Southern Hospitality In To Kill A Mockingbird

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The term “southern hospitality” was first coined in 1853 and is used to describe how people in the south were very welcoming back then. A stranger could go a person’s house and find food and rest. A neighbor could forget to bring a dish to a potluck and still be invited to come in and provided with food. The south would go above and beyond to make a person welcome. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, a reoccurring theme of southern hospitality is woven through to help the characters recover from the terrible events throughout the book. The theme of southern hospitality is shown in To Kill a Mockingbird by Little Chuck Little, the Finch neighborhood, and the black community.

Little Chuck Little shows southern hospitality during …show more content…

Tom Robinson is a black man who is falsely accused of raping a white girl, and Atticus defends him rightfully and justly, even though nobody would ever believe the black man. The community of Negros who live in and around Maycomb thank the Finches with a copious amount of food. “The kitchen table was loaded with enough food to bury the family: hunks of salt pork, tomatoes, beans, even scuppernongs.… Calpurnia said, “This was all ‘round the back steps when I got here this morning. They--they ‘preciate what you did, Mr. Finch,” (286). Atticus goes on to say that they should not have done it because times are hard that year. Even so, they pull together a feast fit for a king; the theme of southern hospitality exemplified through their actions.

The theme of southern hospitality is very evident throughout To Kill a Mockingbird. The black community, Finch’s neighborhood, and Little Chuck all show kindness and giving during other’s misfortune. Little Chuck being a proper gentleman by defending and comforting Miss Caroline. The neighbors helping Miss Maudie throughout the fire. The black community giving food to Atticus during rough times as thanks. Harper Lee’s novel shows readers examples of southern hospitality to contrast that not all people will act ugly in the situations presented in the