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Theme Of Social Injustice In To Kill A Mockingbird

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In modern society, each individual’s wealth and privilege should dictate their social responsibility. This social contract provides that wealthy and privileged individuals should act on the behalf of the less fortunate in order to improve their well-being and correct social injustices. On the other hand, though they should be law-abiding citizens, underprivileged individuals should have the opportunity to receive a disproportionate amount of the benefits given by society. The notion of a social contract is one of the unspoken, unwritten laws of being part of an advanced society and is a central theme in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The rich white men in Maycomb are the ones that are responsible for identifying social injustices, being …show more content…

Many of the families of Maycomb do not have the money or resources for a decent education or a steady lifestyle, so the members of those families are given a distinct disadvantage at wealth and power. Families like “the Cunninghams that never took anything they can’t pay back—no church baskets and no scrip stamps. They never took anything off of anybody, they get along on what they have” (26). The Cunninghams are a family in Maycomb that is plagued with poverty. They do not want to go into debt because they know that they may not be able pay it back. But, even though they are poor, the Cunninghams “get along on what they have”. They do not ever take the pity gifts that society gives them because they want to earn everything honestly. They deserve the benefits of society because they do not have the opportunity that other families would have based on their social class. These respectable people are entitled to more than what they have because they are more honorable than the privileged of the

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403 Words | 2 Pages

When Scout’s father gave them money, the Cunningham’s slowly but surely paid them back with what they could. They wouldn’t beg for money, and they would make the little money they had honestly. This makes evident how even though they “had no money”(Lee

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203 Words | 1 Pages

The term disenfranchisement can be defined as depriving someone of their rights, power and privileges. This notion is heavily explored and demonstrated in Harper Lee’s classical novel - “ To Kill A Mockingbird”, published in 1960. “To Kill a Mockingbird” is set in the fictitious rural town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. The plot of this novel occurs in an era of great social and economic turmoil. Discrimination and racism was at its peak and Lee, the author manages to capture this attitude in her novel.

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1524 Words | 7 Pages

The negative affects in this passage such as loss of hope and innocence, convicting an innocent person guilty etc., shows how powerful racism was in a Maycomb and the prejudiced behaviour of the citizens in Maycomb. Lee uses several literary devices in this passage to intensify the mood of the story and make people know that this is how bad situations were as a way to rebel against the racism present in this

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801 Words | 4 Pages

So·cial jus·tice, noun, 1. justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. 2."individuality gives way to the struggle for social justice.” (Google Search). Social Justice is a term used to justify the equality in the world; equality of race, equality of gender, equality of religion, of age, of background; equality of all people not dependent on any outside factor, but of the people themselves.

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“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view — until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (Chapter 3) You never really understand what Atticus, a white father with a creditable job as a lawyer but defends for the black, was trying to teach his children if you are not trying hard to play his role in the novel. Widespread poverty, as it was during the Great Depression, had brought neither good nor wealthy life to people in old Maycomb. It could be no less normal than any other town during that dark period of time — racial discrimination, class division, gender roles, prejudice, none of them were left.

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579 Words | 3 Pages

Suhas Yalavarthi Mrs. Hewlett English 1H - 7 23 January 2023 Honorable Compassion Compassion is awarded to people who undergo traumatic experiences in their lives. For example, disturbing events can be considered sexual and mental abuse. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Robert Ewell and his daughter Mayella, are seen as the ‘white trash’ of Maycomb county. In the 1930s, it was rare for a white person to be seen with a black person because of the social inequality in their community.

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1033 Words | 5 Pages

The Cunningham’s have nothing to offer and the majority of their lives they refuse to take anything that they can’t pay back. “‘Atticus’... ‘Are we as poor as the Cunningham’s?’” (Lee 27). This shows that people don’t think that they are actually poor until they are “Cunningham” poor.

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569 Words | 3 Pages

The novel To Kill A Mockingbird’s counsel shared with the heavily segregated society of 1960 made a large impact in many people’s lives. It inspired many to change the way society ran, but even though segregation has been discontinued, some of the attitudes and thought patterns of the time still leak over into this generation. The influence of Harper Lee’s lessons still resonates with people, however, reminding each person that reads about the circumstances of Maycomb that everyone is equal, and everyone is human.the extreme examples of racism seen then are still evident in our society today, though less severely. Racism, while seen as vile and wrong today, was simply the norm in the 1930s. Many saw the harm that it could do and strove for

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754 Words | 4 Pages

Race has always been a part of history, from slavery to MLK, to Barack Obama. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee defines race in the south during the 1930’s. Jean “Scout” Finch, is the narrator of the story. Her brother Jeremy “Jem” and her dad, Atticus, are both main characters. Calpurnia is their house cook and helper, she is also black.

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680 Words | 3 Pages

Robert Wadley Madame Latall Honors English I, 3rd Hour 31 January 2017 Social Inequality In To Kill a Mockingbird, the theme of Social Inequality plays an important and universal role. It feeds the plot and provokes thoughtful insight into the way people see other people. Social Inequality in To Kill a Mockingbird transpires between whites and blacks; although, division occurs between white people over who supports Tom Robinson.

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800 Words | 4 Pages

Injustice; the lack of fairness or justice. Years have passed since everyone officially became equal, but still in this world today there is injustice. Still in this world through some peoples eyes everyone does not look the same. If our world keeps the mindset that they are in today that word will always exist and never go away. To Kill a Mockingbird is a classic modern American literature novel and was immediately successful.

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1169 Words | 5 Pages

In the novel, ‘To kill a mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates the small, imaginary town, the Maycomb County, as a place where racism and social inequality happens in the background of 1930s America. Not only the segregation between whites and blacks, but also the poor lived in a harsh state of living. As Scout, the young narrator, tells the story, Lee introduces and highlights the effects of racism and social inequality on the citizens of Maycomb County by using various characters such as Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Mayella Ewell. Firstly, Harper Lee portrays Boo Radley as a victim of social inequality through adjectives and metaphor in the phrase, “There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten;” ‘Long jagged scar that ran across his face’ tells us that Boo Radley has stereotype about his appearance, which forces to imagine Boo as a scary and threatening person. The phrase, ‘yellow and rotten’ make the readers think as if Boo Radley is poor and low in a social hierarchy, as he cannot afford to brush his teeth.

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858 Words | 4 Pages

One of the main themes of the novel is Racism. During the time of depression, racism and poverty were a common issue. People with a dark skin tone, i.e the African- Americans were seen as derogatory and treated like dirt. Harper Lee depicts it in a very realistic way.

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326 Words | 2 Pages

Imagine a society where people think that they are above someone else because of their looks or something that they cannot control. Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird goes along the story of two children who live in a small, southern town. It takes place in the 1930’s when black and white people were still segregated. Racial Prejudice is unfair and not right in the instances of Tom Robinson being accused guilty, and men gambling at Calpurnia’s church.

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546 Words | 3 Pages

Gerardo Bautista Period 6 10/26/16 To Kill a Mockingbird Essay Today There are many social injustices cases but they are treated differently and they involve the law but back then in the early 1300s people were treated different and people had different opinions about justice and people's rights. To Begin, in To Kill A Mockingbird they were many good people that did even better this to help people out like Tom Robinson, Tom was a Black Young man that was very helpful, he helped the white lady a lot because he thought it was the right thing to do, once he tried to help the white lady with his door and in the process she kissed him.

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