an innocent to death due to the color of his skin. “I don’t know, but they did it.

Read More
562 Words | 3 Pages

In the 1940s, many that were innocent people would end up being hurt because of their difference from others. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Tom Robinson, an African American who gets accused of a crime he didn’t commit, gets hurt because of his difference from others. The central idea of the book is that people should not hurt those who are innocent, there are several examples throughout the book that help represent this main idea such as symbolism, similes, and characters. To Kill a Mockingbird shows many examples of symbolism that supports the main idea of the book. An example of this, is the character Tom Robinson.

Read More
743 Words | 3 Pages

Children are very impressionable people. Almost everything around them changes them in some way. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the main characters, Scout and Jem, start out as little kids who spend their days making up stories and playing sill games. Then their dad, who is a lawyer, takes on a case defending a black man who has been charged with rape. Since they live in Alabama, The whole family has to absorb some pretty ugly things, which forces Scout and Jem to grow up quickly, and it gives them a different and more mature view of the world.

Read More
830 Words | 4 Pages

In the Southern Gothic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows how each character can be innocent through different moments throughout the novel. The story tells of a little girl named Scout, who meets new people and learns how to be mature with all of the challenges she faces. Throughout the novel, she grows older and realizes that trusting other peoples’ words can hurt her in the long run. In To Kill a Mockingbird, characters’ actions illustrate how people mature as they grow. Harper Lee teaches Scout innocence throughout the novel.

Read More
613 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the author Harper Lee shows how it's a sin to kill a mockingbird throughout the story by proving to the reader that Tom Robison and Boo Radley were the “mockingbirds” of the story so the reader can see the role of innocence. It's a sin to kill a mockingbird. “Shoot all the bluejays you want if you can hit em but, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird” (108) Atticus tells Scout this when she and Jem get air rifles for Christmas from Uncle Jack as gifts.

Read More
465 Words | 2 Pages

”Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has”. Like Atticus at Tom Robinson’s trial, he was trying to change the town for the better also teach Scout and Jem that change isn’t bad but good. Scout has changed the most since the beginning of the book. In the book Scout was innocent and naive, but at the ending of the book she has lost most of her innocents because of the events happening around her.

Read More
1426 Words | 6 Pages

Loss of Innocence Atticus had to educate his children about racism because of the trial he was working on for Tom Robinson, “Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing except sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 119). The novels To Kill a Mockingbird and All American Boys, as well as the movies Just Mercy and A Time to Kill all show the injustice that black people face in America. Each trial caused some or many of the people involved to lose a sense of innocence that they had.

Read More
694 Words | 3 Pages

Harper Lee uses Scout’s narration and Tom Robinson’s trial to portray how children lose their innocence with coming of age. In a child’s mind, everything is rainbows and butterflies. As a child starts to grow older, this gumdrop and lollipop mindset fades away to a reality of what is really going on. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee uses Scout’s narration to show that Jem is becoming more and more aware of what is happening, and losing his innocence.

Read More

More about Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird Essay

Related Topics

Open Document