Maycomb's Influences Essay

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Maycomb’s Influences In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the small Alabama town Maycomb is home to Scout and Jem Finch. Maycomb is also home to events that involve racism, prejudice and courage, which will impact Scout and Jem. Most people think that racism, prejudice and courage are not traits which impact Scout and Jem because of their stubbornness. However the people and events that help pass on this, do find a way to make it an influence. Understanding the influences of Scout and Jem, and who had passed on these influences is important to know in order to better interpret who Scout and Jem has matured in to. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Maycomb helps shape Scout and Jem by adding influences like racism, …show more content…

Integrated Evidence #1:The Ewells who “lived behind the town garbage dump” and the Cunninghams who “[are] trash” are both families are struggling with money and who have a scorned family lineage(301,227).
Commentary: The Ewells and the Cunninghams are both very low on the social ladder of Maycomb. Anyone who lives near a dump must be poor because house locations are alway a main priority for a homeowner. Many people refuse to live near a dump, making the land near it cheaper, thus being affordable for the Ewells. The Cunninghams are considered trash because they are poor and because they live out in the woods.
Integrated Evidence #2: Aunt Alexandra scolds Scout for wanting to invite Walter Cunningham over because Alexandra thinks Walter is trash just like the Ewells, however according to Jem “there’s four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like [the Finches] and the neighbors, there’s the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the

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