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To Kill A Mockingbird Social Hierarchy Essay

1018 Words5 Pages

At the top of Macomb’s social hierarchy it begins with the wealthy whites. Any person identified as white has an advantage over an African American, no matter the circumstances. Even at the top of the pyramid there a social divide. The top of the pyramid is divided between rich males, them being on top, and females being at the bottom. This is because at this point in time males were considered superior to their female counterpart. After that, there’s a decline in the pyramid that reveals itself as the poor whites category. In the poor, yet respectable white category there are characters that aren’t up to par with the wealthy whites. These characters are able to live their life through trading and small assignments. Next on the pyramid …show more content…

The Finches contain all of the four fashions. They have the superiority ethnicity, because they are white. Then, the Finches also have money and property, this being because there property have been passed down through generations and Atticus, the present father of the Finches , earns money as a lawyer. This is considered a huge income during this Great Depression time period. All the Finches have either been to school or got an education or are presently in school, like the main protagonist Scout Finch. What separates Aunt Alexandra (Atticus’s sister) and Atticus is their gender. The gender gives Atticus a slight edge when it comes to being at the top of the social hierarchy. At the second block on the social hierarchy the Cunningham’s reveal themselves in the poor white category. This specific family do not have two of the four fashions, this being money and education. Without those two the Cunningham’s have dropped down the social ladder. But they are still well respected because they manage their lives through borrowing money and trading in return. Then, in the “white trash” category are the Ewells. The Ewell’s are disgusting and destructive human beings. Being alcoholics and liars they are considered white trash. The only fashion they have is ethnicity which allows them to not fall into the next category. African American's having their own category because of ethnicity. The

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