The society of Maycomb County had a definitive structure containing four classes. The first and upper class consisted of white collar Caucasians who were considered "rich" in the post-depression years. Characters who fit into this class were Atticus Finch, a wealthy, highly respected lawyer and citizen in town, and Judge Taylor, the justice of Maycomb County and presiding judge at the Robinson trial. Other characters who belonged to this upper class were Miss Maudie Attkinson, an open-minded, kind woman, and Miss Stephanie Crawford, the renowned gossip of the town.…
“‘Well, Dill, after all he’s just a Negro.’ ‘I don’t care one speck. It ain’t right somehow it ain’t right to do ‘em that way. Hasn’t anybody got any business talkin’ like that-it just makes me sick,’”(Lee, 266). In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird author Harper Lee lays out the story of the Finch family consisting of two siblings, Jem and Scout, along with their widowed father Atticus. This family is faced with a tough break when Atticus get appointed a case to defend an African American (Tom Robinson) in the time of extreme discrimination. Growing up shapes and builds minds to what will fully become of them in future years even though there may be obstacles to endeavor through the process.…
Innocent people are being targeted for the color of their skin and their social class just like the residents of Maycomb,Alabama during the 1930’s in Harper Lee’s book “To Kill A Mockingbird”. In this book, which is based on a white family and told through the eyes of the youngest child, “Scout Finch”, you learn about her residential city Maycomb, and its many issues with racism and social discrimination. You also learn about Scout's father , Atticus Finch, who is an attorney for a hopeless black man striving for innocence due to being falsely accused of rape. Throughout this essay, you will read about the characters of “To Kill A Mockingbird” and how they mature due to racism and social profiling. Scout changes her racist and social view of Maycomb after her dad talks to her about the various situations and why they happened.…
Throughout history, there have been people who oppose the will of society, often actively working against it. Every society had there Joan of Arc or their Martin Luther King Jr., and this trend carried over to popular culture, finding its way into movies, books, television and radio. Harper Lee’s famous novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, is no exception. She weaves a near-timeless tale of the path from childhood to adulthood. In her unforgettable novel, the character of Atticus Finch assumes this role, as he takes on the court case of Tom Robinson, a black man convicted of rape, in his opinions on the mysterious Arthur “Boo” Radley, and even in his personal positions on many aspects of his life.…
“‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... until you climb into his skin and walk around in it,’” (39) said by Atticus Finch. Atticus, who appears in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird is widely considered one of the most outstanding characters in American literature. This is because he is fearless, self-sufficient, and a wise character. You can see all of these characteristics show through in his job, his fatherly figure, and his individual self.…
“To Kill a Mockingbird” takes place in 1930’s Alabama, where racism and segregation were accepted as social norms. Lawyer Atticus Finch defended “Negro” Tom Robinson in court, whom Mr. Ewell accused of raping his daughter. People considered defending a black man in court against a white man as a disgrace to the lawyer, his family and community. While Atticus talked to his brother Jack, he mentioned that “The only thing we’ve got is a black man’s word against the Ewells‘. The evidence boils down to you-did—I-didn’t. The jury couldn’t possibly be expected to take Tom Robinson’s word against the Ewells”. (Lee, 116-117) Atticus tells Jack that they don’t have enough data to prove Tom’s innocence in the case. The Ewells were not as respectable people as Tom Robinson, but according to the social hierarchy, dishonorable white people were above…
“I speak to everyone in the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the president of the university” - (Albert Einstein). These words reflect the way Atticus Finch, protagonist, attorney, and father in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, lives his life. There is no difference to him in regards to race, social status, or gender. Atticus Finch is an admirable gentleman who demonstrates intelligence and respectfulness throughout the Tom Robinson trial and his interactions with people who despised the fact that he was taking the case. He strongly believes in respect for people of color and passes his belief down to his children by taking the Tom Robinson case. Although he is at times too trusting of people, his words and actions continue to prove to his children and community how a real gentleman behaves.…
The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee has a naive view of life in the South of America in the 1930’s. The book is written through the eyes of Jem and Scout Finch. Scout is a young girl that is growing up around her father’s case. Her father, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer who is defending a black man, Tom Robinson, who is fighting the charge of raping a white lady. The lives of the characters are changed from the effects of racism in the book To Kill a Mockingbird.…
In to kill a mockingbird, due to the prejudice against Tom Robinson and the fact that Atticus was defending him, the lead up to the trial brought much dislike, and hatred towards the finch family. This innocent family’s dignity and respect was taken away from them by the town people due to the fact that Atticus was defending a Negro. This terrible offence towards Atticus however wouldn’t have happened if Tom were a white American and given the same rights as what was considered to be an upper class citizen. During this time in Gem and Scout’s life, they are misled by the vicious rumours and opinions of people of Maycomb. This is shown when Scout and Gem’s Cousin Francis Finch, comes to visit and rudely states”………………………………………………………… This sentence tells the reader that even young children were under the influence of the horrible neglect of Negro’s as they under the town’s cruel lie. Tom Robinson was facing even more hatred and discrimination against him at the time. At…
In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Maycomb county inevitably has a specific social structure. The people of Maycomb county each have different statuses and places in society. There is a top to every social hierarchy, and starting at the top in Maycomb county are the wealthy white families. Included in this social class are the Finches. Atticus Finch is a white lawyer; therefore he makes a good income and is a highly respected figure which places him and his family in this specific social class. Many of the Finches’ neighbors who live on the same street are also in the same social class. A step below in the ‘social ladder’ is the middle class. These people are white and are the average inhabitants. For example, Heck Tate , one of the characters in…
“Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible”, Maya Angelou once said. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a historical non-fiction novel that deals with racial inequality. Tom Robinson, an African American man, was one of the characters in the story who was accused of raping a white girl named Mayella Ewell, who lived behind the Maycomb dump. After losing the case, he was shot severely after trying to escape from the prison. Obviously, Mayella won the case against Tom. But, is a white poor woman powerful? Class refers to a person’s level of income and education and often boils down to how much money one is able to earn. Gender goes beyond physical differences between males and…
In To Kill A Mocking Bird, Harper Lee portrays racial bias from low class whites to maintain their position above blacks in the social hierarchy. After Tom Robinson is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a mob of white men goes to the Maycomb jail to lynch Tom Robinson. “ You know what we want,’ Another man said. ‘Get aside from the door Mr. Finch.” Tom Robinson has been accused of rape, but he has not been put on trail, but these men decide to take it into their own hands and kill him just because he is black. These men do not personally know Tom Robinson, but if he were to win this case then these men would be at the bottom of the social hierarchy because of their socioeconomic status and respect in the community so they have want to lynch Tom Robinson to show their superiority over blacks. People like the Ewells are terrible people, and a disgrace to the community and the only thing keeping them from the bottom of the social hierarchy is the fact that their white. “Every town the size of Maycomb had families like the Ewells. No economic fluctuations changed their status people like the Ewells lived as guests of the county in prosperity as well in the depths of a depression.” The Ewells are a disgrace to the community, and live off of everyone else but they still have a slightly higher status than the whites only because of the color of their skin. The blacks in Maycomb are a hard working people and should have more respect than the Ewells in the community so people like the Ewells try so hard to put the blacks down to keep from the bottom. In Maycomb the Blacks are better harder working than many of the whites, but the whites have more respect just because of the color of their skin.…
There are many different social classes in “To Kill A Mockingbird.” The factors that separate people into these social classes are their skin color and their occupation. For example, Atticus, Scout, and Jem are part of the highest social class. They are part of this social class because Atticus is a lawyer, which makes him a highly respected person in the community. He is also white, which, at that time was a very important factor that chose who belonged in what social class. Scout and Jem are his children and therefore are also part of this social class.…
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee focuses more on the aspect of racial discrimination rather than “poor white trash” discrimination (Hovet 187). It is so conspicuous that a man loses his life because of it. While the discrimination is more prominent regarding race, the Finch family is also greatly discriminated against throughout the novel. Racism is very prominent in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, as evidenced when Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of raping a white woman in the 1930s South; because of his innocence and untimely death, all lives in the novel will be changed forever, including Atticus Finch.…
To Kill a Mockingbird tells the story of life in the 1930’s from Scout Finch’s point of view. In any story there are problems and situations that nee to be dealt with. Atticus, being a defense attorney, shows Scout a first hand view of what really goes on in the little town of Maycomb, Alabama. This sparks her curiosity in her father’s newest case, which is Tom Robinson a middle aged black man with a wife and kids. He was arrested under the accusations of beating and raping Mayella Ewell a white female of the age of 19. Many don’t realize that segregation was beginning to heat up in the South during the 30’s, but that is the cause of tense controversy in Tom Robinson’s case.…