Rolypoly In To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee, an American novelist widely known for To Kill a Mockingbird, was born in 1926 and passed away in 2016. The youngest of four children, she grew up as a tomboy in a small town. Similar to Atticus Finch, her father was a lawyer, a member of the Alabama state legislature, and also owned part of the local newspaper. For most of Lee's life, her mother suffered from mental illness, rarely leaving the house. Atticus, the father of Jem and Scout, is one of the only white people in all of Maycomb who openly opposed racism. Jean Louise Finch, or “Scout” for short, is a little white girl who ages from six to nine years old in the story. By the standards of her time and place, she is very intelligent, and also a tomboy. Her brother, Jem, is …show more content…
The roly-poly is a very tiny creature that is just minding its own business. One of these bugs found a way into the house and Scout was playing around with it, watching it roll up, and relax again. However, eventually, she became bored and was going to finish off the roly-poly. Scout and Jem discuss, “‘Why couldn’t I mash him?’ I asked. ‘Because they don’t bother you,’ Jem answered in the darkness” (Lee 273). This shows shows that the roly-poly does not do any harm to anybody which solidifies it’s innocence. This bug happened to find a way into the house, but does not intend to do any harm. The way Jem sees it, because the roly-poly did nothing to them, Scout should not be allowed to do anything to it. However, Scout does not see why Jem is making such a fuss about killing the innocent roly-poly. Irritated, Scout says, “‘Let me know when you change your mind. Tell you one thing, though, I ain’t gonna sit around and not scratch a red bug’” (Lee 273). This shows that Scout no longer feels any remorse whatsoever about the innocent creature. She explains how she will not just leave a bug alone if she is sitting around doing nothing. Seeing the verdict that was given, and the way Tom Robinson was treated during the trials, she has subconsciously lost her innocence. Now, Scout realizes how terrible the real world …show more content…
Mrs. Dubose is an elderly, ill-tempered, racist woman who lives near the Finches. Although Jem believes that Mrs. Dubose is an inferior woman, Atticus admires her for the courage with which she battles her morphine addiction. On Mrs. Dubose’s property, she has a patch of white camellias that she tends to. When Mrs. Dubose passes away, a box is made for Jem. After receiving the wooden box with a perfectly white, waxy camellia flower, Jem became very frustrated, thinking it was a joke. Atticus explains, “‘I think that was her way of telling you-everything's all right now, Jem, everything's all right. You know, she was a great lady” (Lee 128). This shows how even though Mrs. Dubose is rude, racist, and mean, her flowers were one of her most prized possessions. Mrs. Dubose’s kindest gesture towards him was giving him one of these special flowers. Jem is able see her nice side, her caring side, her innocent side. The white camellias gave her this innocence. Before receiving the box, Jem did a very ill-mannered thing after she called Atticus a negro lover. Scout describes the event, “He did not begin to calm down until he had cut the tops off every camellia bush Mrs. Dubose owned, until the ground was littered with green buds and leaves” (Lee 118). This shows how Jem’s innocence has destroyed innocence. White always signifies purity and innocence. The innocent white camellias are destroyed. Jem