To Kill A Mockingbird Social Inequality Essay

Social inequality in To Kill A Mockingbird

People are stereotyped all over the world today in a way that may be comparable to the 1930s the United States. At that time 93% of African Americans were racially profiled and stereotyped within their communities. This was because of the racial tension and the segregation of the people along with the laws that supported segregation. These laws are known as the Jim Crow laws, which were used to limit what African Americans could do. This was shown often in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird novel, which portrayed how people were being treated. All of the people throughout her book saw racism in different ways. Her novel shows how residents of Maycomb experienced hierarchy, racism, and gender inequality

This includes racist remarks and stereotypes about everyone in Maycomb. Jem is a main character in the novel and he says, “ ‘That's what I thought,’ said Jem, ‘but around here once you have a drop of nigger blood, that makes you all black’ ” (Lee 164). What Jem is trying to say is that if people think that you are black you will be treated as such. It is also important because Jem does not say a lot of racist things and if she does, it is for a purpose, to explain something. Another example of racism is, " ‘Suppose you and Scout talked like colored folks talk at home it'd be out of place, wouldn't it? Now what if I talked like white-folks' talk at church, and with my neighbors? They'd think I was puttin' on airs to beat Moses’ “ (Lee 144). Cal means that white people talk like they are superior to them. Cal does not like this because African Americans and whites are equal but because most African Americans are on the bottom of the social ladder, in reality, the white people feel they are superior. Racism is not the only thing that makes Maycomb bad, there are a few more things that are said and done that show social

There are four social classes in Maycomb: higher class, middle class, lower working class, and low class. Jem talked about these classes to explain that not everyone is equal. He said, “ ‘There are four kinds of folks in the world. There's the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there's the kind like the Cunninghams in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes’ ” (Lee 230). This shows the reader that people in Maycomb are aware of the social classes but will not try to change them because they know it has been that way for a long time and they will not change it. Another quote to show that there was a social hierarchy is " ‘You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some negro men are not to be trusted around women- black or white.’ ” (Lee 232). Atticus is saying this during his closing argument in his case. They are all negative traits and attributes showing that African Americans are at the bottom of the social ladder. Another thing that the people of Maycomb realize is that people of different genders get treated