Literature often questions the moral nature of human beings: if human beings are born as an innocent and fundamentally good blank slate, but the tribulations of the world harden their hearts and their minds creating complex creatures of both good and evil, or whether humans are born purely evil and society helps mask evil with superficial decency. Harper Lee's novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” addresses this question by skillfully dramatizing Scout and Jem's evolution from carefree childhood naivety to a more austere adult perspective. “To Kill a Mockingbird” is an intricate exploration of human morality, cleverly removing the romantic façade of the sleepy South, presenting humanity's inherent combination of good and evil in its rawest, most uncensored form. At the beginning of the novel, Jem and Scout assume that people are truly good because they have never experienced evil. The childlike innocence with which Scout and Jem begin the novel is immediately threatened by numerous incidents that highlight the evil side of human nature, most notably the guilty verdict in Tom Robinson's trial and Bob Ewell's revenge. As the novel progresses, Scout and Jem struggle to maintain faith in the human capacity to do good in light of these recurring instances of human wickedness. To highlight their transition from innocence to experience, Lee skillfully uses motifs such as hatred, discrimination, and ignorance to exemplify that innocent people like Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are unprepared for the evil they encounter and, as a result , they are destroyed. The realization that true evil exists in their society shakes Jem, who in turn loses faith in humanity and society as a whole. He once held a strong… middle of paper… with sympathy is the culmination of his long development as a character and the moral vision of “To Kill a Mockingbird” as a whole. At the beginning of "To Kill a Mockingbird," Scout and Jem are innocent, kind-hearted children who have no experience with the evils of the world. As the novel progresses, they have their first contact with evil in the form of racial prejudice, and fundamental character development is governed by the question of whether they will emerge from that contact with their conscience and optimism intact or whether they will be hurt, wounded, or destroyed like Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. Through the wisdom of Atticus, Jem and Scout learn that although humanity has a great capacity for evil, it also has a great capacity for good, and that evil can often be mitigated if one approaches others with a vision of sympathy and understanding..