Losing Innocence in To Kill a Mockingbird and Reflections From Catcher in the Rye

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Why do we love stories about pure, hopeful characters getting stripped of their innocence? One needn't take an "AP Psychology" course to know. The loss of innocence is a relatable theme. Who hasn't had their equilibrium memorably thrown off balance through a rude awakening to some terrible truth? It is part of growing up or coming of age. Perhaps the most painful aspect of this experience is the fact that there is no going back. Once innocence is gone, it's gone for good.

Experiencing Jem's heartbreaking loss of innocence in "To Kill a Mockingbird" may be a pivotal reason we return to this classic again and again. We feel Jem's childish hopefulness and pride as he watches Atticus absolutely prove Tom Robinson's innocence. Jem is certain that Tom will go free. We want the world of Maycomb, Alabama to be a better place for Jem, but we are not surprised to find that it is not. The shock and disappointment Jem feels when Tom is found guilty is palpable. The world Jem thought he knew so well does not exist. Instead, he faces a hearty dose of what adults like to call "reality."

It is this reality that Holden Caufield finds deplorable. Catcher in the Rye plays on the theme of innocence from the inside out. Holden has had his rude awakening and finds what he sees to be ugly and depressing. He yearns for youth and innocence and thinks it's all a damn shame that people turn out the way they do. Even though he knows it cannot be, he wishes things would remain the same.

"Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone. I know that's impossible, but it's too bad anyway."

Holden bemoans the "filth" of the world and equates it with adulthood. He yearns to contain youth in a jar. The way he sees it, growing up only turns you into a "phony" or a "bastard."

If everyone loses their innocence as they age and mature, a question to ponder is: what does one do with this newfound knowledge? How does a person's personality and view of the world adjust after seeing things in a different light? Jem is torn up when the jury convicts Tom. However, with the great support and guidance of super-dad, Atticus, he remains hopeful. We are confident that Jem will grow gracefully into adulthood and, like his father, become a moral and optimistic man. At the other end of the spectrum is Holden. He sees the filth of the world and can't seem to see beyond it. He has lost hope and respect for the world he has to live in. Which character do you identify with? Do you see the world around you for what it is and remain hopeful or do you resent your awakenings and long for more innocent times? One thing to keep in mind: one of these characters ended up in a padded room.

Paul Thomson is an writer and frequent online contributor who is passionate about improving college readiness. He frequently writes about the AP Psychology, To Kill a Mockingbird and Catcher in the Rye Quotes. In his spare time, he loves to promote the joy of reading to youth in his community.

The Quest for Love in the Great Gatsby and Great Expectations

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When done just right, reading about a character's pursuit of love is a favorite ingredient in some of the most beloved tales. Generally, we enjoy seeing passionate characters going after something they want. It can really get us going when what they want is seemingly unattainable. Characters in love certainly can go to extremes in their pursuits for the desired companion. We enjoy seeing how far they will go and whether or not they win the love they seek. In the end, are we satisfied if the love is ultimately unrequited? Or must we get our happy ending and see the lovesick character get what he wants?

In The Great Gatsby, the title character, Jay Gatsby, is in love with the elegant and married Daisy Buchanan and has been for a long time. As the jazz standard would say, Gatsby's "got it bad and that ain't good." He is so head over heels in love with Daisy that he has built his entire life around doing what he thinks it will take to win her over: busting into the upper class by making loads of cash. The idea is not so outlandish, it being the 1920s when folks seemed pretty comfortable with choosing friends and lovers based on the size of their bank accounts. Poor Gatsby, coming from a penniless, uneducated background, definitely had his work cut out for him. It does not really seem to matter how Gatsby managed to make all that money and buy that mansion. (He does manage to hide it pretty well.) The fact is he did it. And it worked. With a little nudge and help from Nick, Gatsby gets the girl - sort of. Of course, in the end though, he ultimately loses. Like F. Scott Fitzgerald's experience watching the American Dream dissolve into The Great Depression, Gatsby and Daisy's affair is a fleeting moment that ends darkly.

Pip, of Great Expectations, has no easy task in setting his sights on Estella. The girl is way out of his league. The Victorian class system was even more rigid than America in the 1920s and poor Pip, the broke-as-a-joke orphan, seems to be fighting a losing battle. We stick with Pip and cheer him on as he tries and tries to reinvent himself. Pip gets lucky with some unexpected cash and is able to pursue becoming a "gentleman." The ending, as we know it, shows Pip and Estella finally ending up together. It is not a wedding or a pregnancy like a romantic blockbuster movie, but we are left feeling hopeful. The original ending that Charles Dickens wrote did not end so happily. Pip and Estella do not end up together and actually never see each other again. The ending we all know, where Pip and Estella end up together, is certainly more satisfying and less depressing. Is there something we see in Pip's love for Estella that we don't see in Gatsby's for Daisy? Why are we okay with Gatsby losing everything in the end? Is it more fulfilling to see him dead than to see him ultimately live without Daisy? Is a satisfying love story really more about our main character and his pursuit and less about the actual ending?

Paul Thomson is an avid reader of English Literature. His areas of expertise include The Great Gatsby, Great Expectations and The Great Depression. In his spare time, he loves to participate in online literature forums and promote reading for youth.