Examples Of The Societal Condition In The 1930's

Imagine a world where there is a group who decides how people are going to look, act around each other, and perceive different issues and controversies. Now imagine that this represents our world. There is no need to imagine because this is how the world is since the beginning of humankind. For hundreds of years, there has been society pressures on many topics and issues. From race to body image, pressures to be “perfect” in the eyes of a powerful social group is present in any period of time in the Anthropocene Era. Two periods of time with many societal pressures are the 1930’s and the present. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there are many examples of societal pressures in the 1930’s that made people act the way they did.

Throughout the trial in the book, Atticus, the lawyer defending a black man named Tom Robinson, gives clear evidence to everyone in the courthouse that Tom Robinson is innocent of raping a white girl. Once it is time for the jury to share their verdict, Judge Taylor gives each jury member the time to share what they think. As he points to each member, all that the courtroom hears is, “Guilty…..guilty…...guilty…...guilty……” (Lee 214). While the evidence shows innocence, society pressures the jury members to give opinions to satisfy them. Society manipulates them in a way that if they disagree with their views, the jury members’ reputations will be hurt. Giving into what society wants is the only decision for the jury members. Peer pressure is ever-so present in everyone’s life in the present, and it comes in many forms, “like underage drinking and smoking, and [having] sex at young ages” (Petton Radical Parenting). These are very negative pressures that are put mainly onto teenagers. Society for teenagers urge them to fit into what they think is “cool” or is considered “fitting in.” More and more teenagers give in to these pressures because they can hurt their reputations and what people their age think of them. Society of the 1930’s and society of the present is very much similar in that

Trying to conform into what society wants is a challenge and requires almost everyone to be who they don’t want to be. This leads to emotional setbacks and experiences that no one wants to have or be a part of. Yet, people still feel the pressure to fit in. Similar to the now, the book To Kill a Mockingbird is a powerful novel that expresses many battles toward societal pressures. Humans today still read this book because what happened 80 years ago is still happening, but differently due to how history shaped the globalization of the world. People still relate to the book and feel the connections because society in the 1930’s had similar battles that everyone goes through each day in the twenty-first century. Some examples from the book are still around, including body image, and how the ideal woman should be like and their appearance. The only difference is that now, body image and the ideal woman is more serious because of the rise of social media. In the book, it shows the pressure a jury faces in convicting a black man of rape, even though there is clear evidence he is innocent. Much like peer pressure in the 1930’s, teenagers currently confront peer pressure to drink, smoke, and have sex at young ages. Humans must be pressured in some way because it is a basic human instinct to pressure people to be like or be like them. It is the replacement of force. Societal pressure is better and more