Eighty-five years ago, times were different. People in Maycomb County, Alabama seldom had cars, there were no phones, and in that town, everyone knew everyone’s name. Harper Lee’s classic southern novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, uses a racially charged trial from the nineteen-thirties to depict the theme of loss of innocence through the experiences of Scout and Jem Finch. Throughout the book, both young Finches come to realize the harsh realities of racism, injustice, and changes in judgement, which ultimately leads to Scout and Jem losing their naivety and innocence. An important example of innocence between Scout and Jem is that they are introduced to racism. Calpurnia, the African-American housekeeper for the Finch family, keeps the kids
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As Atticus Finch starts the process of defending Mr.Robinson, the Finch kids begin to realize the cruelty of two of the possible outcomes of Mayella Ewell’s situation. Whether the Ewell’s were targeting Tom Robinson for a crime he did not commit or Mr. Robinson really did rape Mayella, Scout comes to notice there are bad situations in the world, and there is bad in people. Scout, however, believes in Tom’s innocence which results in her and her brother learning how unfair and unjust the world truly is. A second large injustice in the novel is the outcome of Tom Robinson’s entire situation. Mr. Robinson is accused, tried, then killed, and it seems as if it is all because the color of his skin is black. Atticus explains this to Scout, “The one place where a man ought to get a square deal, is in a courtroom, be he of any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box. As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men everyday of your life,” (Lee 252). For the first time in her life, Scout realizes, because of the trial, that there is bad in people, and the things that happen in the world, are not always
As Atticus Finch starts the process of defending Mr.Robinson, the Finch kids begin to realize the cruelty of two of the possible outcomes of Mayella Ewell’s situation. Whether the Ewell’s were targeting Tom Robinson for a crime he did not commit or Mr. Robinson really did rape Mayella, Scout comes to notice there are bad situations in the world, and there is bad in people. Scout, however, believes in Tom’s innocence which results in her and her brother learning how unfair and unjust the world truly is. A second large injustice in the novel is the outcome of Tom Robinson’s entire situation. Mr. Robinson is accused, tried, then killed, and it seems as if it is all because the color of his skin is black. Atticus explains this to Scout, “The one place where a man ought to get a square deal, is in a courtroom, be he of any color of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box. As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men everyday of your life,” (Lee 252). For the first time in her life, Scout realizes, because of the trial, that there is bad in people, and the things that happen in the world, are not always