Loss Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

461 Words2 Pages
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the “sadness of life” first wounds Jem when he saw Judge Taylor saying that Tom was convicted guilty by the jury. This makes Jem lose his innocence by realizing the prejudice and injustice in Maycomb and in the world. During the verdict of the trial about rape, Tom Robinson, the suspect convicted of raping Mayella Ewell, the victim, is judged as guilty because the jury judged based on the prejudice. After that judgement is made, Jem starts crying. Scout, the protagonist, sympathizes with Jem. In Chapter 21 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee writes, “I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty” was a separate stab between them” (240). Harper Lee is saying that every time Judge Taylor said “guilty” when giving the verdict, Jem’s shoulders made sudden movements.…show more content…
Thus, we can conclude that a “separate stab” relates to the assertion that Jem’s loss of innocence makes “the sadness of life” wound him because by listening and seeing the verdict of the trial, Jem becomes more aware of the injustices and prejudices towards blacks, such as “all white people are superior to blacks” and therefore, African Americans should have less rights than white people. Additionally, after the verdict was told, Atticus, the lawyer who tried to defend Tom Robinson, took his belongings and left the courtroom. After Atticus left the courtroom, the prejudiced white community and the fearful African Americans stood up and left as well to pay Atticus his honor for Tom Robinson. When Jem leaves, he is
Open Document