Jem is struggling with the disillusionment and loss of innocence that comes with knowledge and maturity, a major theme in To Kill a Mockingbird. Like a caterpillar safe in its cocoon, he had always felt safe among the people of Maycomb. Now, in the wake of the trial and its outcome, he realizes that evil and injustice exist in the town and that many of his neighbors are not the good, moral people he had previously thought they were. Essentially, his childlike illusions about Maycomb and its people have been shattered. "It's like bein' a caterpillar in a cocoon...Like somethin' asleep wrapped up in a warm place. I always thought Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world, least that's what they seemed like." The caterpillar in the cocoon symbolizes a child in the state of innocence. Like the caterpillar, the child must emerge from that state as he or she matures. Throughout the novel, Jem has been transitioning from childhood to adulthood.
A) Jem's innocence is shattered
B) Maycomb is full of evil and injustice
C) Jem compares himself to a caterpillar
D) Childhood illusions are shattered
