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What Is Scout's Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Think back to when you were little kid around 7 or so and you had no worries about life or anything. All you would think about is candy and toys and nothing about the world of adults. No worries of the weather or what the grown ups would talk about. Scout’s childhood innocence takes a turn from her care free days to the real world of racism and bad people. In To Kill a Mockingbird Scout witnesses the trial of Tom Robinson and how racism is taught to her unknowingly from it. There were many characters for Harper Lee to choose from but she chose Scout and this way we are able to understand racism back then. Harper Lee chose Scout to be the narrator of To Kill a Mockingbird because her innocence and her experiences this while growing up through …show more content…

In the story Atticus states “As you grow older, you 'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don 't you forget it- whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash”. Since Scout is hearing this from such a young age it gives the reader a better understanding of how Scouts life is being affected since she is so young. If in this case it was in Atticus’s shoes the reader wouldn 't learn as much as from Scout 's eyes because Atticus is very smart and doesn 't need to learn these type of things again, therefore we the reader wouldn 't learn anything moral. Another advantage that Harper Lee had when writing To Kill a Mockingbird is that when Scout says “I think there 's one kind of folks. Folks”, she is able to portray more of her child like innocence, whereas if this was Atticus saying it, it wouldn 't really make sense considering he 's a grown man who knew a lot of and about the world. The only disadvantage of this particular situation is that Scout hasn 't had a lot of experience with the real world therefore she doesn 't know of the experiences maybe her dad was having. If it was however in Atticus’s eyes maybe said in a better way it would sound more mature than just folks are folks even though that may not be true. With Scouts youth there is a Naive personality behind it and the belief that everyone is equal and may not make sense to

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She grew up never understanding what was going on around her, but as she grew older she understood the bad things that were happening around her. Scout grew up in a very racist town, surrounded by racists every day she had to know what was right and what was wrong. “There’s something in our world that makes men lose their heads—they couldn’t be fair if they tried. In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins. They’re ugly, but those are the facts of life”(Lee 330).

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Harper Lee’s purpose in describing Atticus the way he does in To Kill A Mockingbird is directly used to convey the theme in the story. As Atticus is described as being one who does not judge or think differently about people based on their race, gender, or religious beliefs it is used by the author to establish the theme of innocence. This comes as Atticus is just so kind to everyone around him, no matter their background, it even has Miss Maudie even talking about him as being just so consistent and holding no grudges and due to the author making Atticus be seen this way it shows off the theme of innocence as when Atticus will defend a black man in court and Scout gets picked on at school she does not understand why due to her innocence. She

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Scout when her classmates are making fun of Atticus for defending a black man , and Jem when he believed Nathan Radley when he cemented the tree because it was “ill”. Scout hears her classmates saying terrible things about Atticus because he's defending a black man, but she doesn't see the wrong in what her father is doing. Atticus explains to her that it's not really a bad thing, but some people see it that way. Scout is too young to understand prejudice and injustice. Atticus tries to preserve this innocence by raising her to believe that there is nothing wrong with defending a black man.

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Scout had just come home from a hard day at school. Her classmates had just found out about the Tom Robinson case, and how Atticus defended a black man.

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The main characters Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Bob Ewell face moments that deal with racism all told from the perspective of a six year old girl, Scout. The intended purpose of expressing racial relations in Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,”

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Oftentimes, Scout is confused as to why someone would treat her or anyone differently because of their gender, age, or skin color. For example, on Scout’s first day of school, she tells her teacher, Ms.Caroline, that she can read. Ms.Caroline is not happy about that, and tells Scout to stop reading. Scout is angry at Ms. Caroline, and says to Jem, “...that damn lady says Atticus been teaching me to read and for him to stop it…”(Lee 23). This shows how Scout is angry that Ms. Caroline is trying to change how she learns.

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Throughout the novel, Scout is faced with situations that challenge her understanding and compassion for others, particularly in the context of racism and misogyny. For instance, when Scout learns about the treatment of Tom Robinson, a black man wrongly accused of rape, she is forced to confront the reality of racial injustice and question her beliefs about fairness and justice. As she becomes more aware of how racism and misogyny pervade her community, she experiences a growing sense of frustration and anger, struggling to reconcile her empathy with the harsh realities of the world around her. In the novel, Lee attempts to explores the concept that empathy is not always easy but is a continuous journey of growth and self-reflection. Through Scout's struggles, the novel highlights how privilege and power can blind individuals to the experiences of others and the importance of examining one's own biases and prejudices to cultivate a deeper understanding and empathy.

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Atticus knows what it is like for people not the same as everyone else to get treated differently, so he is trying to teach Scout the right way. He showed great integrity as well because he did not care about getting attention, he just wants to do the right thing. In Source B (Brad Dorfman), a young latino singer was bashed for singing the “Star Spangled Banner” to latin music. Many racist comments came about on social media, but then many empathetic people felt sorry and knew what kind of abuse he was taking. They knew that all of the comments were rude and unnecessary.

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Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that show the life of a southern state od Alabama during the “black racism” time period, where majority of the people had the mentality that (quote) with the exception of a few. To chosen to portray it from the eyes of Scout Finch, from a child’s point of view. Living in Maycomb, in the midst of a conservative society of the 1930’s and 20’s Southern America Scout Finch is an extra ordinary child.

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He says, “As you grow older, you 'll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don 't you forget it—whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash." (Lee 250) Atticus explains the harshness of the way white men treat and act around black people. He tells them that there is not excuse for behavior like that, and so the children choose not to act that way. This method of combating prejudice can be very effective on the children being taught,

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Scout herself learns from Atticus, her father, that “[y]ou never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb in his skin and walk around in it.” (Lee 39) Throughout the novel, Scouts truly learns about racism, how it affects everyone, and how unfair it was toward the African community. We still have much to learn because there is very much still racism in today’s society. By using books like To

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He knows the rest of the town will disapprove, but he believes in the innocence of this man and does not care of his complexion. In this moment, Scout and Jem only see how everyone will downgrade them and see them differently. Atticus shows, it does not matter what others think, all that matters is that you support what you believe in. This shows how Atticus is a strong character who contributes a lot to the overall lesson

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