Robert South a man known for his powerful preaching in the English church once said “Innocence is like polished armor; it adorns and defends.” In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird Scout Finch lives along with her insightful father Atticus, and brother Jem in the small town of 1930’s Maycomb, Alabama, a town of people stuck in their ways. Atticus, being one of the best lawyers in town takes on a major case, the rape of a white woman supposedly committed by a black man but the people just can’t seem to sense true innocence through their prejudice. Scout, and Jem as they explore their small town know of a child who everyone is terrified of, and jokes about but they are capable of ignoring all the rumors so he becomes giving, and caring toward …show more content…
Mayella Ewell the girl who Tom is accused of raping had bruises, and a beat up face from the seen, but this was from someone who led with their left hand, and Mr. Robinson “swore out a warrant, no doubt signing it with his left hand, and Tom Robinson now sits before you, having taken the oath with the only good hand he possesses- his right hand.” (Lee 204) Tom’s hand shows he is innocent, he couldn’t have possibly beaten Mayella so savagely with his non dominant hand. Tom is represented by the mockingbird when he is proven innocent by Atticus. The jury destroyed his innocence when they convicted him of a crime he did not commit, even when the evidence is on his side. Tom is prejudged when people assume he is guilty just because of his race which destroys his innocence. After Atticus shares his closing statement he says, “In the name of God, believe him” (Lee 206) Atticus knows the jury will have a hard time believing his statement because of Tom’s skin color. The whole courtroom heard the evidence and understands that Mr. Robinson is innocent in their head, but their eyes deceive them because of the society they were brought up in where they believe other races are not equal. Tom Robinson is clearly innocent, but the evidence is avoided by the jury proving he is similar to the mocking bird and it being
Throughout the book, Atticus tries very hard not to expose his children to Maycomb’s disease, but his attempt in sheltering them from the racism flowing throughout the town isn’t as successful as he had hoped; Jem and Scout are picture perfect examples of what the loss of innocence can do to children. On Scout’s first day of school, she is about as excited as a child can get; naturally, she would think her teacher would be amazed at her astounding reading capabilities, but upon reading the alphabet and quotes about the stock-market from The Mobile Register; and explaining that her father, Atticus, taught her what she knew Miss Caroline simply said that Atticus, “does not know how to teach” (23). Just by telling her this Scout felt as if it
Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” is set in a small Southern United States community called Maycomb during the Great Depression era. The whole book primarily revolves around segregation and racism and how it relates to Maycomb’s history. It eventually leads to the trial of Tom Robinson where he is accused of beating up Mayella Ewell. Even though it was clear that Tom Robinson did not do anything wrong he was convicted guilty by an all white jury because he was black. The trial of Tom Robinson and its verdict shows an example of how segregation in the court system prevents fair trials from occurring.
In the novel "To Kill A Mocking Bird" written by Harper Lee in 1960, innocence is displayed and shown through some of the characters including Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch, and Boo Radley. Although these characters were innocent, they are all accused of doing something erroneous and are caused great shame because of it. The novel relates to a mockingbird because just like the bird, they had caused no harm and being punished was preposterous. One of the main characters in the novel, Tom Robinson, was charged with false accusations of raping the daughter of Bob Ewell, Mayella Ewell. Tom hires Atticus to defend him in court, even though Atticus knew he had a strong chance of being defeated, he still took the case for not only Tom, but his family too.
Tom did not commit the crime that he was charged with. This is illustrated by the account of Heck Tate (192), Atticus’s cross-examination of Mr. Ewell (202) and Tom’s handicap (212). Mr. Tate tells the court that Mayella was mostly beat up on the right side
Innocence is the lack of knowledge of a person understanding towards certain subjects. Which often makes people react in many ways or it changes the person's point of views. Through the children one thing that makes them so pure and beautiful is there quality of being innocent in certain situations of the book. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee is showing that life is full of innocence whether it be through lack of knowledge, being unaware of the bias, or avoiding the selfishness of others opinions.
Every child lives in a fantasy world, they believe that everyone will always do the right thing with no hesitation. No one can say when a child will begin to mature and lose focus with this world they have allowed to believe is the same one, that everyone else is living in. Everyone goes through that one life altering moment as a child, that makes them realize their innocence has been taken, and it is only then that they are forced to see the world for its true colors. In the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, Jem Finch was once living in a fantasy world, he then was force to lose his innocence by hearing the verdict of Tom Robinson’s trial, and by losing his innocence he gained knowledge that allowed him to understand Society better
ELA 10C–4 Mockingbird Essay 702196501 An Innocent Society Have you ever walked down the street with a toddler? The things they say, and bring up seem absurd to anyone that’s older than they are. You might think, “What a funny thing to say.” And maybe shush them, but in their mind, they’re doing nothing wrong.
In the novel to Kill a Mockingbird the author believes that harming innocence is still trying even though you might lose your innocence when harming something. One example from To Kill A Mockingbird is when Atticus does not let his children torment Boo Radley. The author writes,” Give me those scissors” Atticus said,” they are no things to play with. Does this by any chance have anything to do with the Radleys' '
Loss of innocence is when someone comes to a realization through an event that alters their perception and understanding of reality. The novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in the small town of Maycomb in the 1930s, also known as the Great Depression. Many characters play a specific role in the novel, for instance, Boo Radley plays a mysterious character that scares children unintentionally because of events in the past. Atticus Finch, who is a white lawyer, becomes well-known to the black activists in the community because he takes on the case of Tom Robison, a black person accused of raping a white woman. The aftermath of taking the case was sizable.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Jem, Scout, and Dill’s innocence is destroyed causing them to lose their carefree and happy self after witnessing the ignorance and racism against the African-American citizens in their hometown of Maycomb. Prior to the traumatic events, the children believe everyone in Maycomb is friendly. They did not realize the racism occurring in their town until Tom Robinson’s trial. After spectating the Tom Robinson trial, the children’s view of some of the people in their town change because of their hatred against black and the injustice in the courtroom. Tom is a black man convicted of raping a white girl and despite the evidences that are on Robinson’s side, he is found guilty and is sentenced to
Tom Robinson is innocent. Still, the system will never see it that way because they can not see past Tom’s skin color, not only Tom but many people in the African American community. The Story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in the town of Maycomb Alabama in the 1930s, in this story, a black man named Tom Robinson is accused of raping a young white woman Mayella Ewell, Mayella and her family are well-known for being “trashy” they still hold a higher status than Tom just because of their skin color, this shows how unfair the system is, and even though supporting Tom and defending a black man would make him look bad and ruin his reputation Atticus Finch was determined to help Tom and prove he is innocent. You shouldn’t be prejudiced, judging someone before you
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.
Throughout the story of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout Finch and her brother, Jem, encounter the many trials of living in the small county of Maycomb, Alabama. Within their society, the ingrained principle is that those of lighter colored skin are superior to those of darker skin; Robert E. Lee Ewell is a man who strongly believes in this idea. Bob Ewell lacks compassion and love for his own daughter, leading him to beat her and force her to conceal the truth about her injuries; Additionally, Scout realizes the true corruption that lies within Mr. Ewell. He is a dishonest man who blatantly lies during the court trial, framing black man, Tom, who is likely to be seen as guilty due to the color of his skin; However, Scout is able to conclude that Tom is innocent. Although an adult, Bob Ewell never takes
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.
Innocence is a word used to describe someone 's purity. Children are prime examples of innocence, as they don’t have judgments and don’t understand mature topics. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the reader can interpret innocence as the growing up of the children. Specifically, Jem Finch showed a loss of innocence as he grew up. He showed his loss of innocence by not playing games, his more mature use of words and body language, and his different view of the world around him.