To Kill A Mockingbird Innocence Essay Sample

“Innocence, once lost, can never be regained. Darkness, once gained upon, can never be lost.” -John Milton. Innocence is a trait all humans lose at some point. Whether at a young age or old, you were born with it, and lost at a later time. In Harper Lee’s book, To Kill a Mockingbird, we see this take place with two of the three protagonists, Jem and Scout. Jem is exposed to the harsh realities of a racist town and court system, while Scout learns lessons about morality and is often judged by her peers for not understanding the dynamics of the Finch family or of the town. 

Jem, being the oldest sibling and the older brother to Scout, learns a lot during the span of this novel. He grows into his teen years, and with that comes some quirks…depending how you look at it. Jem displays a loss of innocence over time. On page 118, Jem is clearly frustrated with Mrs. Dubose, their neighbor. As time went on, Mrs. Dubose kept knit-picking at every little thing that Jem and Scout did. From walking at late hours through town, to playing in her yard, it seemed that everything Jem liked to do with his little sibling, Mrs. Dubose did not. Jem had enough of this. As Scout describes it, “We had just come to her gate when Jem snatched my baton and ran flailing wildly up the steps into Mrs. Dubose’s front yard, forgetting everything Atticus had said, forgetting that she packed a pistol under her shawls, forgetting that if Mrs. Dubose missed, her girl Jessie probably wouldn’t.” Jem had cut all of Mrs. Dubose’s camellia bushes and didn’t stop till he made sure all of the bushes had been murdered. All of the sudden, sweet, innocent Jem had committed a large mistake. He suffered a consequence. Jem learned for the first time that mistakes like that will cost you. Continuing on, Jem had more coming his way. For instance, on page 242, when the court ruled Tom Robinson guilty (wrongfully), Jem had words for Atticus. “‘It ain’t right, Atticus’”. Jem learned racism is a fatal thing, even in his own town and court system. In the later part of the book on page 309, Jem and Scout were being attacked. Jem had never been in this situation before, so he had to think quickly. “Mr. Ewell yanked him down, I reckon.” says Scout. Now Jem had adults wanting to essentially kill him, which really brings him into the real world and how tough it can be. So in these three examples, Jem loses his innocence over time.

Scout, being the youngest sibling and younger sister to Jem, picks up a ton of information not only from Jem and Atticus, but from the majority of the town of Maycomb as well. This information led to Scout growing and learning much more about what life has in store for her. Aunt Alexander never seemed particularly pleased with Scout, especially in the behavior and clothing department. As Scout says, “She hurt my feelings and set my teeth permanently on edge…(continued)”. Scout was learning initially that there are certain expectations for a girl as opposed to boys. Already, the world isn’t so innocent as it seems for Scout. Bringing up another important topic, on page 281 Scout is in class discussing Democracy. The teacher says, “‘Now class, say it all together, ‘We are a democracy.’”. Scout is learning the difference between prejudice and democracy, obviously a very controversial subject. Meanwhile, chapter 30 was closing out the book with a bang. Bob Ewell killed himself, but Scout was having trouble understanding, for she was too young to comprehend. Eventually once Atticus worded it simply enough, Scout put two and two together. Bob Ewell killed himself. With a knife. When trying to kill her and Jem. Now, same case as with Jem, Scout isn’t the innocent little kid anymore.

To wrap it up, innocence. The unsustainable, temporary, unfeasible quality in all of us. Moral is, the more someone grows old, the more someone learns. Scout started off just like any other little girl. She loves to play, read stories, go on walks, etc. But she can’t stay little forever. Nature essentially forces one to mature and take on information. Just like in today's world. Nobody dies without the loss of innocence. All of the racial, prejudice, harmful actions in the small town of Maycomb early 1930s, we still see today to an extent. This is why we all lose innocence over time.