Atticus Finch Innocence

According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, the definition of innocence is “A freedom from guilt or sin through being unacquainted with evil; the lack of worldly experience or sophistication.” Many of the characters in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird have an innocence that has been untainted by the evils of the world. Jem, Scout, Dill and Tom Robinson’s innocence slowly diminishes throughout the story, all the while Mr. Atticus Finch is doing his best to show that even with all the evil humanity is plagued with; goodness still exists. The loss of one’s innocence occurs when a person is introduced to the evils that go on around us every day, and they gain an understanding of the true nature of man, both good and evil. One of the main …show more content…
She is Atticus’s youngest child who also happens to be the narrator of the story. Throughout the entire book, she learns a lot very quickly due to the events that happen, she learns just as much as Jem, however she isn’t old enough to fully grasp the evils of the world around us. We can tell Scout is still innocent by the way she acts and by her outlook about ongoing events. Before the case started she asked Calpurnia, “Well, if everybody in Maycomb knows what kind of folks the Ewells are they’d be glad to hire Helen... what’s rape, Cal?”(Lee 124). This just goes to show that she may know of things but she doesn’t know the severity of the meaning of some of the things she knows. Her innocence is picked away with every new story and word she hears that comes from the court case. Very early, we are introduced to Boo Radley, a psychopathic, squirrel eater that lives across the street from the Finch’s. At least that’s the rumor the children have spread. Boo is a great example of her innocence. She believes that if they step foot on his yard or go near it that Boo will come out and eat them or whatever was going on through her mind at the moment. They have never seen him, only heard stories, so to them, he is nothing but a fictional character in their imagination. It isnt until the very end of the book that we finally meet Boo (Arthur) Radley, and it is a good thing we did because he …show more content…
He knows that one day their innocence will be gone but that won’t stop him from raising his kids to be as goodhearted of a man that he is. The loss of innocence is inevitable. Evil is all around us, and will continue to corrupt the world whether we like it or not, however, Atticus is able to show his children through Tom Robinson’s case that the world maybe evil, but there is still good to be found in the true nature of man. You just have to be willing to walk around in their skin and then you will understand why it is they do what they do. The ability to view the world from other people’s perspective ensures that one’s appeal will not become cynical as innocence is