Innocence and justice can be lost fairly easily when you have been through what the Finch kids have been through. In To Kill A Mockingbird, the narrator, Jean Louis Finch talks about the connections between mockingbirds and the characters in the novel and how they demonstrate a loss of innocence and justice. A mockingbird was a huge symbol of innocence throughout the novel. Jean Louise and her brother, Jem, had to grow up and lose their childhood innocence to cope with all of the recognition that they unwillingly receive. .
There is a connection between mockingbirds and the characters in the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. Jean Louise, or commonly known as Scout is an innocent eight or nine year old girl that is exposed to the reality of her town, Maycomb County at a very young age. After one day at school Scout asks her brother a very innocent question. She says, "Jem, how can you hate Hitler so bad and be ugly about folks at home" (pg. 249-250). Scout doesn't realize the prejudice community that she lives in. She is oblivious to the treatment that colored people receive in Maycomb County. Innocence is expressed by Jem and Scout during the Tom Robinson court case. Atticus, Jem and Scout's father, defended Tom in the accusation that he raped Mayella Ewell. Atticus clearly proved that it was impossible for a crippled Tom Robinson to hurt Mayella. Although it was obvious, no colored man was going to be proven innocent in these conditions. Jem and Scout believed that there was no chance that Tom would be convicted. Atticus says, "The jury might be out and back in a minute, we don't know" (pg. 209). The fact that it took the jury hours to make a decision, means that Tom and Atticus had a chance in changing the stereotypical view of colored people in Maycomb County. .
Jem and Scout both demonstrate the loss of innocence and justice through the language they utilize and the progression of their points of view.
