ipl-logo

Loss Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

571 Words3 Pages

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the all-encompassing theme of the narrative, loss of innocence, through several of the characters as a means of illustrating the innocence found in all that can be instantly gone by an earth-shattering event. Loss of innocence is found throughout “Scout” Finch, “Jem” Finch, and Tom Robinson. Scout can best be described as an outgoing, strong willed young girl with fists to match. With no inherent desire to dress or remotely act lady like, (“I felt the starched walls of a pink cotton penitentiary closing in on me”) ( Lee 136) ,as evidenced that she shuns her real name, Jean Louise, and instead prefers to use her more tomboyish name, Scout. Aunt Alexandria eventually succeeds in morphing her into an upstanding child in the Finch household (“Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I”) (Lee 237). As she has no real comprehension of what The Radley’s game constitutes and represents, Scout can be deemed “innocent”. Scout experiences several instances where here innocence was lost, but the most prevalent and powerful one is the trial for Tom Robinson. On the horrid day that the verdict was announced, Scout was faced with the harsh reality that justice doesn’t always prevail (“I saw something …show more content…

As he comes of age, he becomes more mature in both his physical characteristics (“I noticed a new slimness about his body. He was growing taller”) (Lee 225) and his enhanced capacity for understanding and knowing when to walk away (“Jem stiffened. Mrs. Dubose’s shot had gone home”) (Lee 101). In the early onset of the story, Jem has a child-like expectation for what people act like and should act like. Jem, just like Scout, experienced an immense loss as he failed to grapple with the inescapable truth of Tom Robinson’s fate (“his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail”) (Lee

Show More
Related

  • How Does Harper Lee Use The Loss Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

    812 Words  | 4 Pages

    Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird brings out many emotions as you read the book. It was published in 1960 and became a total hit. To Kill a Mockingbird is set in Alabama, in a small town, Maycomb, during the 60’s. The book makes you feel as if you were the main character, Scout, a young 8 year old girl.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Jem Coming Of Age In To Kill A Mockingbird

    712 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout the novel, Jem shows many aspects of his coming of age and becoming like his father, but one great example of his development is his view

    Read More

  • Examples Of Jem's Maturity In To Kill A Mockingbird

    595 Words  | 3 Pages

    Some examples of Jem's maturity through out the novel are, how he doesn't want Atticus to think badly of him when he loses his pants, how he becomes more moody and how he is the first to develop empathy for Boo. In the novel, Jem becomes very involved in the trial, fights mr. Ewell to protect scout without concern for his own life and how he is worried he won't be able to play football after breaking his arm.

    Read More

  • Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird Essay

    905 Words  | 4 Pages

    Innocence and the Mockingbird The mockingbird is a very important symbol in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. In the novel, Jem and Scout are raised by a single father, Atticus, who is also a lawyer. Atticus is given the job of defending a black man, Tom Robinson, in court.

    Read More

  • The Role Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

    613 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the author Harper Lee shows how it's a sin to kill a mockingbird throughout the story by proving to the reader that Tom Robison and Boo Radley were the “mockingbirds” of the story so the reader can see the role of innocence. It's a sin to kill a mockingbird. “Shoot all the bluejays you want if you can hit em but, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird” (108) Atticus tells Scout this when she and Jem get air rifles for Christmas from Uncle Jack as gifts.

    Read More

  • Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

    803 Words  | 4 Pages

    Harper Lee shows slight signs of the loss of innocence as she gets older and tries to understand things. As Scout loses this innocence, she won’t get it back. An example of her loss would be when she thinks to herself, “As Atticus once advised me to do, I tried to climb into Jem’s skin and walk around in it…” (Lee 48). This metaphor showed the reader her slight maturing as she starts to understand how others feel.

    Read More

  • Atticus Changes In To Kill A Mockingbird

    900 Words  | 4 Pages

    Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, by the age of eight, has been attacked by a man with the intent to kill, has witnessed death, and has been exposed to the horrid truth about her world. Scout’s experience of life changed as a result of two major problems that she experienced. The first of the major conflicts is between the lessons of Atticus - her father - and her own naivete and innocence as a child. This could be roughly summed up as ‘growing up’. Harper Lee, at the end of To Kill A Mockingbird had indeed depicted Jean Louise as a matured young lady that was at peace with her childish nature.

    Read More

  • Loss Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

    1336 Words  | 6 Pages

    Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, and Pulitzer Prize winner uses her book as a way to write about her own life growing up. Sometimes a sleepy town in Maycomb County has more to the story. Jem and Scout Finch learn this through Atticus’s acts of bravery and by losing their innocence through the Tom Robinson trial. Throughout the book Harper Lee uses many themes including courage, loss of innocence, and walking in someone else’s shoes.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

    825 Words  | 4 Pages

    In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the reader witnesses many characters mature and become more aware of what happens in the small town of Maycomb County. Throughout the book changes happen and it changes character’s lives , such Jem. Changes happen in life which can lead to the loss of childhood innocence. Experiences form in our minds and this happened to Jem in To Kill A Mockingbird. Throughout the book, Jem had to grow up and experienced things that caused him to grow up and this led to his transition to adulthood.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Maturing In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1240 Words  | 5 Pages

    Maturing is something everyone goes through in life whether you go through it early or a little later in life. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows a lot about maturing. Growing up in a small town in Maycomb, Alabama where life was a lot more different from today, you mature much different and in different ways. Jem is one person who matures through the whole story and makes realizations about people around him, including his dad, Tom Robinson, and Mrs. Dubose. Jem goes into the story thinking his dad is just some old man but as he gets older, he realizes there is more to his dad.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Loss Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1045 Words  | 5 Pages

    When one grows up, it is inevitable they will lose their innocence. Seeing the world through rose colored glasses can only take one so far, and eventually they will have to open their eyes to real issues in their lives. While this happens at different ages for everyone, Atticus in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee believes that his kids should not be sheltered from the real world. As Scout and Jem, Atticus’ children, grow up, especially in a time where Maycomb is so segregated, Atticus teaches his kids real life lessons and to not become like the rest of their town; racist and judgemental. This comes with a cost, however, as the kids “grow up” at an expedited rate.

    Read More

  • Loss Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

    544 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1730 Words  | 7 Pages

    The Mockingbird Spirit of Innocence How do you define innocence? Is there someone out in the world who is purely innocent? To understand innocence you should look at what a mockingbird does, because all they do is sing. In Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus and Miss Maudie teach Scout and Jem that it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.

    Read More

  • What Is The Theme Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1093 Words  | 5 Pages

    As we go through the different stages of life, it might not be easy for all of us, especially for Scout and Jem. Scout and Jem are abruptly woken up by the nightmare of reality from their dream of innocence. Throughout the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, it documents the moral growth of Jem and Scout as they gain a better understanding of the world. At the start of the book, Jem and Scout are innocent little kids the same as everyone else. Throughout the story, this innocence is being tested by different events for instance; the Tom Robinson Trial.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

    747 Words  | 3 Pages

    As Jem starts to mature, his body language and use of words also start to show his overall maturity and his loss of innocence. Specifically, he acts exactly like his father,

    Read More

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

Open Document