What Is The Theme Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird is a story by Harper Lee that shows the effects of racism and the power of revenge on a community. In the story, Scout Finch, a curious little girl living in the Southern United States, witnesses how a trial in her town affected the everyday lives of the people who lived around her. She and her older brother, Jem, go on exciting adventures and learn many important life lessons from their father, Atticus Finch, who is also the lawyer in the local court case regarding a rape trial between a black man and a white woman. Atticus teaches many things to his children, all of which connect to the book’s central theme. The author uses symbolism to represent how a community loses its innocence because of racial tensions and controversial events. Harper Lee conveys many themes in To Kill A Mockingbird, in order to represent the most complex and important theme of innocence to the reader, she makes use of her character’s attitudes, a general change in the town, and by using symbolism with the mockingbird. In the novel, the Finch family’s attitudes show that they were innocent minded regarding the racial prejudice of the time. Atticus makes it his priority to teach his children to grow into respectable, educated, and just-minded people. In order to teach his children about the effects of racial prejudice, Atticus tells his children, "As you grow older, …show more content…
The many uses of innocence in the story present a clear picture that innocence is something to be treasured. Innocence is shown to be fragile, especially when there is such great controversy present. The author teaches many lessons regarding the importance of innocence through her characters’ actions and conversations that can be applied to anybody’s life in an effort to make the world a more just