Examples Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

As children, innocence is the very basis of life; however, one thing leads to another, and that innocence is lost and replaced with a new outlook, a new sense of maturity. Harper Lee’s novel, ‘To Kill A Mockingbird,’ takes place during the Great Depression in a small southern town called Maycomb. Starting from the beginning, the symbolism of mockingbirds and their innocence is revealed. As the story progresses, we get to see through the eyes of Scout Finch, the racial injustices the town bears through a court case involving a false accusation from Mayella Ewell, a white woman, and Tom Robinson, a black man. Though, as the trial progresses to an end and the verdict of Tom Robinson is decided by the all-white jury whilst disregarding the very

He has shown continuously to be able to perceive things that others couldn’t. This is no different from the Tom Robinson court trial. Starting from chapter 17, Jem watches the trial take positive and negative turns, ultimately culminating in an undesirable ending. However, his reaction differed from that of Scout’s. As the trial progresses, Dill started to cry at the treatment Tom Robinson received from Mr. Gilmer, but Scout brushed him off saying, “” Dill, that’s his job. Why, if we didn’t have prosecutors—well, we couldn’t have defense attorneys, I reckon,”” (Lee 226). This reaction was a mirror of her reaction to the verdict, her brushing off the blatant power difference and mistreatment in court. In comparison to Jem’s reaction, “his face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the cheerful crows. “It ain’t right,” he muttered,””(Lee 243). Through Jem’s reaction, we can witness that he understood the injustice that Tom Robinson experienced even though the trial had a clear-cut answer. This reflects the theme because he realized then that people have the ability to be unjustly cruel to each other and make immoral decisions just because of a difference in race, status, or

As seen in the very title, mockingbirds are an important symbol constantly referred back to. In reference, as told by Atticus and Miss Maudie, it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird; For ““Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird,””(Lee 103). In relation to the court trial, Tom Robinson is symbolized as a mockingbird backed by his innocent intentions of only helping and not even attempting to bring harm. Yet, despite the distinct evidence of Tom Robinson’s innocence, the jury went against those morals and sinned, cruelly killing the harmless mockingbird. It’s apparent how this analogy affected Jem’s reactions as “his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty” was a separate stab between them,” (Lee 240). When pairing the mockingbird symbol with Jem’s emotional reaction, his devastation and hopelessness at his town evident, it’s clear that Jem recognized just how unjust and foul Maycomb really