Bernadet Yaghoubzadeh Mrs Jeans English 21 March 2023 Maycomb’s Purpose Oftentimes a traditional town is considered to be one that is older and abides to its original customs and values of daily life. Harper Lees novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, shows the main character, Scout’s, perspective as the daughter of the attorney Atticus, who is defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman, in Maycomb Alabama. Lee establishes the setting of Maycomb through the use of an “old fashioned” mood of the outdated town, ultimately this illustrates the purpose of a simple life and habitual racism that the people of Maycomb adhere to. The people in Maycomb stick to their normal daily routines and old beliefs, this displays the simple lives that they are living. Scout explains, “Men’s stiff collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed before noon, after their three-o’clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum” (Lee 6). This shows the simple routine that people choose to live by. They do not change their ways, everything is straightforward and a habit that they are used to living by. Their views on the world and how people should act in it are old fashioned and …show more content…
Francis says, “If Uncle Atticus lets you run around with stray dogs, that's his own business, like Grandma says, so it ain’t your fault. I guess it ain’t your fault if Uncle Atticus is a -lover besides, but I’m here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family-” (Lee 110). This indicates how racism in Maycomb is installed into the town. Francis, a young kid was not born with racist thoughts, he picked them up from the community he is being raised in. Therefore it shows how the people of Maycomb have adapted to racist beliefs because that is what they are being taught from the people that are around