Loss Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

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.

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