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Examples Of Atticus Finch's Social Hierarchy In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Imagine living in a society where you do not have the right to defend yourself because of your ethnicity and social status.
Having this kind of system in your society can massively affect your family life, lively hood, and it can also affect your mental and physical health. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Maycomb’s social hierarchy is based on a person’s ethnic and social background which is portrayed in the characters Bob Ewell, Tom Robinson, and Atticus Finch.

Maycomb's citizens are segregated into a social hierarchy that is ranked from "wealthy whites", "poor whites", “white trash”, "black people", and "mixed people". In the city of Maycomb, Alabama, being white was a major advantage for people in Maycomb, because they were more superior …show more content…

Atticus Finch is the father of Jem and Scout Finch. He is a civilized lawyer, meaning that he treats every person fairly without considering their social status or ethnicity. He was Tom Robinson's lawyer; he fought for him even though he knew that the jury will end up deciding that Tom Robinson is guilty of allegedly raping Mayella Ewell, even if Tom Robinson was innocent. He is a respected man in Maycomb, considering that he respects people who have a different ethnicity and social class than him. Atticus Finch is one of the Mockingbirds in the novel because he is fighting injustice in the world and teaches his children to become respectful of everyone no matter who they are. Some people in the higher class think low of him because Atticus Finch respects black people. A person who was in the white trash social hierarchy is Bob Ewell. Bob Ewell was an unemployed and uneducated citizen in Maycomb. He is the father of Mayella Ewell and seven other children. He was a disgrace in Maycomb for three generations, which tells us that he could not change his ways despite the opportunities that were given to him throughout his lifetime. He hated Atticus Finch and his family for defending Tom Robinson, to the point where he tried to kill Jem and Scout in chapter twenty-eight (page three hundred

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They attempt to get him out of his house by leaving notes around his house. Atticus Finch, Scout and Jem’s father who is a widower after his wife died. Atticus is a lawyer and defending a black man named Tom Robinson who is accused of raping a 19-year-old girl named Mayella. Atticus tried to convince the jury that Bob Ewell (Mayella’s father) beat her because Mayella’s

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Social class theme reduction resulted in the removal of Ewell’s position hierarchy. A major theme, such as social class was not emphasised in the film. Perhaps it was because of the limitation that Robert Mulligan had adapted, or possibly he was not planning to dig deep with such an explicit theme. However, decreasing this theme disadvantages the viewers from witnessing the Ewell’s appellation, which is white trash. Unlike the book, the social class was heavily implied in Maycomb.

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Father, lawyer, and friend, the gentlemanly Atticus Finch hopes to shape the character of his children. The novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is the story of the childhood of a young girl named Jean Louise “Scout” Finch. Throughout the book, Scout’s father, Atticus, tries his best to raise her and her brother, Jem, the right way as a single parent. To Kill a Mockingbird exemplifies the way the character of Atticus Finch either uses ritual or abandons it in order to develop certain character qualities within his children. He specifically focuses on the development of honesty, courage, and humility.

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In the story of To Kill a Mockingbird, there 's a town called Maycomb. This town is divided by many factors. Race was a big dividend but it wasn 't the only factor of division there was social status, power, and gender. These factors are what conduct the way relationships and personalities formed.

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The caste system Maycomb has puts the Ewell family slightly higher than black people because they are white. This slight advantage the Ewell family has allows them to be able to win the trial, even though the facts and evidence that Atticus

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All one has to do is look around us and they can see that the world has a lot of Social inequalities. Think about in school or work. Is there a Boo Radley? Someone who is isolated because they may be different. We've all seen racism on TV with all of the shootings and protests.

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In Maycomb, both white people and people of color hold animosity to each other. So the children in the town with both a white and black parent are treated differently because society can’t put them in a box “‘ They don 't belong anywhere. Colored folks won’t have 'em because they’re half white; white folks won’t have ‘em ‘cause they’re colored, so they’re in-betweens, don 't belong anywhere. ’”(Lee 161)

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What is a very apparent concept in the story is the inequality and prejudice that exist in the small town. In Maycomb, the wealth of an individual is a way that consistently divided the social status of the townspeople. For example, The Finchers and other middle class people have more prestige and social status over the lower class townspeople, such as the Cunninghams and the Ewells. The most common and discriminatory inequality in the town is that the race of an individual would unjustly determine their social status. For example, the blacks, despite having more amiable qualities than the Ewells, still remain at the bottom of the social hierarchy for the only reason being their race.

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Final Essay Outline: Thesis Statement/opening paragraph: In the story To Kill A Mockingbird, discrimination and the act of being prejudice is common among the main characters, on both the receiving and serving end. Certain characters, like Scout and Jeremy Finch, Bob Ewell, and the town folk truly create the main problem and set the theme of the story. For example, when Bob Ewell accuses Atticus Finch of being an african-american lover, because he is defending Tom Robinson. Tom Robinson was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, according to Bob. Boo Radley is accused of being dead by Scout, Jem and Dill.

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In To Kill a Mockingbird there are lots of racial, gender, and religious, discrimination. Which is shown a multiple amount of times throughout the novel. To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee which takes place in Maycomb Alabama, where there is a lot of racial discrimination. But there is also some gender, and religious, discrimination.

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How does Harper Lee vividly capture the effects of racism and social inequality on the citizens of Maycomb county in ‘To kill a mockingbird’? In the novel, ‘To kill a mockingbird’, Harper Lee conveys the theme of racism and social inequality by setting up the story in Maycomb, a small community in Alabama, the U.S back in 1930s. Lee presents some of the social issues of 1930s such as segregation and poverty in the novel. These issues are observed and examined through the innocent eyes of a young girl, Scout, the narrator.

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Stereotypical Mockingbirds Mrs.Dubose told Jem, “‘ Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for.’” (Lee 117). In every small town the people there are stereotyped into different groups. Maycomb county is no different. They are set apart based on skin color, gender, and how poor or rich they are.

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In To Kill A Mockingbird, there are many chapters that involve racism, poverty, and or violence. This book takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. The Finches, Jem, Scout, and Atticus which are the rich white people, the Cunninghams, the poor humble people, the Ewells, the dirt poor white trash people, and the colored folks all are involved in either racism, poverty, and or violence. Many examples of poverty are stated in To Kill A Mockingbird. An example of poverty is the Ewells because the Ewells have nearly nothing.

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1960 Words | 8 Pages

This shows how social classes separate people even if they are from the same place. Poor people were with poor, and and middle classes people or rich people with their groups. That was not discrimination about race, it was about social classes. The highest class in Maycomb, Alabama consisted of those who were white, came from good family lines and worked for a living. This class was treated with mostly respect, but they were expected to maintain their integrity of white peoples and their own families.

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Racism, family background, and wealth are the three main forms of social inequality that appear multiple times in To Kill a Mockingbird. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee proves that the Negroes are not respected at all simply because of their skin color. They are so disrespected and looked down on to the point they have their own little community out of the town away from the white people. Although, the colored are racists towards the white people in Maycomb.

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