How Did The Trial Affect The Children In To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a timeless, touching novel that examines stereotyping and its consequences while teaching main characters Jem and Scout Finch major life lessons through the racism of other people like Tom Robinson and Arthur "Boo" Radley. "Boo" was like a monster to the minds of the citizens of Maycomb. The novel shadows the lives of Jem and Scout, children of small-town lawyer Atticus Finch. Lee uses Atticus to defend the case of Tom Robinson, a black man, who is accused of raping a white woman in racist Maycomb, Alabama. During the time of the trial, Lee shows the innocence of the children while they age in the racist period. Lee puts the children in the trial plot to show how they learn major life lessons through their father's actions. They witness the maturity their father possesses when racism overcomes the society of Maycomb. The three main children characters react in different ways to the trial of Tom Robinson- and take from it different lessons about the world; Dill who identifies strongly with Tom responds with panic and paranoia, Jem becomes cynical and disillusioned with the justice system, while Scout (perhaps like Harper Lee herself) remains accepting and hopeful about the possibilities of social change. Not to mention, Jem and Scout are not the only children affected in the racist county. …show more content…
From Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, the trial of Tom Robinson not only affected many adults, but children as well. The youngest members of society from Maycomb county were Jem, Dill, and Scout. These children witnessed the Tom Robinson trial and witnessed the racial inequality the country had brought. These children realized that not everyone was who society made them seem. They realized that the country of Maycomb was not what they thought it was. These children realized how racially unequal their country was, just like the rest of the