Loss Of Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

631 Words3 Pages
In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee, Atticus is a lawyer in the small town of Maycomb. Discrimination is an extensive problem that is on going throughout the book since the novel is set in the 1930’s. Atticus Finch is put on to defend an African American male thought to have beat and rape someone. The story is told through the point of view of Scout - Atticus’ youngest daughter. Throughout the story she is exposed to much more racism and discrimination and is able to make much better judgement than the majority of the townspeople. By the end of the novel she is much more understanding of the subject because of her experiences. While there is an evident theme of loss of innocence in the novel, Harper Lee references and uses the theme of discrimination much more frequently to reinforce the theme of loss of innocence. In the novel, Calpurnia works for the Finches as a “maid” or a housekeeper. She acts like a guardian figure to Jem and especially to Scout since Scout has no other women like figure in her life. Calpurnia decides to take Jem and Scout to her coloured church but they are not as welcomed as she had…show more content…
Their neighbour Mrs. Dubose especially. Jem is outside and he says a polite ‘hello’ to Mrs. Dubose. She begins to get furious and instigates that “Not only a Finch waiting on tables but one in the courthouse lawing for niggers!” [11.135]. She only dislikes them because he, a white man, is defending a black man. She then says something that is probably the biggest association with segregation and racism; “Yes, indeed, what has this world come to when a Finch goes against his raising,...I’ll tell you....Your father’s no better than the niggers and the trash he works for” [11.135]. Mrs. Dubose is heavily angered by their actions and wants nothing more to disassociate with the Finches, leaving the children
Open Document