To Kill A Mockingbird Quote Analysis

Before the beginning of the book To Kill A Mockingbird, there is a quote by Charles Lamb: “Lawyers, I suppose,” he says, “were children once.” To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee was published in 1960 and has been widely read since then. It is the story of children growing up in the mid- Great Depression South and of the life lessons they learn. Through the events of the book, the characters Dill, Jem, and Scout show the theme of losing one’s childhood and innocence. The first character to lose their innocence was Dill Harris. One example of this is when he feels unwelcome and useless at home; when Scout asks why he had run away, he replies that “...what I’m trying to say is- they do get on a lot better without me, I don’t help them any” (143). Feeling isolated at home, the place where one hopes to be welcomed without exception, was a crushing and adult feeling for Dill. It had already aged him prematurely once he ran away from home to Maycomb. Another
example of this is when Dill begins to sob at the trial when he sees the way Tom Robinson was being treated. His world view, while jaded, had still held onto the hope that some people would do the right thing when it mattered. That belief was shaken with the obvious pain and empathy he had for Tom’s plight. While he can be playful and carefree, Dill was the first of the three who had to face events that matured him. In the same way, Jem lost his innocence to the realities of the time he lived in. At first, Jem shows his maturity through insisting on not leaving when the mob confronts Atticus. He already knows what the mob is capable of and it frightens him. The fear is bad enough that he isn’t willing to leave Atticus alone; it shows he thinks of himself as grown enough to be of help. The next time his loss of innocence shows is when, after the trial’s guilty verdict, Jem’s “...face was streaked with angry tears as we made our way through the crowd” (212). He recognized the might of the injustice done upon Tom. It tore him up, partly because he was young and still sensitive to the ill will of reality, but also because he was old enough to know that it shouldn’t have happened. Though he had his shortcomings, Jem was a character who lost his innocence and matured throughout the book. Scout, the book’s narrator, lost her innocence over the course of the book as well.
An important example of this is when she hears about the death of Tom and has to maintain face, because she knows that “...if Aunty could be a lady in a time like this, so could I” (237). It would have been a perfectly reasonable reaction to throw a tantrum or fuss about since Scout had cared so much about the case. However, she recognized she needed to keep a level head in the presence of others even though she was shaken, which takes maturity. Later in the book, her loss of innocence is shown when Bob Ewell attacks her and Jem with a knife as they walked home in the dark. She was left frightened and worried because it hadn’t seemed like a possibility that Mr. Ewell would hurt them to get to Atticus. Scout views life in a different way after the attack since it is revealed the whole book was a flashback. Scout was a strong, independent character who ultimately lost her innocence by the things she
experienced. The loss of innocence can happen in many ways, but they stay constant through the flow of time. When one leaves their childhood for the uncertain waters of maturity, it changes them. The characters Dill, Jem, and Scout show this very well. Today, technology and ideas may have changed, but people still continue to grow and change. It is important to read To Kill A Mockingbird in schools because these growing and changing people need to know they are not alone when their wonder and belief in the world wanes. Losing innocence eventually happens in everyone’s life, and this book does a commendable job showing characters who deal with it.