Matthew Mullderig Mr. Loss English 1 Honors 2 April 2024 Maycomb’s Importance Maycomb is portrayed as a tired, old, southern town in Alabama. It acts as more of a character rather than merely a setting in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, as the town plays an essential part in the development of the story. Lee brings Maycomb to life through vivid descriptions, attention to detail, and interactions with residents. The author paints a lifelike picture of the town, making Maycomb feel alive rather than just a backdrop for the story. She uses the town as a metaphor for social injustices throughout the southern United States during the early 1900s. Many of these themes are still relevant today and are a testament to the impact and importance of …show more content…
Lee uses imagery to create a vivid feeling of the time and place in Maycomb, while also using strong characterization to encapsulate readers in the feeling of the south during the early 1900s. The author uses characters like Atticus Finch to explain how their society is simple and everyone in the area knows each other. Atticus explains to Scout how the Ewell family lives, and shows how everyone in the town is familiar with each other, “... the Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations...They were people, but they lived like animals'' (Lee 40). The author shows how everyone in Maycomb knows one another, and gives the town a feeling of simplicity, which is how small southern towns often felt during that time. Additionally, Lee uses Atticus in this scenario to shine a light on how poverty-stricken small southern towns are. The Ewell family “lived like animals” due to being stuck below the poverty line. Most families in Maycomb are poor, but the Ewells are especially bad off, which shows how tough life was for many families during this time period. It is easy to get lost in this story because of the sense of realism the author gives to
The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, takes place in the 1930s in a small Alabama county called Maycomb. The novel is about the Finch family of three. Atticus, the father, Scout the older brother and Scout the younger sister, who acts like a tomboy. Scout may be a lady, but does not like to act like one, she likes to play and get dirty with her brother. Being young, both children learn lessons throughout the novel by many different residents, such as, Calpurnia, the maid, Miss Maudie, the neighbor, and their father, Atticus. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird various citizens in the town of Maycomb play an important role in the lives of Jem and Scout Finch
Childhood is a continuous time of learning, and of seeing mistakes and using them to change your perspectives. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates how two children learn from people and their actions to respect everyone no matter what they might look like on the outside. To Kill A Mockingbird tells a story about two young kids named Scout and her older brother Jem Finch growing up in their small, racist town of Maycomb, Alabama. As the years go by they learn how their town and a lot of the people in it aren’t as perfect as they may have seemed before. When Jem and Scout’s father Atticus defends a black man in court, the town’s imperfections begin to show. A sour, little man named Bob Ewell even tries to kill Jem and Scout all because of the help Atticus gave to the black man named Tom Robinson. Throughout the novel, Harper Lee illustrates the central theme that it is wrong to judge someone by their appearance on the outside, or belittle someone because they are different.
People all over the world define “Southern Hospitality” as sweet, warm and welcoming. They view southern people enveloping visitors with love and kindness. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the author Harper E Lee portrays Maycomb, Alabama as a friendly, open town. She presents different example of southern hospitality through different characters in everyday circumstances. Embracing this trait, she adds southern hospitality to each of her main character in different ways. In Maycomb, Alabama, southern hospitality shines through, Atticus feeding and housing Jem and Scout’s friends, the black community thanking Atticus, and Miss Maudie generosity towards Jem, Scout and Dill.
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird three characters, Scout, Jem, and Atticus Finch, experience the many hardships and difficulties of human inequality in their community, Maycomb County. Scout, the narrator, gives insight to readers about the many different characters of Maycomb, yet two are alike in many ways. Mayella Ewell is a 19-year-old girl who is considered white trash and lacks education, love, and friends. Dolphus Raymond is a wealthy white man who is married to an African-American and has mixed children. Although these characters may seem different, they share many of the same advantages and disadvantages of human inequality.
The novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is about a family of three including their black cook Calpurnia. They live in a town called Maycomb in Alabama. Atticus Finch the widowed father is a lawyer and is outgoing, kind, and true to himself. This book is a very popular book throughout many states in America because this book tells a meaningful message. Atticus teaches his two kids Jem and Scout to always do the right thing no matter what the situation is. Harper Lee uses the character of Atticus Finch to teach values and beliefs from seeing things from another point of view, to do what is right all the time and to be integrative to yourself.
In the town of Maycomb, the people aren’t educated about their surroundings. For some, going to school just wasn’t a part of life and they filled in the gaps as they went. And others choose not to acknowledge the truth; chose to believe what was rumored and speculated. In her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows how the townspeople of Maycomb are ignorant to each other and the world around them.
Hypocrisy is as much a part of Maycomb’s society as church and community spirit. For example, Mrs. Merriweather talks about saving the poor Mruans from Africa, but she thinks black people in her community are a disgrace (p.234). The hypocrisy of this teaching is shown as soon as she mentions the word ‘persecution’. This is due to the fact that she herself is persecuting the black people of Maycomb by not raising an eyebrow at the killing of innocent black men. Furthermore, it is obvious Bob Ewell is abusive to his daughter, Mayella, and that he is the one who violated her, not Tom Robinson (p.178). Since there is such hypocrisy in Maycomb, there are excuses made for whites. The jury probably thinks that if they pronounce Tom innocent the citizens will mock them as they do to Atticus. Harper Lee uses hypocrisy to show how the people of Maycomb are so engulfed in a variety of elements that they unknowingly complete acts of unjustified discrimination.
Scout lives in Maycomb County where she has to discover the unfair realities of society alongside prejudice people and some honest, accepting, and compassionate people. Her father, Atticus, is a lawyer who teaches her life lessons to help her understand different perspectives. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee illustrates how people’s ignorance results in prejudice against others and can only be stopped through understanding and compassion. Lee exemplifies the ignorant people in a society and their effect on others using the people in Maycomb County.
Every town has problems, and the town of Maycomb from the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is no different. Maycomb citizens are put forth with social problems created by racism. As a result of racism, physical abuse was plentiful in the town of Maycomb. The citizens of Maycomb were caught up in a cycle of racial discrimination, proving that racism does not benefit anyone. The citizens of Maycomb deal with many social issues due to the conflict of racism.
Harper Lee’s only book, To Kill a Mockingbird, is the stereotypical tale of childhood and innocence, yet it successfully incorporates mature themes, like the racism in the South at the time, to create a masterpiece of a work that has enraptured people’s minds and hearts for generations. According to esteemed novelist Wally Lamb, “It was the first time in my life that a book had sort of captured me. That was exciting; I didn’t realize that literature could do that” (111). Scout’s witty narration and brash actions make her the kind of heroine you can’t help but root for, and the events that take place in Maycomb County are small-scale versions of the dilemmas that face our world today. Mockingbird is a fantastically written novel that belongs on the shelves for classic literature that everyone should take the time to read and appreciate for their execution of style and the importance of their content.
Maycomb, a small town in Southern Alabama suffers considerably during the Great Depression. Poverty outstretches from prosperous families, like the Finches, to the Negroes and “white trash” the Ewells, who live adjacent to the town dump. Harper Lee, the author portrays a graphic image of everyday life in this southern town where tempers and discrimination erupt into quarrel. Racism, domestic violence, and poverty are all themes that are associated within To Kill a Mockingbird and are symbolized by many of the main characters to send a message. First of all racism is the main focus portrayed in To Kill a Mockingbird, it is symbolized by Tom Robinson and Atticus Finch.
The racism during the 1930’s brought a wave of pessimism and negativity across the United States. So a tale of the old, poor, and racist town of Maycomb may sound pessimistic. Especially since in Maycomb, a black man by the name of Tom Robinson is sent to jail, and ultimately loses his life over a false rape accusation from a racist jury. However, despite these points of sadness and despair, Harper Lee uses To Kill A Mockingbird in order to illustrate having optimism to positively impact others, motivate people to do their best, and show that people can end any challenge with a positive outcome.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere”. Martin Luther King envisioned a world in which society lived without hate but in peace with one another, his dream was cut short when he was assassinated purely because of the racial prejudice someone had. The injustice he faces relates heavily to his quote as it speaks the truth about the innocence of one person and it must be protected from the evil of society. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee, addresses the cruel society in which injustice is served based on the withstanding prejudice and racism the town of Maycomb contains. The author addresses this to the reader through the use of characters that symbolize the victims of
Therefore, through the uses of character foil, characterization, and the theme of society in equality, Lee was able to accurately depict her view of the white society in Maycomb by the characters in this novel. The difference in level of politeness, occupation, and behaviors implies how people like the Finches are representing higher social class in Maycomb, because they do not prejudge people based on their skin color.
Growing up in Maycomb County, Scout Finch had found out about the many negative aspects of the people that live there. Scout has been exposed to situations with explicit indications of racism, judgment, and discrimination; and through those experiences, she becomes conscious of the severity and cruelty of the residents of Maycomb. Aspects of Maycomb residents are revealed in some of the events that Scout is involved in. During Scout’s visit to First Purchase African M.E. church, she discovers the impact of discrimination on African-Americans. Dolphus Raymond informs Scout on the judgmental personalities of the people who live in Maycomb, and Scout becomes cognizant of the repercussions of racism and prejudice during the Tom Robinson case in court. Throughout these events, various aspects of Maycomb’s residents are revealed to Scout.