Theme Of Childhood In To Kill A Mockingbird

Superior Essays
How can two people viewed by society so differently yet still have an equal, immeasurable worth? The novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee shows how far away the little bubbles people create of their lives are from the harsh reality that not everyone lives in perfect harmony. The two main characters, Jem and Scout, are shoved into experiences right off the bat that force them to leave behind their childhood and step into the real world in a way that most people never do throughout their entire life. While To Kill A Mockingbird has childhood experiences that are both youthful and serious, those that display courage through exposure to racism result in a loss of innocence. This is explained through age, the time period, and a family's influence. …show more content…
At the ages of nine and twelve, Jem and Scout should be playing outside and picking on each other, but towards the end of the book when they are asked to do this, they spend most of their day at a trial in which their dad is defending a colored man. A quote from Reverend Sykes shows how wrong it is for children to be there, “‘Mr. Jem,’ he said, ‘you better take Miss Jean Louise home’” (231). At the time, he knows how serious the trial is and it isn’t something young people should be hearing but it isn’t until awhile later that the kids start to understand it. The book reads, “Dill has started crying and couldn’t stop,” (265). The events of the trial had been so beyond their friend, Dill, that he started crying uncontrollably. While they should've been outside messing around, these kids were being hurt by words nobody should have to hear. A white woman’s trial against a black man accused of harming her is one that should have never gone to trial, but because of how negatively the world saw people of color, the Finch kids are exposed to hard times rather than play …show more content…
I do my best to love everybody...I’m hard put, sometimes-baby, it’s never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn’t hurt you’” (144-145). Then again at the end of the trial, Atticus publically speaks out against his community by showing his respect for colored people. “‘You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women-black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men’” (273). What kind of family people grow up in has a huge impact on the choices they

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