Stereotypes In To Kill A Mockingbird

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, centers around a young girl named Scout and her older brother Jem, following their growth as they discover the complications of the social norms instated in their community during the mid-1930s. As they were raised by a progressive-minded father, the two witnessed firsthand the inequality and stereotypes that the variety of people around them faced. Harper Lee presents this aspect repeatedly in the novel through the eyes of Scout and Jem, who are newly discovering these constructs: prejudice for race, going against traditional social norms, and the gaps between social classes. The two act from a mostly neutral perspective, uninfluenced by the hateful racism and stereotypes that many in

Most prominently seen in Mr.Ewell, who felt in many instances that he had to prove himself, to gain the respect that people rarely gave to the lower class, though his place was clearly distinct, at the lowest of low. "Every town the size of Maycomb had families like the Ewells. No economic fluctuations changed their status...Ewells lived like guests of the county... No truand officers could keep their numerous offspring in school; no public health officer could from... Diseases" (170). The quote conveys just how the people of Maycomb see Mr.Ewell, they have no expectations for him, nor do they impose on them the same rules and laws as most people would. They were the exceptions in their class, whose gap was too clear-cut in comparison to any other. Scout brings up the matter of playing with Walter Cunningham, who, similar to the Ewells, was of a lower class. “'But I want to play with Walter, Aunty, why can't I?' She took off her glasses and stared at me. 'I'll tell you why' she said. 'Because-he-is-trash, that's why you can't play with him'"(225). This deviation from prior points is due to the fact that the prejudice portrayed in this scene was not based on race or gender; it was based on the gap in social standing. That Scout was discouraged from playing with Walter for the reason that he and his family were lower in the social hierarchy. "’There's four kinds of folks in the world. There's the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there's the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down in the dumb, and the negroes"" (206), Jem stands true to the accepted standard, that classes are separated and will invariably differ from one another. Scout responds to this, "‘Naw, Jem, I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks’" (227), serving a polar opinion to that of