To Kill A Mockingbird Loss Of Innocence Analysis

To Kill the Innocence It seems that no matter what you do, you can never protect innocence this is shown in the novel written by Harper Lee "To Kill A Mockingbird" through the eyes of scout a young girl Scout Finch growing up in Maycomb County, Alabama in early 1930. From age six to eight Scout and her older brother Jem Finch learn about coming of age through a court case that their father, Atticus took to defend Tom Robinson, a black man wrongly accused of raping a young white woman, Mayella Ewell . Throughout the novel, Harper Lee uses symbols such as the mockingbird to the snowman to Boo Radley so the theme : "you can never stop the loss of innocence".

One of the symbols Harper Lee uses to show, the theme "you can never stop the
Mockingbirds are a symbol for innocence this is something Miss Maudie and Atticus explain to Jem and Scout “ it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’” ( Page 119 ) Scout has never heard her father say anything was a sin, so she asked Miss Maudie why it’s a sin to shoot a mockingbird and she responds “‘ Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat don’t up people’s gardens, nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.’” Tom Robinson is like a mockingbird in the way of he does nothing but help Mayella Ewell with nothing in return “She gave me the hatchet and I broke up the chiffarobe. She said, ‘I reckon I’ll hafta give you a nickel, won’t I?’ an’ I said, No ma’am, there ain’t no charge.’ Then I went home.’” (Page 225) Tom Robinson talks about how he didn’t even charge for his kind deeds just like the mockingbird does nothing but sing for nothing in return. The innocence is lost when Tom Robinson is shot just like how when you kill a mockingbird you lose the innocence of the mockingbird “‘What’s the matter?’ Aunt Alexandra asked, alarmed by the look on my father’s face. ‘Tom’s dead.’ Aunt Alexandra put her hands to her mouth. ‘They shot him,’”.( Page 315 ) The way Scout sees Alexandra find out about Tom’s death shows how much they were affected by him dying and how they felt they had lost someone important who did not deserve to die just like in a way one would lose the innocent mockingbird because they have done nothing wrong. That's another way Harper Lee demonstrates the theme : "you can never stop the loss of