What causes one to leave their childhood behind? Is it that the childish fantasies become old and tiresome, and the thrill of adulthood seems exciting and new? Perhaps it's the slow realization of the way the world really works that prevents one from ever being able to go back to a time of such innocence. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the reader walks alongside Jean Louise Finch (otherwise known as Scout) throughout the journey of her childhood. Her brother Jem and herself are put through a series of events which teaches them, whether they like it or not, an awful lot about the way society works. As they grow older, Jem and Scout begin to see that their town is not as perfect as they once thought, and that people's quick judgements and bad decisions prevent the world from ever being a fair place.
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The children learned that their peaceful little town of Maycomb wasn't always such a wonderful place to be, and that one man had the power to ruin many lives. During Tom Robinson's trial, a string of evidence was presented that unquestionably proved Tom's innocence and Bob Ewell's guilt. Had the jury been colour-blind that hot Maycomb afternoon, Tom would have walked free. However, that was not the case. Tom's fellow Negroes watched from their separate balcony seats above as Atticus delivered his closing speech to the jury, begging them to, "in the name of God, believe him." (Lee, pg. 206) Sadly, based on the way that Maycomb society worked, and based on the fact that it was two white people's word against a black man's, the final verdict pronounced Tom Robinson guilty of the rape and abuse of Mayella Ewell. It mattered not that he was innocent, but that he was black, which automatically decided his guilt. Tom was made to be locked up while the man who had truly committed the crime walked free and went on to cause even more damage. After threatening multiple members of the town and swearing revenge on Atticus for ruining what little credibility he had to begin with, Bob Ewell planned an attack that targeted the two things Atticus held dearest - his children, Jem and Scout.