INNOCENCE

Innocence or the presence of innocence is a common theme in "To Kill a Mockingbird". In fact there seems to be a pun involved in this theme - childhood innocence and naive innocence being one side of the coin and innocence in relation to crimes or perceptions people have against other people.

1.  The children in the story - Scout, Jem and Dill - have a naive innocence about them. This innocence gets them into trouble but also allows them to see aspects of the world from a relatively unbiased point of view. Many times we see them question adult actions (especially Scout) and this helps us understand many things in the story. Little by little their innocence is taken away because of the goings on in Maycomb. Atticus tries to lead them through these changes the best he can but the lesson to be learnt here is the world can be a horrible place and the best a person can do is to retain their own ideals.

2.  Being innocent of a crime or things that you are accused of - Think about both Tom Robinson and Boo Radley.

3. The novels most important symbol is centred around innocence - 'The Mockingbird'