Social Class In To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee and “My Encounter With a ‘Non-Racist’ in Fear of a Black Neighborhood” by Christine Stoddard both cover the topic of social class in similar ways. In To Kill A Mockingbird the main character Scout falls in the upper class of the social class system. She is not exactly in the highest class, but there are many families that are in lower classes than her. Other people have less privileges such as not having enough money. The article also discusses the range in social classes through money when it states, “Today nearly a third of blacks live in poverty in the United States. Compare that to about 10 percent of non-Latino whites” (Stoddard, 1). This clearly shows that there are many social classes in both the article and the novel.

Also education is a big factor in social class as well. In To Kill A Mockingbird the book states, “Calpurnia had more education than most colored folks” (Lee, 32). The article states almost the exact same idea when it states, “50 percent of black children in 4th grade across the nation do not read or write at grade level” (Stoddard, 1). Both Calpurnia and African American children are not usually associated with a high level of education because of their social class. African Americans are lower in social class because most people whether they mean to or not see them as lesser beings. Calpurnia is also just a cook and maid so that also does not give her a high social ranking. Overall both the book and the article share similar views and stances on social