To Kill A Mockingbird Deeper Meaning

Brooklyn Bacalia Mrs. V Honors English 10B 5/12/24.

A deeper Meaning

The award-winning novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is written by Harper Lee. To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the 1930s during a time called the Great Depression. During this period in history, the U.S. had hit an all-time low in poverty and unemployment rates. Not only does this era bring a distraught feeling, but it also includes racism due to the fact the story takes place in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. This novel paints the picture of Harper Lee’s experiences through the character of a young white girl named Scout Finch. Scout is the daughter of a well-known lawyer in Maycomb named Atticus Finch, who challenges racism by defending a wrongfully convicted black man. This court case

Tom Robinson is an innocent black man accused of raping by the Ewells. The Ewells are a large white family that lives in the grimy town dump. The oldest daughter, Mayella Ewell, and her father Bob Ewell are very uneducated and try to cover up multiple secrets in this case. The prosecuting attorney’s name is Mr. Gilmer, and he is the lawyer for the Ewells. At one point in the trial, Mr. Gilmer called Tom Robinson to the witness stand. Here, Mr. Gimler will call him disrespectful and mock him in front of the jury. A good friend of the Finch children, Dill, witnesses this at the courthouse and says, “Well, Mr. Finch didn't act that way to Mayella and old man Ewell when he cross-examined them. The way that man called him ‘boy’ all the time an’ sneered at him, an’ looked around at the jury every time he answered—” (Lee 266). Not only does Mr. Gilmer try to make Tom look wrong in front of the jury, but the jury consists of all old white men from the rural part of Maycomb. The all-white jury reflects Lee’s symbolic use of snow that suffocates Maycomb through racism and prejudice. Next, Lee uses a Mad Dog in chapter 10 to foreshadow Atticus's