ipl-logo

Loss Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

1201 Words5 Pages

Loss of Innocence Have you ever had something happen to you that made you lose a part of your innocence? This happens a lot in the book To Kill a Mockingbird, and is shown through many different characters. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in the 1930’s in a small county in Alabama named Maycomb. The Finch family lives in this town and is in the main characters in the novel, and the narrator of the novel is the youngest daughter, Scout Finch. The book follows the family and town through many different events such as a court trial and the town changing, and the Radley family that is an outcast of Mycomb. Throughout the book, you can see the loss of innocence to the town and many different characters. Some examples of characters …show more content…

Tom in the book is a black man living in Maycomb, accused of raping a girl named Mayella Ewell, and Atticus Finch is the lawyer who protected him during his court case. Tom was innocent and everyone knew he did not do what he was accused of, but since he was black he was found guilty and went to prison, but ended up dying during his time in jail. It states in chapter 22 of To Kill a Mockingbird, “‘Guilty.guilty.guilty.guilty.’ I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail.” To elaborate, Tom Robinson was accused of raping a girl named Mayella, but he was innocent and he never hurt her. During his trial, Atticus changes a lot of people’s minds and convinces almost everyone that Tom is innocent, but he is still found guilty because he is black and he gets put in jail. Tom’s innocence was taken away from him a lot during the trial because everyone was accusing him of something he did not do and those people were harassing him a lot before and during the court case. His innocence was also taken away during the trial, because he was found guilty and put in jail even though many people knew he did not commit the crime he was accused

Show More
Related
992 Words | 4 Pages

“There’s something in our world that make men lose their heads – they couldn’t be fair if they tried the white men always win” (pg. 220) in the 1930s racism at the time was powerful and strong the connection it had with people made a hatred emotion towards Tom, the white men will always win. Despite all the evidence that prove Tom is innocent, people still view him as guilty. Tom Robinson never committed a crime he is as innocent as a mockingbird, if racism was not a big deal as it was Tom would be a free man. Secondly, even when Tom is on trial at a chance he might die, he still shows kindness and compassion like a mockingbird. During the trial, Tom was called up by Atticus to give his side of the story.

Read More
565 Words | 3 Pages

Many people went through this throughout the story. For example, Scout lost a lot of her innocence in this because she didn’t know people could be so barbaric in the world. She learned that it is so easy to lose innocence in life. Atticus served as a very wise person in the story. Atticus says, “...you never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it “ (30).

Read More
1127 Words | 5 Pages

Kenzie Appling Ms.Holt Bane 5/13/24 Loss Of Innocence To Kill a Mockingbird is a fascinating story about the loss of innocence. Throughout the story we grow along with the characters experiencing their emotions and thoughts; getting a glimpse of this aspect in almost every character. This is the main point of the book. The author intended us to see a bit of ourselves in the characters. Everyone can relate to growing up and finally understanding the world around us.

Read More
476 Words | 2 Pages

The loss of innocence In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee, the children scout and Jem lose a lot of their innocence and truly mature after exposure to the harsh realities of their world. Many substantial moments in their life’s greatly attributed to this growing maturity and understanding of the world. The children have very basic views of the world at the beginning of the novel, thinking only in a way that their innocence permits them to, but by the end of the story they start to realize the injustices that consistently show in the world around them. The trial of Tom Robinson was a big part of the children’s loss of innocence. In the beginning, Scout sees the world in a simple way.

Read More
1331 Words | 6 Pages

In a prejudiced southern town, a book's perceivable focus on oppression makes an immense narrative of innocence being surrendered to empathy and where characters met with injustice courageously choose to fight for societal progress. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is set in the 1930s deep in the South. The town is controlled by social injustices and predicts actions. As the novel unfolds, the necessity of change for social advancement becomes evident, often at the cost of one's innocence. Though the novel appears to focus on the oppressive nature of a prejudiced Southern town, its deeper message lies in the inevitable loss of innocence required for social progress.

Read More
208 Words | 1 Pages

The loss of innocence is shown through all of the characters an example of this is Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson’s reputation was destroyed and he was wrongfully accused of a heinous crime. Mayella couldn’t hold on to the innocence in her life because of the abusive relationship she had with her husband, as well as falsely accusing Tom Robinson

Read More
822 Words | 4 Pages

“25% of American children will confront at least one traumatic event before reaching the age of 16”(nctsn.org). In Harper’s Lee timeless classic “To Kill a Mockingbird” the theme of innocence lost resonates deeply, echoing the truth that once innocence is relinquished, it can never truly be regained. Through the lens of Scout, the reader is exposed to the intricacies of the effects that the loss of innocence has had on varying characters in the novel. The story takes place in Maycomb County, a place where innocence and fragility is a poignant topic, and is approached and written by the author from many different perspectives. From the onset, the perspective that dominates the novel is from Scout, and the reader is able to experience first hand

Read More
289 Words | 2 Pages

To kill a mockingbird, V for Vendetta, Slated and Thirteen all convey the theme loss of innocence. To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem lose their innocence through injustice. V for Vendetta and Slated, both Evey and Kyla loses their innocence through government manipulation. Lastly Thirteen, Tracy loses her innocence through school and the influence of her friends. These shows how there are a variety of ways to lose your innocence.

Read More
1405 Words | 6 Pages

Innocence is a time in one’s life of carefreeness and peace. In youth, children have yet to experience the harsh realities of life, and when they do, it is often hard to cope with. In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee portrays Maycomb’s prejudiced ways through an unfair trial of an innocent man, and through the treatment of certain members of the community. The young narrator, Scout, and her older brother, Jem, experience growth and learn compassion when the trial exacerbates Maycomb’s intense intolerance. In this novel, Lee uses the characterization of the Finch children to demonstrate that innocent children who have been exposed to their community’s prejudice, often have trouble adjusting, but need a mentor figure to help them mature.

Read More
651 Words | 3 Pages

Innocence is the purity and the goodness of a child that is eventually outgrown and lost through tragic experiences. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the loss of innocence is displayed through the book in every aspect. Jem Finch’s Innocence is lost when a social outcast and rumored murderer named Boo Radley teaches him what it means to have compassion. After Jem got mad at Mrs.Dubose a bitter old woman and a morphine addict, Jem was forced to read to her every day out of this Jem learns what true courage is. Tom Robinson, an African-American man is accused of raping a young girl end is evidently innocent but it convicted and sent to death this is the last piece that tears down Jem’s innocence and his view of his hometown Maycomb.

Read More
785 Words | 4 Pages

The Theme of Innocence in To Kill a Mockingbird When a person hears the word innocent what do they think of? Children? A kind old neighbor? In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird the mockingbird is the main symbol of innocence throughout the book. As the reader ventures into the lives of Scout, her brother Jem, their father Atticus, and many of their neighbors and other family members we can see many characters embodying the image of the mockingbird.

Read More
805 Words | 4 Pages

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird shows many prominent themes such as the end of innocence. Throughout the theme which pertains to real life, during the time it was written and even to today, the novel goes through the life of Scout, the narrator, a little girl that lives in Maycomb, Alabama. The theme of end of innocence is expressed by the extended Finch family's opinions, the community's opinions on Atticus defending Tom Robinson, and how Jem perceives the Tom Robinson court case. The extended Finch family is an enormous negative influence on the characters Jem and Scouts' lives. The family has a truly diverse opinion on how the children should be raised compared to how Atticus is raising them.

Read More
1522 Words | 7 Pages

In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee tells a poignant coming-of-age story about the loss of innocence in the character of Scout. Three significant events illustrate this fact. The first example portrayed in the novel occurred when Scout went to the jail to find out what Atticus was up to, only to find that a mob had arrived to lynch Tom Robinson. This event left Scout with the notion of a mob mentality. Another event was the turning point of the story, the trial of Tom Robinson; this defining moment taught Scout of prejudice and injustice.

Read More
1332 Words | 6 Pages

The Persecutions of Innocents Innocence, or the loss of innocence, is a significant theme presented in several notable works of literature. In the classic novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the well-known theme of innocence is illustrated in a distinctive manner, which involves a comparison between characters and mockingbirds. The mockingbird acts as a central symbolic reference to the aspect of innocence or purity. Three of the most prominent of mockingbirds are Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Mayella Ewell, who present the ultimate symbolic reference of innocence through their pure natures and persecutions.

Read More
970 Words | 4 Pages

“We may think of children as being innocent, but the experience of innocence is a way of being, a chosen state of mind--and one that can be experienced at any stage of life.” (John B. Izzo). Harper Lee strongly supports this throughout the story about a small family containing, a father who goes by Atticus, and two children Scout and Jem. They're outlooks contrast differently than most of their town, who are problematic and racist. Both Miss Maudie and Boo Radley help the finch children by helping the kids when they're in need, and comforting them.

Read More

More about Loss Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Open Document