Innocence refers to someone who is not guilty of something like a crime or wrongdoing.
Innocence can also be also to describe someone who does not have the knowledge or understanding of something. Children usually are considered to be innocent because they are young, but they lose their innocence as they grow up and learn about what is going on around them. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the character of Scout demonstrates innocence. One way Scout demonstrates innocence is by trying to explain to her teacher, Miss Caroline, that she is embarrassing Walter Cunningham. Miss Caroline offers him twenty-five cents for lunch, not knowing he would not be able to pay back. Scout realizes that she is not a local so she would not know that about the Cunninghams, but by Scout explaining this, she gets in trouble.
However, she really was not trying to be insulting, but Miss Caroline mistook her innocent explanation as rudeness and disciplined her for it. Another way Scout demonstrates innocence is by seeing nothing wrong with Atticus defending a black man even though her classmates call Atticus a nigger lover. Atticus explains to her that it is not a bad thing to defend a black man, even though others disagree. Scout does not understand racial prejudice because she is too young. Atticus tries to maintain her innocence by raising her to think that there is nothing wrong with defending a black man. Atticus does not want Scout to be one of those people who are prejudiced against black people and do terrible things to them.
Finally, Scout demonstrates innocence by having no idea that the white men that gathered around Atticus at the jail cell were planning to hurt him to get through him to hurt Tom Robinson. Scouts demonstrates her innocence by talking to Mr. Cunningham as a friend because she knew his son from school. Scout also knew that Atticus had done business with him and her friendliness stopped the men from hurting Atticus.
Scout must have reminded Mr. Cunningham that they were neighbors and friends by the way she tried to reach a friendly discussion with him. Scouts innocence protected Atticus from the angry men who wanted to hurt him to get through him to hurt Tom Robinson. In Harper Lees novel, To Kill a Mockingbird the character of Scout demonstrates innocence. The first way Scout demonstrates innocence is by trying to explain to her teacher, Miss Caroline, that she was embarrassing Walter Cunningham.
The second way Scout demonstrates innocence is by seeing nothing wrong with Atticus defending a black man. Finally, the third way Scout demonstrates innocence is by having no idea that the men with Atticus at the jail cell were planning to hurt him. Therefore, innocence describes someone who is not guilty and does not have the knowledge or understanding of something.
