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Why Is The Great Depression Important In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Harper Lee makes a lot of connections to events in America’s history in order to write To Kill a Mockingbird. It is a story that follows the protagonist, Jean Louise Finch, Scout and her family in the southern Alabama town of Maycomb. Scout lives at home with her dad Atticus and her older brother Jem. One real life connection Lee makes in her book is to World War ll. She makes it clear that her book was set in the 1930s, which was when the war began to brew. In addition to that, the Great Depression is also present during the book due to the lack of money and employment that was present in Maycomb. The final connection she makes is to the Scottsboro trial where similarly, the jurors were unfair to the defendant. Studying World War ll, the Great Depression, and the Scottsboro trial can help a read have a greater understanding of the events that …show more content…

The depression started in 1929 when the stock market crashed, and a lot of shares from people and companies were worthless. This left many people in the United States jobless and without money. The dollar bill would not have the same value until 1944. In the book, Scout sees that Maycomb was a poor town and that nothing bad would really happen that could be worse than the way they were living by saying “There was no worry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with”(Lee 6). For example, Mr. Cunningham, who was a poor neighbor, has to pay Atticus with vegetables because he cannot pay him with real money for his work. In the same way, people were worried about their lives , but Roosevelt said to the people of the United States that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”(History.com Great Depression). So the people of Maycomb had to hold onto hope for a while when doing their jobs. The Great Depression started to end in 1938, rebuilding the economy of the United States and the rest of the

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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is an amazing book with an abundant of surprises. Set back in the 1930’s in Maycomb, Alabama, when the Great Depression was happening and racism from the civil war still rages on in this southern city. All the quotes and themes in the novel can still be associated to life today. As the book was narrating in the past by Jean Louise Finch (Scout), there is one man that guides her and her brother, Jem Finch. It is their father, Atticus Finch.

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In the year 1929, it was a dark time for America, it was the start of the Great Depression. During the start of the depression, Herbert Hoover did nothing but think it would solve itself. So when Franklin D Roosevelt became president in 1932, there were many problems hitting his desk. One problem is that 25% of Americans were unemployed, this caused people to not earn money causing 80% of American families to not have savings. From families having no money to support their families, over 200,000 children wandered the country and 2 million men became hobos.

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On October 29th 1929, the United States of America fell into an all consuming state of fear. The crash of the stock market and the economic tribulations that rural United Statians were facing resulted in the Great Depression. No matter where one would he or she would encounter a plague of despair and people looking for the same jobs that no longer existed. People left their homes hungry for opportunities but would end up with starving for not only a small sum or money but a morsel of food as well.

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In 1929, the stock market crashed, bringing economic devastation to all of America, and much of Europe. Many Americans were jobless and homeless, causing many problems all throughout America. The American citizens and people frantically tried to create coping methods fro life in poverty, and did what they had to survive, as our government was working to improve life for the American citizen. These fateful years would later be known as, “The Great Depression”, the greatest economic crisis in American History.

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682 Words | 3 Pages

The Great Depression was the time period in which Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was set and was a time of economic instability and unpredictability (McCabe 12). Lee used many historical events and influences in her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. In the book, there are direct links to the Jim Crow laws, mob mentality, and the Scottsboro trials. The first influence on Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is the Jim Crow laws.

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During the Great Depression, people had to do anything to get what they needed. One specific case, called The Scottsboro Boys Trial, follows the case of a group of 9 black boys who encounter trouble when they jump into a moving train car containing food and a group of white people. The white people were hoarding all of the food so they and the black people got into a fight. After losing the fight and getting kicked off the train, the white group of people (who had 2 girls dressed as males) falsely accused the black people of rape and the jury found them guilty, even though there was no medical evidence. Harper Lee bases the characters and their situations in her book To Kill a Mockingbird off of her real life, since her father was the defense

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2009 Words | 9 Pages

ScottsBoro Boys Trial V Maccomb The 1930s were a time of difficulty for people of color in the United States, especially in the south. African Americans were kept separate from white folks and were treated below them, simply because of the color of their skin. During this time, we saw monumental events that spiked up the civil rights movement and had people of color begin to fight for equal rights. One of these events was the Scottsboro trials.

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he Great Depression was one of the hardest times in American history. It began on October 29, 1929, which was the year of the Stock Market Crash. At this time stock prices were rising, banks were failing, unemployment was beginning, and so much more. The depression caused 13 to 15 million Americans to be unemployed! As the stock market crashed, a lot of consumers' confidence began to vanished.

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During the years of 1929 to 1939, the Great Depression affected American life negatively. The Great Depression began after the stock market crash of October 1929. Many Americans, especially ones that were poor, became unemployed. Most of the country’s banks failed during these years, investment also dropped. The economy during these years became poorly and one man came up with these programs called the “New Deal”.

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Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that show the life of a southern state od Alabama during the “black racism” time period, where majority of the people had the mentality that (quote) with the exception of a few. To chosen to portray it from the eyes of Scout Finch, from a child’s point of view. Living in Maycomb, in the midst of a conservative society of the 1930’s and 20’s Southern America Scout Finch is an extra ordinary child.

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Imagine trying to survive when the stock market crashes, thousands of banks close, and the Dust Bowl destroys crops. In the 1930s, the United States had a period of financial crisis, known as the Great Depression. The stock market crash, the closure of thousands of banks, and the Dust Bowl wrecked havoc on almost all of the citizens in the United States. The Great Depression led to farmers losing their farms, millions of people becoming migrant workers, and unsafe conditions for laborers. Many farmers lost their land in the 1930s.

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The 1920s was a time of prosperity. Then, the Great Depression came along, and hope seemed far away. The infamous Stock Market Crash alone did not cause this time of hardship, but rather many sources eventually leading up to cause this economic crisis. The over-speculation in the stock market was significant.

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How did the time period of the novel (30’s) affect how black people were treated? One of the main themes in To Kill a Mockingbird is racial discrimination. Examples of racism and prejudice against black people can be seen throughout the novel. There are several reasons as to why people segregate dark people and they are mostly the important events happening in the 30’s. The time period of which the book was written is the 1930’s

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500 Words | 2 Pages

In To Kill A Mockingbird, there are many chapters that involve racism, poverty, and or violence. This book takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. The Finches, Jem, Scout, and Atticus which are the rich white people, the Cunninghams, the poor humble people, the Ewells, the dirt poor white trash people, and the colored folks all are involved in either racism, poverty, and or violence. Many examples of poverty are stated in To Kill A Mockingbird. An example of poverty is the Ewells because the Ewells have nearly nothing.

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1960 Words | 8 Pages

The poor and lazy people in Maycomb are the Ewell 's family, they rarely worked, and when they did thy held a very low job. They made little money and therefore often turn into thievery. They did not come from a respectable families. The poor and hard working people in Maycomb are the Cunningham 's family, they really work hard for their money and food to put on the table, with their little money that they have they still take their children to school and get their education, they don 't rely on the government, the community really respect them because of the good things that they do. The Great Depression affect them but they didn 't allow it to overcome them.

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