What ways show that the children lose their innocence by the end of To Kill a Mockingbird?Help for essay.

The two Finch children's loss of innocence actually begins
before the story line of To Kill a Mockingbird takes place. Their
mother died of a heart attack shortly after Scout's birth, and though Scout does not
remember her, Jem does.

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He remembered her clearly, and sometimes in the
middle of a game he would sigh at length, then go off and play by himself... When he was
like that, I knew better than to bother
him.

The children's
preoccupation with Boo Radley leads to fantasies about their creepy but unseen neighbor,
but they eventually come to realize that the terrible neighborhood gossip is not true.
Scout never totally gives up her hope of one day meeting him, and when she does, she
discovers that he is a gentle man who heroically saves their lives from the murderous
Bob Ewell.

Jem is affected by Nathan Radley's cementing of
the secret knothole, and the lie that Boo's brother gives for the reason. Jem recognizes
it as a hateful act meant only to further isolate Boo from the world outside. The death
of Mrs. Dubose also saddens Jem, and he has to deal with the mixed emotions of her
actions, which he discovers were primarily as a result of her long addiction to
morphine. The jury's verdict in the Tom Robinson trial troubles Jem more than it does
Scout--Jem seems to understand the facts of the case better than Scout--and he loses
faith in the townspeople as well as in the lawful purpose of
juries.

    
"I always thought Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world, least that's what they
seemed like."
     "... Can't any Christian judges and juries make up for
heathen juries..."

Scout
discovers that her teachers are not always the best educators. She recognizes Miss
Caroline's limitations on the very first day, and she sees the hypocrisy in Miss Gates'
beliefs when she defends the Jews in Germany but denounces the Negroes who live in
Maycomb. Scout also realizes that many churchgoers (i.e. the missionary circle) have
similar beliefs.

Jem and Scout are both exposed to the
underpriveleged side of Maycomb; some are poor but well-meaning, like the Cunninghams,
while others make no attempt to improve themselves (the Ewells). They also get a
first-hand look at the evil that exists--first with the lynch mob, and later at the
hands of Bob Ewell. But they also find that people sometimes get what they deserve: Bob
Ewell's death makes Maycomb a better place, and Sheriff Tate's refusal to name Boo as
Bob's killer is a case of justice best served.