Lee has greatly explored the loss of innocence in both Jem and Scout throughout the novel. In the first half of the novel, it mainly focuses on the children and their early innocence. The second half of the novel focuses on how the children's relaxed life is slowly interrupted by adult problems. However, by the end of the novel, especially the court case, Jem seems to lose his innocence. As he is older, he becomes more aware of the world around him and the injustice that corrupts his world. Scout is still young and oblivious to the way her world exists and does not yet acknowledge the evil that corrupts it. This is perceived when Scout talks down a mob outside the courthouse without even realising that her actions could cause severe consequences. Therefore, this shows that Jem and Scout lose their innocence at different times, while being greatly explored throughout the book.
In Maycomb county Racism was a huge issue, the ‘whites’ and the ‘blacks’ were segregated, like many places in the 30’s. Throughout the novel Scout explores the differences between both races. Jem and Scout both attended church with Calpurnia, getting to experience their lives and how different it was from their own: “There was no sign of piano, organ, hymn-books, church programs-the familiar ecclesiastical impedimenta we saw every Sunday”. Both races were not permitted to interact with each other in a public