Theme Of Cruelty In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Scout finds a roly-poly and starts playing with it. Out of boredom, she decides to squash the insect. Jem tells him to not squash the bug because it was harmless and minds its own business. The trial and Tom Robinson's death has forced Jem to grow up. Jem no longer tolerates casual cruelty and respects all life, even insects. Whereas Scout does not understand why hurting a meaningless bug who does not do harm. Jem's act of telling Scout not to kill the insect ties directly to the main theme of the book. "To Kill a Mockingbird", indicates to kill an innocent creature who does no harm is wrong. Jem is disturbed by Tom Robinson's death because like the mockingbird and the roly-poly, it was killed without any intention of killing anyone. Despite