Classism In To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee’s famous character Atticus Finch stated, “There’s a lot of ugly things in this world, son. I wish I could keep ‘em all away from you. That’s never possible.” Set during the Great Depression and the Jim-Crow era, To Kill A Mockingbird tells the story of a small town. Ranging from daily conversations to bizarre situations, the book covers every aspect of the southern culture. The novel To Kill A Mockingbird shapes and challenges the time period it was published in philosophically, socially, and politically by addressing the social constructs, traditional systems of thought, and segregated structure of the early twentieth century.

Initially, the novel describes the place in society for women. Through the perspective of Scout, the reader

Traditionally, the citizens of Maycomb are conditioned to believe that class is one of the most important factors of society. Alexandra encourages the children to take pride in being Finches; the Finches are consistently sighted as being a respectable, high-ranking family in the surrounding areas. Classism is a learned trait, passed from generation to generation. Atticus Finch did not instill this quality in his children, but Alexandra unintentionally exposed them to it. Alexandra refuses to allow Scout to spend time with Walter Cunningham because he is “not our kind of folks.” This statement embodies the classist tendencies of even decent people during the time frame by suggesting that Alexandra views her family as superior to the Cunninghams. Additionally, Jem states that there are four types of people: ordinary people, people like the Cunningham family, people like the Ewell family, and people of color. Scout immediately refutes this claim by implying that she sees all people equally; however, Jem dismisses this notion as naivety. This is one of the many ways Harper Lee uses her character Scout to challenge the stereotypes of 1930. Scout represents the rising themes of equality that will result in the developing nation. The novel further challenges socioeconomic bias by exploring the lack of character definition found in class. Lee achieves this by detailing the character of Walter Cunningham. In the second chapter, Lee describes Scout’s first day of school. She attends class with Walter, who is not from a wealthy family. Her teacher, Miss Caroline, offers Walter a quarter for lunch which he can pay back to her another day. Walter refuses to accept the quarter because he knows he cannot afford to return the quarter to her another day. This simple act of refusal exhibits the integrity of the Cunningham family. It suggests a sense of pride shared by the Cunningham family due to their denial of charity