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  • Essay / A loss of innocence to kill a mockingbird

    “Atticus, the end of the world!” Please do something! (Lee 64) It was the innocent voice of Jean Louise Finch, the protagonist of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird." John doesn't understand what racism is, what acts of violence are, and other issues that apply to the real world. Through Scout's characterization, Lee reveals that innocence often obscures a child's knowledge of violent experiences such as racism, rape, or murder, because their knowledge of these types of encounters is limited. Children often don't know much about racism. In this novel, we find two major examples of this. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay First, Scout is affected by the town's response to Atticus defending Tom Robinson. Even Scout's cousin is indirectly involved in this affair since he considers Atticus his lover. When Jean asks Atticus about racism, the conversation goes something like this: "A lover, I'm not quite sure what that means, but the way Francis said it..." (Lee 86) His Uncle Jack complains that children should not know and use such words, but Atticus told him that children can now understand the meaning of such words, but they just should not use them. On the other hand, there is yet another type of racism, discreetly present, that of the way some blacks viewed whites at that time. For example, when Jem and John go to the black church with Calpurnia, one of the members present says, "You don't have to bring white chillun here..." (158). The negative connotations used in this quote ("I don't belong, white chillun") indicate how some black people viewed the Caucasian race. This shows how Scout's innocence has limited her knowledge on such a controversial topic. Children are not aware of the subject of rape. One day, Scout hears a man comment, "They can go on a rampage and rape the countryside for everyone who runs this county." »(136) Scout doesn't understand what rape is, because she is young. daughter, so she asks her father, Atticus, the meaning of the word. He becomes sober and says: “Rape was the carnal act of a woman by force and without consent. » (136). Scout once again demonstrates her innocence on violent topics such as rape. Children are the most affected by murders. Scout experiences two versions of this tragic subject. The gruesome murder of Tom Robinson is a good example. It all started when Atticus first informed them of the death: “Tom is dead. They shot him. He was running. It was during their exercise period. They said he had just launched into a blind and delusional charge…” (239). Jem was extremely affected by Tom's death. At first he was extremely shocked, because for the first time he was exposed to the injustices of the world. Finally, another good example is the attempted murder of Jean and Jem. They are, for obvious reasons, extremely shaken. Scout describes the scene hastily: “He slowly took my breath away. I couldn't move. Suddenly he was thrown backwards…” (266). Surprisingly, this event led Scout to realize that Boo Radley had saved them. Knowledge is often limited by a child's innocence, as he or she only has a limited number of experiences. In "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, the protagonists Jean and Jem are extremely naive and innocent at the beginning of the book, but as the book progresses and their innocence begins to dissipate, they soon have to face the harsh realities of the world, such as the, 78(4), 772-790.