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Loss Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

544 Words3 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." The kids had never met Boo and Jem said all this stuff based on stories he has heard. Jem throughout the books wants to get Boo outside to truly see who he is. Jem’s innocence is thinking Boo is a monster. …show more content…

On the Radley property there is a large oak tree, and on their tree there is a massive hollow knot. One day, Jem noticed a piece of tin foil sticking out of the tree. It was a piece of gum and Jem and Scout took it and ate it. Then for the next couple of days there were other gifts waiting for them. One day, the hole they were thrilled to encounter every day had been filled up. After finding out Jem becomes very upset and Scout says, “He stood there until nightfall and I waited. I saw he had been crying; his face was dirty in the right places, but I thought it odd that I had not heard him” (page 63). Jem finds out that Mr. Radley had been the one to fill the tree with cement. Jem realizes that Mr. Radley filled the hole because they were in contact with Boo. Jem’s loss of innocence is realizing that maybe Boo isn’t the mean Radley in the

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Did I scare you? Well Boo Radley sure scared Jem and Scout. The rumors they collected about him we're plenty. “ Jim gave a reasonable description of Boo : Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined off of raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were blood stained – if you ate an animal raw , you would never wash you could never wash their blood off…”(13). According to scout, Jem's sister, Boo was one creepy man who ate animals alive!

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After his adventures at the Radley house Jem is in a bad mood for a week, and then the children go back to school. Scout starts second grade which is apparently just as bad as first grade and Jem tells Scout that he was freaked out after retrieving his pants from the Radley home because they were mended badly and were sitting on top of the fence instead of being where he had left them. A few days later on their way home Jem and Scout see a ball of twine in a knothole of a tree on the Radley proper, however they leave it there thinking that the knothole may be someone 's secret hiding place. When it is still there a few days later they decide it is okay to take the twine and consequently several other things left inside the tree. Over the next

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In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Harper Lee uses the motif of Boo Radley and finding gifts in the tree to teach Jem and Scout that they shouldn’t blindly believe the rumors they hear but find out the truth for themselves and form impressions based on it. Scout and Jem find gifts in the knothole of a tree on the Radley lot, presumably left by Boo Radley. Mr. Radley, Boo’s brother ends up plugging the knothole with cement, claiming the tree is dying. Jem stays outside on the porch until sundown after he finds out that the knothole has been blocked. When Jem comes inside, Scout comments to herself, “ [Jem] stood there until nightfall, and I waited for him.

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In Chapter 4 of To Kill a Mockingbird Jem and Scout find several things in the knot-hole of the old oak tree on the Radley house. The children are very curious about who left these things there. Later in the book they realize that it is Boo Radley is leaving the gifts. He is trying to show them his affection for them. Throughout the novel Jem and scout find 2 sticks of gum, a pack of gum, 2 old Indian head coins, gray twine, soap figures carved to like Jem and Scout, old spelling bee medals and an old watch on a chain and an aluminum knife.

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Throughout the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” written by Harper Lee, the readers can see how Scout changes her view about Boo Radley. Because of their nosiness, Jem, Scout, and Dill try to drag Boo out his house and to the outside world. Their innocent actions combined with Boo’s actions changed the image of Boo, in their minds, from “a malevolent phantom” (10), a person who kills cats and eats squirrels to a neighbor they can trust, who saves them from Bob Ewell. Scout says at the end, “Boo was our neighbor” (373). The readers can see a great change in their relationship.

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However almost everyday Jem finds toys or random objects in the tree out front of the Radleys house. This gives Jem the idea that Boo isn 't some horrible monster after all. “Atticus believes Jem killed Ewell in self-defense, but Tate makes him realize that Boo Radley actually stabbed Ewell and saved both children 's lives.”(lee 28) This quote shows that the children had been put in a situation where the so-called “monster” Boo Radley saved their lives and they now could look at him not as some maniac but a hero and regular person who stays inside to protect himself from the stereotypes and cruelty of the world because of something people had said and that had been spread throughout the

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Jem learns that adults can actually be misleading and dishonest to other adults and children. After Jem and Scout receive several small gifts in the knothole of the Radley Tree, he suspects that it is Boo Radley who is leaving them for the children. Jem and Scout write Boo a letter and attempt to place it in the knothole of the tree, only to see it filled with cement. Jem asks Nathan Radley why he filled the knothole with cement, and Nathan lies to Jem. Telling him that the tree is sick.

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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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From the start to the end of the story Jem and Scout always wanted to talk to Boo Radley, “someone had filled our knot-hole with cement. ”(62) The cement tree created a deeper relationship between the three of them. This reached the goal by being able to have a friendship, in which the cement tree was their connection. This pushed Jem and Scout to be able to find out who their real neighbor was.

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The children in particular think that Boo is a bad person and is a man they should be scared of, but he has only ever shown kindness towards the children. This is first shown after Jem retrieved his pants from the schoolyard, telling Scout,“ ‘...they were folded across the fence...like they were expectin’ me’ ” (Lee 58). This proves that someone knew why Jem had lost his pants, which only Jem, Dill, and Scout knew. The children had been at the Radley house earlier that evening, so it is very likely that Boo saw the children from inside and knew they were out.

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To Kill a Mockingbird is a book mainly about the coexistence of good and evil. The book stresses and emphasizes on the exploration of moral nature in humans. There are many themes in this novel including courage, innocence, racism, femininity, etc. However the most prevalent theme in the book is innocence. Not just innocence in itself but the danger and harm evil poses to the innocent.

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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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In the story Boo Radley plays the role of Scout and Jem’s guardian angel. He watches over them and helps them when they get into trouble. In the first chapters, the kids make fun of Boo, they taunt him. All they know about him is what they have heard, that he is a crazy man. Throughout the story though, Boo proves them wrong.

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Decide how the relationship between Scout and Boo Radley evolves providing sufficient evidence In ‘To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, Scout develops a strange relationship with a mysterious character, Boo Radley. Scout, Jem, and Dill are interested in Boo Radley because of the mystery that dominates around him and the Radley house. The town people poorly judge Boo Radley and hearing stories from Miss Stephanie Crawford frightens Scout and Jem. Although the relationship starts out as fear and mystery, as time passes, Scout begins to realize that Boo isn’t the monster they described him as, he is rather a nice and caring person.

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One day, they took so many things, that they decided to tell the person, whoever it was, thank you. So, they wrote a note and placed it inside of the tree, where they would find all of the objects. The next day, when Scout and Dill were passing by the tree to see their response. They saw Mr. Nathan Radley putting cement inside of the hole. Scout and Jem were overall sad and crying after they had found this out.

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