Social Issues In To Kill A Mockingbird

In Harper Lee’s novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, characters and themes are constructed from the setting and time. The story takes place in 1933 to 1935, during the Great Depression. Maycomb, a fictional town in Alabama, has been used to explain and develop the idea of what it was like to live in a town with a strong sense of social status. Harper explores the extent of racism and social issues through the Tom Robinson’s case, using setting to connect with the inequitable decisions of the courtroom. During, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, we can get a clear understanding that Scout’s innocence through the setting of her upbringing has prevailed in her adult years.

Harper Lee created Maycomb to explain to readers the typical Southern communities that

existed during the Great Depression. In ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, Jem attempts to categorize Maycomb into different groups, “There’s the ordinary kind like us 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 Negroes.” Consequently, this displays that during the 1930s, the Great Depression cemented the idea of social class.

Families like the Finch’s and their neighbours are classified as middle class. The Cunninghams are farmers. Therefore, they are viewed as the lower class, along with the Ewells. What readers can interpret from ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is that the Ewells are considered the lowest of the low amongst the white community. The only aspect that elevates them is the reality that they’re white. Harper Lee sets up the image of Maycomb’s black society to be restricted and inferior to that in the rest of the town. Negroes were always going to be regarded as lower than any white man. Throughout the

story, we can distinguish the extent characters will go, in pursuance of securing their status. Mr. Cunningham led a mob of local farmers to the prison. However, Atticus was stationed outside the cell to protect Tom Robinson from any lynching attempts. They are categorized as a Lynch mob; ‘lynching is the practice of murder by extrajudicial action.’ This group of people went to the jail to take Tom before he even attended his trial. This specifies to readers that the individuals that make up the mob, felt as though they had to validate their social positions. Harper Lee used setting to develop the idea of how status can affect characters perceptions and actions.

The author uses setting to express the hardship of racial inequality throughout ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’.

During the 1930’s in Maycomb, the mentality of many southern people reflected that of the nation. Harper Lee explores the idea that most people were racist and discriminatory through Jem and Scout Finch. The story writes, “Now don’t you be so confident, Mr. Jem, I ain’t ever seen a Jury decide in favor of a colored man over a white man”. This was said by the character Reverend Sykes and it outlines a major event in court. This was the first time, Scout and Jem got a real glimpse of the racial inequality, in Maycomb. The author, expresses the extent of this social issue, using the setting of the courtroom. Throughout the intense trial, we get to go on a journey with Jem and Scout, feeling the hope and faith that they have in their father. However, this quote creates another angle for readers consider. Jem and Scout grew up pure of heart and were taught by Atticus and Calpurnia. Calpurnia is a lovely black woman, and every day she helps the Finch family. She is a mother figure in the household, which suggests to readers that respecting a colored person is completely normal in the children’s lives. Growing up in an environment where it is normal to perceive Negroes as equals and respect them as you would a white person, separates Jem and Scout from the unjust and the provincialism world around

them.

Harper Lee has used the setting and time of her upbringing, in order to connect with Jem and Scouts views and growth throughout ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. Although, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is not classified as an autobiography, it holds many similarities to Lee’s life as a young girl. When Harper Lee was only 10 years old, a black man was falsely accused of rape and sentenced to death. Only after several people claimed this man to be innocent, did the jury reduce the sentence from death to life imprisonment. Her father, Amasa Coleman Lee, was a politician and lawyer and he is often related back to Atticus. “It ain’t right”, after witnessing the injustice in the courtroom, Jem realises that Maycomb can’t possibly be categorized as a good community. This was the first time Jem understood the extent of racism and he held very negative thoughts towards it. Harper used the line, “Naw, Jem, I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks” to express Scouts positive outlook towards the Maycomb community and its residents. Although this is true, Scout is beginning to notice the racial inequality amongst the Maycomb society. The innocence and purity of these two characters, relates back to their upbringing and their freedom. Atticus Finch’s character played a huge role in teaching his children what is morally right and wrong. Despite their understanding he imbedded a goodness in them to counteract the hypocrisy of Maycomb society and its efforts to take that away. Readers can infer that Scout’s innocence and positivity has prevailed into her adult years. The principles and morals that make up her life are developed from her upbringing, conquering her society and the views that they hold. Scout and Harper have remained pure of heart.