Innocence Vs. Experience In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Innocence vs. Experience The book “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee perfectly portrays both innocence and experience in the characters as well as the theme of personal growth. The character Jean Louise Finch, otherwise known as Scout, has a very complicated development compared to the rest of the characters. Firstly, she talks almost like an adult all throughout the story. She learned how to read before going to school, which she takes some pride in, “ ‘Scout yonder’s been readin’ ever since she was born, and she ain’t even started school yet.’ ” (Lee, pg.7) When she finally started the first grade, this becomes a conflict with her teacher. She also uses a sophisticated vocabulary to narrate the book. She constantly uses words such as “guilelessness” and “acquiescence”, basically words a third grader would never say.
When Atticus was defending Tom Robinson in court, many people would tell her and Jem that he was a “nigger lover”. She got angry although she quite didn’t know what it was and Atticus responded by saying, “ ‘ I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody… I’m hard put, sometimes-baby, it’s never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name.’ ” (Lee, pg. 124) Overall, she knew what was looked down upon in Maycomb county, such as being a black person, let alone defending a black man, but sometimes she just didn’t understand