The Theme Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee tells the story of a young white girl growing up in Maycomb, Alabama who is forced by circumstance to experience the racial injustice of her town. Throughout the novel, Scout struggles as a child in her situation with understanding prejudice and the good and evil in people. She begins the novel naive to the hatred and unfairness of the world, but by the end of the novel her childlike idealism is gone and she understands how the no situation is black or white. Lee uses the wisdom of those close to Scout and her experiences with new or different people to convey the theme of growing up and the loss of innocence. Scout’s mentors are an important piece in her growth as a person and therefore their wisdom and encouragement help develop the theme of growing up. Jem is Scout’s older brother, and person she looks up to most. As he ages and matures, he teaches Scout important lessons on independence. For example, Scout explains, “Previous minor encounters with her left me no desire for more, but Jem said I had to grow up some time”(Lee 132). In this scene, Scout doesn’t want to go to Mrs. Dubose’s house, but Jem takes her along telling her that she has to “grow up” at …show more content…
Scout learns the ways of the world and necessary knowledge through her close supporters Atticus, Calpurnia, and Jem as well as the townspeople who aren’t looking out for her best interest. Though she loses her childlike innocence sooner than most kids due to the trial, her closest mentors help use the experience to teach her how to be a moral adult despite most of the townspeople’s flawed values. In the end, Scout seems to have been bettered by the trial by the way she acts and speaks more like an adult and her understanding is more sophisticated, showing the universal truth that losing innocence can be a positive thing, and is a necessary part of growing