What Is The Great Depression In To Kill A Mockingbird

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An analysis of The Great Depression shows connections to the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird” and today’s society through prejudice, poverty, and racism shown throughout the novel. The Great Depression was the worst and longest economic downturn ever in the United States. It began not long after the stock market crash which happened in October 1929. Poverty was an issue at the time. Some people starved to death, barely lived through it, or lived as they did before it happened. Money was a huge problem. As well as racism. Whites hated black people. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Said Martin Luther King, Jr. This means that hatred cannot be resolved with more hatred. Only love can keep people from hating each other. A white person’s word always overruled a black person’s, no matter what the case was. However, there were also prejudiced people. White people hated black people just based off of something they heard or simply just what they thought. Overall, racism, poverty, and prejudice had a huge impact on millions of lives during that time. …show more content…

In chapter 14, Aunt Alexandra proves she is prejudiced against Calpurnia. She tells Scout she cannot attend church with Calpurnia anymore. Aunt Alexandra is clearly prejudiced. She tries to get Atticus to get rid of Calpurnia because she does not approve of the close relationship he and his children have with Calpurnia. Atticus then tells Aunt Alexandra, "Alexandra, Calpurnia's not leaving this house until she wants to. You may think otherwise, but I could not have got along without her all these years. She is a faithful member of this family and you'll simply have to accept things the way they are.” This shows that Atticus knows that Aunt Alexandra is prejudiced. That is just one of several examples of prejudice throughout the

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