Innocence Theme In To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is best known as a literary classic, telling the tale of a young girl named Jean Louise “Scout” Finch’s childhood in a southern Alabama town during the great depression. While the fate of a black male convicted of rape still looms in the synopsis. To Kill a Mockingbird the title of the novel, refers to a quote on page 119. Both said by Atticus Finch the town of Maycomb's lawyer and Miss Maudie his neighbor, “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird”. As said by Miss Maudie “ Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. 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 119). The title of this novel isn’t only referencing this quote,

A principle of growing up is that at some point, every child goes through a loss of innocence. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, it is easy to see the young characters growing up and beginning to notice things they never noticed before. One character in particular being Jem. He goes through the maturing stage throughout the book and it recognizes how he did so. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Jem faces a loss of innocence causing him to see from a more mature point of view.

The idea of mockingbirds in this text carries great symbolic weight, mockingbirds are considered the innocents in the novel. It is considered a sin to kill a mockingbird, which symbolizes the destruction innocence. Tom Robinson, Arthur “Boo” Radley, Jem and Mr. Raymond can all be identified as mockingbirds - innocents who have been injured or destroyed through contact with evil.

The Mockingbird is a symbol of innocence in To Kill a Mockingbird: “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 90). Ms. Maudie is trying to explain to the kids that it is a sin to kill something innocent. The Mockingbird does nothing harmful to them they just sing songs to the humans . There are many connecting symbols in To Kill a Mockingbird. Not only do many things in the book such as mockingbirds there are things in the book that represent these symbols. A mockingbird is innocent, keeps to itself, makes others happy much like Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Scout Finch throughout the novel.

In this novel, innocence is represented from all ages yet all still contribute to the mockingbird factor. Charles Baker “Dill” Harris doesn’t develop and mature throughout the story. In this way, he is seen as a mocking bird because he’s innocent by his childish actions. His childish actions flow throughout To Kill A Mockingbird and he never changes this lifestyle, because that’s all he knows how to do. An example of this is in the court scene when we wasn’t aware of what’s going on, “Dill leaned across me and asked Jem what Atticus was doing”(Lee 254). In this scene the children snuck into the courthouse to listen to Atticus defend Tom Robinson, and Dill is questioning what is happening in the court.This scene is an example of

There is a dominant motif in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, regarding the symbolic importance of the mockingbird and how it relates to some of her characters. In Harper Lee’s portrayed world as well as our present day world mockingbirds represent nothing but pure innocence, thus to kill a mockingbird would be to destroy innocence. Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley are all perfect examples representing a mockingbird; innocents who have been injured or destroyed through contact with

In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird innocence is spread throughout the novel. Innocence is connected to the mockingbird because they do nothing but sing. There are three examples of innocence within the novel; Boo Radley, Mayella Ewell, and Tom Robinson.

Throughout the duration of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there are many instances where Lee uses symbolism to help deepen our understanding of the text. This successful novel is set to show the racism of the south in the 1930s. One of the more prominent symbols would be that of the ever so famous mockingbird. You can see examples of this throughout the novel, but more specifically when Atticus says “Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (page 99) The mockingbird is the symbol of innocence. It is used to link the two main plot points in the novel, Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. They are the mockingbirds because they are innocents who have been destroyed by the evil of the world. This helps to deepen the understanding by connecting the importance of their characters with the innocence of the mockingbird.

make fun of or judge a guest of the house. In her innocence, she had

That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’” (Lee 119). Quite a few characters actually embody the concept of innocence, or are the metaphorical mockingbird. First are the children, Jem and Scout, the innocence of the kids are slowly dissipated throughout the novel. Jem and Scout’s “mockingbird” is killed by the end of the novel because of their exposure to their father’s trial. The children went from naïve, innocent children to mature children. In pertaining to Boo Radley the kids believed the rumors about Boo such as, “as Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent’s leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities,” (Lee 13) to understanding Boo on a mature level as Jem said, “‘…Scout, I think I’m beginning to understand something. I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time…it’s because he wants to stay inside.” (Lee 304). From the beginning to the end of the novel, it is possible to see the “killing of the Mockingbird” or the loss of innocence because of their reasoning in general. Through Tom Robison’s trial Jem and Scout learned that life is not fair and all people are not equal; in the trial, since Tom was black, he was not given a fair and equal trial, and the children finally saw the true nature of the people of Maycomb County. Another “mockingbird” in the novel is Tom

In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird a major theme is the loss of innocence. Whether from emotional abuse, racial prejudice or learning, Boo, Tom, and Scout all lose their innocence in one sense or another. The prejudice that each character endures leads to their loss. Through the responses of Boo, Tom, and Scout, Harper Lee shows how each character responded differently to their loss of innocence.

In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird the most commonly identified theme is the loss or destruction of innocence. Innocence has a number of meanings and a lot of these are shown within the story. The main ones represented in the book are, the state, quality, or fact of being innocent of a crime or offense, lack of guile or corruption, having purity, and freedom from guilt or sin especially through lack of knowledge of evil. There are characters who include Jem and Scout, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley who show their definition of innocence through the book. Each of these characters who has their innocence goes down a path where they lose it and they have to take on the world face to face.

Boo Radley, or Arthur Radley had been kept isolated from the rest of the community as punishment for one act of delinquency, from what evidence is given in the book. He is seen in public again at the age of thirty-three, after he stabs his father’s thigh with scissors. Mr. Radley then keeps Boo at home after he spends some time in the courthouse basement, and never leaves the house. Mr. Radley and his elder son Nathan violate Boo’s rights to education and therapy, right to participation in community life, and the right to a guardian that would care for Boo’s well-being and interests.

To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in a tiny southern town in Alabama in 1932. The tiny town of Maycomb was home to deep rooted racism. Two children named Scout and Jem live in this town with their father Atticus and when their father is sent to defend a black man their lives see a dramatic change. The children soon learn the harsh truth of their little town and lose a childhood full of innocence. In her novel To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee foreshadows a loss of innocence through the symbolic significance of building a snowman, a harsh fire, and a mockingbird.

Boo Radley was a young man who stayed within the confinement of his home. He is rumored to be scary, but he actually just chooses to stay inside away from all the tragedy happening outside. In the play, several details such as the