To begin with, the novel To Kill a Mockingbird demonstrates the idea that the effects of racism can result in loss of Innocence. Firstly, Scout is being bullied at school by kids who are annoyed that her father, Atticus is defending a Negro. As Lee writes, “He had announced in the schoolyard the day before that Scout Finch’s daddy defended niggers. I denied it, but told Jem. ‘what’d he mean sayin’ that?” I asked. ‘Nothing,” Jem said, “ask Atticus he’ll tell you.” Do you defend niggers, Atticus?” I asked him that evening. “of course I do”(Lee 99). This quote illustrates the beginning of Scout’s loss of innocence, which essentially results in her gaining the knowledge of the racist society that she is living in. Scout begins to persecut by kids …show more content…
Additionally, from other people’s perspective, Atticus has lost, his innocence because of him defending a Negro. However, it is not true because Atticus is a lawyer and he is doing his job without criticizing him. This incident made Scout ask Atticus that if it is right to defend a Negro. By this, Scout is able to gain the ability to look from new perspectives on how the world works in very early age compared to her brother, Jem and other children. Secondly, Jem is not completely disillusion until a guilty verdict is returned to Tom Robinson at the end of his trial. Jem Says “….don’t fret, we’ve won it… Don’t see how any jury could convict on what we heard.” After, Reverend Sykes cautions Jem to not be so confident. Reverend tells him that because he has never seen justice for coloured people. Jem brings himself to tears over the injustice of the verdict, his faith in the legal system shattered and he loses his innocence. Additionally, the final decision also highlights the level of racism that is present in the town. To explain, all the evidence proves that Tom Robinson is not guilt, but still he is considering guilty because he is a
Dylan Bauer Ms. Crutchfield Silver 5 6 March 2023 To Kill a Mockingbird To Kill a Mockingbird's broad message and recurring theme throughout the book is good and innocence being interrupted or destroyed by evil, which is symbolic of the title because killing a mockingbird would be a sin because they are innocent and all they do is sing. Chapter 4 of To Kill a Mockingbird needs to stay because it is about scouts' first interactions with boo radley and how Atticus wants them to not bother them because bothering them would be for no reason as they mind their own business. Chapter 9 of TKAM needs to stay because it also symbolizes innocence being destroyed by evil as many people use racial slurs in disapproval of Atticus defending Tom Robinson.
Why do you think a mockingbird represents innocence? In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee makes innocence a big theme. In the 1930’s, Caucasian people didn’t make good decisions with respect to how they treated the black community. In the novel, innocence is one of the themes in the book; there are a variety of characters that show us innocence because they do absolutely nothing wrong.
In chapter 21, Jem and the children return to the court as the jury is deliberating. Jem reveals his innocence by telling Reverend Sykes, “‘He’s not supposed to lean, Reverend, but don’t fret, we’ve won it,’ he said wisely. ‘Don’t see how any jury could convict on what we heard—’ ‘Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man . . .’ But Jem took exception to Reverend Sykes, and we were subjected to a lengthy review of the evidence.” Jem does not factor racial prejudice into the case and naively believes that the white jury will acquit Tom Robinson.
In “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, an innocent young girl Named Jean Louise Finch [Scout] is growing up in a racist southern town and is exposed to a very heavy conflict that she doesn’t quite grasp yet but must go through anyway, showing that innocence can be blind to the most obvious problems but may unknowingly manage to solve them in positive ways. Scout is a young girl and sometimes doesn’t grasp adult situations correctly “Don’t you remember me Mr. cunningham? I’m Jean Louise Finch. You brought some hickory nuts one time remember...
Symbols, what are they? A symbol is, “something that stands for or suggests something else by reason of relationship, association, convention, or accidental resemblance.” For example, a lion represents courage, but have ever thought of a mockingbird as a symbol? In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, the “mockingbird” symbolizes somethings; it symbolizes innocence. This is important, because this helps the reader understand the passages more.
Jem, who believed so earnestly that Tom Robinson would be acquitted by the jury that justice would be served, is forced to learn the hard lessons of life. “‘Atticus—’ said Jem bleakly. He turned in the doorway. ‘What, son?’ ‘How could they do it, how could they?’
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.
The title to kill a mockingbird represents killing, destroying or hurting someone’s innocence. Being in contact with evil and/or sinful events can break someone’s innocence, as being a person of innocence means that you do not know of evil, and there is that sense of purity, but once you understand what evil really is your innocence is broken. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, there are 3 main mockingbirds; Charles Baker Harris (or better known as Dill), Tom Robinson and Arthur Radley (or as the children call him – Boo). These mocking birds have all had something or someone damage their innocence, but they are all very different and their innocence has been hurt in very different ways.
An innocent perspective of a child has the potential to alter society's beliefs. The unique voice of a child has the ability to change humanity's preconceived ideas as they have not been corrupted by society's prejudice. Harper lee explores this notion within her novel "To Kill A Mocking Bird" through the protagonist Scout, who is a child growing up in the southern states of the U.S.A. During the novel Scout is oblivious to the prejudice that is present in the community around her. Scout is symbolic of the innocence of children and their ability to guide the way to a less discriminatory society. Colloquial language when Scouts teenage cousin said "it aint your fault Atticus is a nigger lover".
When one witnesses the brutal act of harming someone or something that is innocent it leaves an indelible mark on her coming of age. This is done by overturning her naivement into maturity and encouraging her to form her own opinions on the world around her. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee these ideas are clearly portrayed. The ideas are demonstrated when the readers learn that killing a mockingbird in Maycomb is a crime due to the fact that it is immoral to harm something that is innocent. Tom Robbinson is symbolic of a mockingbird due to his innocence, and he facilitates Scout's coming of age by bringing out her maturity and showing her to formulate her own opinions about the world around her.
Harper Lee is a very famous Author who wrote the book to kill a Mockingbird. The title of the book mean to kill innocence because a Mockingbird is a symbol of innocence. The book takes place during the Great Depression in Maycomb Alabama. In her novel to kill a Mockingbird lee uses Tom, Atticus, Boo Radley as the human embodiment of the Mockingbird.
“I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”(page 119) In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the mockingbird is one of the most symbolic objects in the novel. It represents the innocence of someone not affected by the evilness of society. In the novel, there are three people, or mockingbirds, that are innocent affected by society.
“ I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” [p.119] In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, this issue is mentioned various times. There are three mockingbirds, Mayella Ewell, Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. In order to catagorize them as mockingbirds, the reader has to know what a mockingbird is.
After Atticus loses his trial, Jem notices that the Maycomb County justice system is broken and it needs help, “Then it all goes back to the jury, then. We oughta do away with juries. ”(294) This shows that Jem now understands that people are racist in everything and racism needs to be fought. On top of realizing that the justice system is in shambles, Jem realized that Tom Robinson’s case was very good at showing that.
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