Theme Of Loss Of Innocence 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,

          Continuing,  as Jem is seeing things from others point of views, he grows in his maturity which leads to him to act as adult. An example of this is when Scout and Aunt Alexandra, who is very determine to keep a good reputation to the family name, get into an argument regarding the

One other sign of maturation can be seen in the children’s level of respect for Atticus. In part one, Jem and Scout love Atticus but think he is old and not very exciting. Jem is always upset because Atticus will never play tackle football with him. Scout is always getting into fights and doesn’t listen immediately to Atticus when he tells her to stop. A huge change is seen in part two when the children realize how great of a man and a parent Atticus really is. Jem no longer minds that Atticus

As To Kill a Mockingbird progresses, Jem takes definitive steps toward maturity with his actions in the tire and flower incidents, for example. He would later go on to repair the flowerbed he destroyed, and take greater care to protect Scout. Through his actions, we can see Jem develop a sense of morals and responsibility that would prove to be a lifesaver.

“Maturity is the ability to think, speak and act your feelings within the bounds of dignity. The measure of your maturity is how spiritual you become during the midst of your frustrations.” is a quote from Samuel Ullman. This describes the struggles that Jem went through by taking part in the community and trial and by also taking the risk of losing some of his friends and family in Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird. Through Jem’s interaction with the racism of Maycomb, he became aware of the things around him. We all learn that it takes a strong person to overcome the barriers of society.

As the novel progresses, both Jem and Scout are shown to mature, this is due to "To Kill A Mockingbird" being a bildungsroman novel. Through this coming of age process, we are actually shown Jem’s new found maturity enabling him to find empathy and acceptance regarding the Boo Radley myths, as he finally took his father’s advice to “climb into someone else’s skin and walk around in it” when he was explaining to Scout his epiphany that he “[is] beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut in his house all this time. It’s because he wants to stay inside.”

Firstly, Jem begins to show his social corrections, changes, and potential. Jem originally feels bad because he can't understand others like Scout , his sister, or the situation that is going on with such people. He starts changing when he begins to adjust social situations the way an older teen would. Example; Jem grows older and becomes distant because of his brain power. Scout gets jealous, “What had began as a fist-fight had become a brawl.”(184) They did

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.

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.

In addition, Jem abandons all of his childish morals: “Jem looked the floor. Then he rose and broke the remaining code of our childhood. He went out of the room and down the hall. ‘Atticus,’ his voice was distant, ‘can you come here a minute, sir?’” (p.187-188). Dill, Jem and Scout’s best friend, ran away from his home and came to the Finch’s house. Jem has broken “the remaining code of our childhood” by telling Atticus about Dill, rather than keeping it a secret. He has matured past his childhood years, and realizes that sometimes it is best to involve adults.

Jem grows and realizes his maturity as he reflects on his previous naivety. In To Kill A Mockingbird Scout tries reasoning with Jem after a trail has left him disappointed, she says there are “only one type of folks. Folks” (Lee 227) referring to the people in Maycomb Community but Jem disagrees saying “’That’s what I thought, too’, he said at last, ‘when I was your age”(Lee 227). This quote shows Jem reflecting on what he thought when he was Scout’s age back when he wasn’t aware of the racism in his community. His views back then were influenced by being in the Finch household where Atticus always treated everyone equally. Jem matured by

He rather than sulking around or hiding away embraces these changes and uses them tactically. An example of this is the confrontation they faced with the mob gang at the jail. Jem, although told to go home, recognizes that his decision to stay will most likely prevent the mob from causing Atticus and Tom any harm. “As they faced each other I could see little Though Jem takes a risk, he realises that the consequences of him defying his father would be much less severe than the consequences of leaving would be. He uses his knowledge and maturity to an advantage by protecting Atticus and Tom knowing he had to defy his father in order to so.

Have you ever had a moment in your life when your innocence vanishes? There are things that as kids that you will not understand. It is part of growing up and growing up is no easy task. It's like telling a dog to roll over without training. When you lose your innocence there's no going back. Going forward is the only way. In To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee teaches the reader that the experiences of childhood lead to loss of innocence.

After Tom Robinson’s trial, Jem is distraught over Toms guilty verdict and how a human could ever be treated the way he was. Jem understands how hard this must be for Tom and heavily empathises with him. ….. “how could they do that quote”……. Jem also started to show more of an understanding towards Boo Radley earlier than scout. He believes that the reason Boo stays in his house all the time is “because he wants to stay inside.” He demonstratedsome understanding and compassion for the neighbor that he had always treated like a monster. However he is also starting to comprehend how corrupt his world is and the people who are in it. If a man could be put in Jail for a crime he didn’t commit, why would you want to live in a world with such horrible people. After Atticus’s teachings all through the novel of empathy and compassion, Jem and Scout finally reach the right level of maturity to understand the concept in full and be able to apply empathy to their lives.

In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Harper Lee artfully and realistically matures the character of Jem Finch throughout the novel. In the story, Jem transforms from a trouble-making, sometimes insensitive young boy to a more worldly, responsible young man. There is a significant difference in the Jem who, in the beginning of the novel, tries to break into the Radleys’ house and initiates and participates in games that make fun of them and the Jem nearer the end of the novel who takes it upon himself to inform Atticus of the sudden appearance of Dill even though he breaks “the remaining code of [the three’s] childhood” in the process. This change is entirely plausible, because as people age, they inevitably are faced with more duties and therefore must