“The world is ending, Atticus! Please do something!” (Lee 64) This was the innocent voice of Jean Louise Finch, the protagonist of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee. Jean doesn't understand what racism is, what violent acts are, and other issues that apply to the real world. Through Scout's characterization, Lee reveals that innocence often obscures a child's knowledge of violent experiences such as racism, rape, or murder, because his or her knowledge of these types of encounters is limited. Children often don't know much about the topic of racism. There are two main examples of this in this novel. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First, Scout is influenced by the town's response to Atticus defending Tom Robinson. Scout's cousin is also indirectly involved in this as he calls Atticus a lover. When Jean asks Atticus about the topic of racism, the conversation goes something like this: "A nigger, I'm not really sure what that means, but the way Francis said it..." (Lee 86) His Uncle Jack he complains about how children shouldn't know and use such words, but Atticus told him that now children know the meaning of such words, they just shouldn't use them. On the contrary, there is yet another type of racism that is discreetly present, which is the way in which some blacks regarded whites in those days. For example, when Jem and Jean go to the black church with Calpurnia, one of the members there says, "You have no right to bring white chilluns here..." (158). The negative connotations used in this quote ("I have no business, white chillun"), indicate how some blacks viewed the Caucasian race. This shows how Scout's innocence limited her knowledge of such a controversial topic. Children are not aware of the topic of rape. One day, Scout hears a man comment, "They can't break free and rape the countryside for everyone who runs this county welfare." (136) Scout does not understand what rape is, since she is a young girl, so she asks her father, Atticus, the meaning of the word. He gets sober and says, “Rape was the carnal knowledge of a woman by force and without consent” (136). Scout once again proves her innocence regarding violent topics such as rape. Children are the most affected by murders. Scout experiences two versions of this tragic argument. A great example of this was the appalling murder of Tom Robinson. It all started when Atticus first informed them of the death: “Tom is dead. They shot him. He was running. It was during the exercise period. They said he just committed a charge of blind delirium…” (239). Jem was extremely affected by Tom's death. At first he was extremely shocked, because for the first time he found himself exposed to the injustices of the world. Finally, another great example is the attempted murder of Jean and Jem. They are, for obvious reasons, extremely shaken. Scout hastily describes the scene: “It slowly took my breath away. I couldn't move. Suddenly he was pushed backwards…” (266). This event, surprisingly, led Scout to realize that Boo Radley had saved them. Knowledge is often limited by children's innocence, because they only have a limited number of experiences. In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, the protagonists Jean and Jem are extremely naive and innocent at the beginning of the book, but as the book progresses their innocence begins to fade. Soon they must face the harsh facts of the world, such as prejudice, discrimination and murder. Harper Lee also uses great character development as she turns Jean, the narrator, from, 78(4), 772-790.