Dialect In To Kill A Mockingbird

The Voice of Small Town Maycomb

Imagine you are reading a book but are provided no information on the setting of the novel. How would you determine where the novel is set in? By using the dialogue and dialect you can narrow down possible regions. Even though Harper Lee does tell you that the novel is set in the early 1930’s of a small town in Alabama, you can use the dialogue and dialect to enhance your understanding of the area and time period. Dialogue is defined as conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or movie. While dialect is defined as a particular form of a language that is peculiar to a specific region or social group. These are two literary devices that Lee uses to form the idea of her intended setting.

As well as a specific set vocabulary used amongst the citizens. In an area such as Alabama, you would most likely hear a southern drawl and simple vocabulary versus another location where you might hear all proper grammar and a different accent. In Harper Lee’s novel, the dialect is a major key in developing the overall location and time period of the story. One prominent example in the novel is Walter Cunningham’s choice of words when telling Jem and Scout about the time he ate pecans in the school yard, “Reckon I have. Almost died first year I come to school and et them pecans — folks say he pizened ‘em and put ‘em over on the school side of the fence” (Lee 31). In the quote, Walter Cunningham is informing Jem and Scout that he indeed has heard of Boo Radley. In fact, he believes that Boo Radley was behind the poisoned pecans he ate in the school yard. This quote shows the transition of the Finch kids prejudice of Walter being poor. We can say this because this was the point where they began to talk to him like he was a part of their normal social interaction. This specific example of 1930’s dialect develops the idea of the location that Maycomb County represents. As a small rural town in the South, more specifically in Alabama. Another example of differences in dialects present in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird includes the difference in the dialect that can be seen used by Bob Ewell versus the dialect that Atticus Finch uses. On the subject of Bob Ewell, he speaks in a very informal tone every time he talks. One example of this can be seen in the beginning of his testament in the courtroom, in which he states, “Well, if I ain't I can't do nothing about it now, her ma's dead," was the answer” in response to being asked by Mr. Gilmer if he was the father of Mayella Ewell. This sparked Judge Taylor’s interest in which he sets Bob Ewell straight on the expectations he