ipl-logo

Essay On Social Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

1204 Words5 Pages

Set in the 1930s in northern Alabama where slavery was at its peak, the book To Kill A Mockingbird is narrated in Scout’s point of view. Through Scout’s eyes, Harper Lee illustrates examples of racism and social inequality and these reveal what it was like for the blacks during that period in America. The racist rationales and social inequality in Maycomb county are, according to the characters, something that is reasonable. Throughout this book, Harper Lee criticises mainly racism and how unjust human beings can be. The readers are able to see how the blacks and the whites were treated differently and how they avoided inter-racial interactions. In addition, segregation and the social ‘classes’ which are formed in Maycomb county (consisting of the Finches, the Cunninghams, the Ewells, and the blacks) demonstrates how the blacks were again, ill-treated. These classes in Maycomb county are also interesting partly because of the unfairness that existed between the whites. All this can be seen through Scout’s …show more content…

From Scout’s way of referring to both classes, the readers can realise how society treats each class very differently. Jem and Scout respect Atticus and they look up to him - they are very proud of the fact that Atticus is their father. When Mrs. Dubose yells at Jem, telling him that his “father is no better than the niggers and trash he works for,” Jem destroys all the camellias in her garden. Jem does this because he thinks that Atticus is being insulted although he has done the right thing. From Mrs. Dubose’s words, the readers are also able to see how even Atticus was insulted just because he defended for a black. In addition, these two classes clearly show how the racist views in Maycomb county is intertwined with the division of the social

Show More
Related

To Kill A Mockingbird Poverty Quotes

841 Words | 4 Pages

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, racism grudges on Maycomb Ville’s society. Families collared by agony, struggle everyday to break free from the chains of poverty. Domestic violence eclipses the town as it conceals beneath the dark shadows. Maycomb ville’s conflicts all revolt into a drastic nightmare.

Read More

To Kill A Mockingbird Racial Inequality Essay

738 Words | 3 Pages

In the world right now, there is still inequality for all. People are criticized everyday because of how they look, speak, dress, act, etc. In America, although there is people that are changing, there with always be that small group of people that won’t change their views on what they believe is right and wrong in our society. You can also see this in the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, written by author, Harper Lee. All throughout the novel, you can see how white people are superior to the African Americans that live in the same town.

Read More

Examples Of Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

1914 Words | 8 Pages

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that show the life of a southern state od Alabama during the “black racism” time period, where majority of the people had the mentality that (quote) with the exception of a few. To chosen to portray it from the eyes of Scout Finch, from a child’s point of view. Living in Maycomb, in the midst of a conservative society of the 1930’s and 20’s Southern America Scout Finch is an extra ordinary child.

Read More

How Does Lee Present Racism In To Kill A Mockingbird

823 Words | 4 Pages

The most recurring theme in To Kill a Mockingbird is that racism is integrated into our society and its effects are harmful. Racism is most prevalent because it can be seen in every aspect of life in Maycomb. Racism is defined as prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior. During the Depression era of 1929-1939, blacks were still subjugated all though no longer slave the “civil” binds of society were like chains. Blacks were not permitted to speak with or have relationships with whites, this was clearly shown in the courthouse where there was not just a metaphorical separation but more a physical separation of races and in the clearly distinct

Read More

Television In The 1950's

432 Words | 2 Pages

Television wasn’t a product that was owned by the public until the 1950s, the essential technology was created earlier in the century. John Logie Baird started constructing a functional television shortly after the World War I in the South Coast of England. In 1924, he finally made progress when he transmitted a flickering image across the space of several feet, then in 1925, he created the first real television picture in grayscale, with the use of a ventriloquist 's dummy and then a human face. The TV was brought into the eyes of many people in 1926, when John Logie Baird presented the device in presence of 50 scientists. John’s main goal was to provide a new source of entertainment which can help bring families together.

Read More

Ethical Dilemmas In To Kill A Mockingbird

1399 Words | 6 Pages

Humans live in a world where moral values are very clearly set determining what is good and what is bad. We know what scares us and how racism should be treated. Nevertheless, this was not the case back in Alabama during the 1950s. In the famous novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee narrates the lives of the people of Maycomb, Alabama, focusing on the story of Scout and Jem Finch, and the case of a said to be rape. In this emotion filled narrative, readers learn how life was back then not only in general, but for the separate social statuses that there was.

Read More

Theme Of Racial Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

754 Words | 4 Pages

Tom Robinson is a black man who is wrongfully convicted of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell. This novel goes through Scout's life from when she was 6, till she is 9. She lives in the town of Maycomb Alabama, and lives an innocent life until about halfway through the story, where she begins to ask questions. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout shows the readers that racial inequality creates an unjust society through the African American community, through the people surrounding colored folks, and through Tom Robinson’s Case. The first example of the consequences of racial inequality is the African American community in Maycomb.

Read More

To Kill A Mockingbird Conflict Analysis

1099 Words | 5 Pages

In the book, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee, the author writes about what happens in the small southern town of Maycomb, in Alabama. Lee uses the influence of belief in traditions such as roles and family bonds to show that they are causes of conflict. Throughout the book, roles such as gender, age, race, and family confines characters to act, look, and even speak certain ways, causing internal, external, and family conflicts. This theme that different types of roles and family bonds are the root of conflict is developed through the use of physical setting, anti stereotype, and historical setting The author shows that Scout faces external conflicts caused by the pressure to fit into the stereotypical gender roles accustomed to girls at this time in history.

Read More

Theme Of Isolation In To Kill A Mockingbird

1244 Words | 5 Pages

In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee teaches us about the town of Maycomb County during the late 1930s, where the characters live in isolation and victimization. Through the perspective of a young Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, readers will witness the prejudice that Maycomb produces during times where people face judgement through age, gender, skin colour, and class, their whole lives. Different types of prejudice are present throughout the story and each contribute to how events play out in the small town of Maycomb. Consequently, socially disabling the people who fall victim from living their life comfortably in peace. Boo Radley and his isolation from Maycomb County, the racial aspects of Tom Robinson, and the decision Atticus Finch makes as a lawyer, to defend a black man has all made them fall in the hands of Maycomb’s prejudice ways.

Read More

Economic Disparity In To Kill A Mockingbird

936 Words | 4 Pages

In conjunction with this time of calamity, Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird instills an apparent disparity of economic classes that is distributed amongst its characters throughout the Alabama town of Maycomb. This notion of economic disparity is manifested

Read More

Social Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird Analysis

1108 Words | 5 Pages

Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird famously said in his closing arguments: "You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some negro men are not to be trusted around women- black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and no particular race of men." (pg 232) What Atticus is trying to convey is a foreign concept to most people in Maycomb county. Atticus is trying to convey a point of equality and no prejudice in a world of social inequality which, as one can imagine, didn 't go over so well.

Read More

Theme Of Social Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

1169 Words | 5 Pages

In the novel, ‘To kill a mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates the small, imaginary town, the Maycomb County, as a place where racism and social inequality happens in the background of 1930s America. Not only the segregation between whites and blacks, but also the poor lived in a harsh state of living. As Scout, the young narrator, tells the story, Lee introduces and highlights the effects of racism and social inequality on the citizens of Maycomb County by using various characters such as Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Mayella Ewell. Firstly, Harper Lee portrays Boo Radley as a victim of social inequality through adjectives and metaphor in the phrase, “There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten;” ‘Long jagged scar that ran across his face’ tells us that Boo Radley has stereotype about his appearance, which forces to imagine Boo as a scary and threatening person. The phrase, ‘yellow and rotten’ make the readers think as if Boo Radley is poor and low in a social hierarchy, as he cannot afford to brush his teeth.

Read More

Theme Of Community In To Kill A Mockingbird

1580 Words | 7 Pages

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the segregated South of the 1930’s. The book is told in the eyes of an eight year old girl, Scout Finch. Her father, Atticus Finch, is an attorney who is struggling to prove the innocence of a black man incorrectly accused of rape. The historical context of the book lets one see the social status of different groups during the civil rights era. The story explores who fits into certain societies, who is respected in the community, written and unwritten rules concerning family, gender, age, and race, expectations of certain people, and what conflicts arise out of tension.

Read More

Examples Of Social Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

740 Words | 3 Pages

“You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here-they got their church, we got our’n” (p. 119) Lula, a colored woman is a prime example of the two way road of racism. When Scout and Jem hear this they are completely astonished by the fact that the white race is looked down upon by other races. Racism is a problem that affects everyone; even the “master” race. “Now don’t you be so confident Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen any jury decide in favor of a colored man over a

Read More

Theme Of Gender Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

849 Words | 4 Pages

Ever since human existence was known, women weren’t treated the same as a man. They were told to stay inside, care for the kids, and look pretty, as a paying man’s job was considered “too hard” for them to accomplish. But, during the years leading up to 1920, women had enough of this, they rallied and marched with a simple message, to be treated equal to a man. Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird, set in a 1930’s Alabama, covers women issues at various lengths. From Scout’s tomboyish attitude, gender inequality, and gender roles, Harper Lee’s novel

Read More

More about Essay On Social Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

Related Topics

Open Document