Community Within Maycomb

So often in a society we are misled at the actual courageous and uncourageous acts that are done amongst a society. Most of the time it is usually because we have our own perception that a society is emulated from the way someone may act or the lineage and community in which some are born into. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows the strengths and weaknesses of a community through the white community, black community, and lastly the community within a family. Though there is much strength in a White community, like holding their values high, there are also weaknesses like being racist toward the “Blacks.” For instance Jem points out a weakness in the White community when he tells Scout, “They’re real sad… They don’t belong anywhere. Colored folks won’t have ‘em because they’re half white; white folks won’t have ‘em cause they’re colored, so they’re just in-between, don’t belong anywhere.” Back during the 1930’s interracial marriage was unheard of and if it was it was thought of as impure or inadequate therefore disregarded. Experts Joyce Moss and Gorge Wilson say, “… Racial relations where complicated by various restrictions in the 1930’s. Breaking the taboo against sexual intercourse between a black man and a white woman was considered by most whites and some blacks… most serious offence. This kind of miscegenation would ‘taint’ racial purity.” This then re-states the negativity of racism during the time of Maycomb in the White community. Despite of Macomb’s racist perspectives they also share very important morals between their communities. Atticus Finch shares with Scout,” you never really understand a person until you consider things from his [or her] point of view... until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”(Chapter 3) This excerpt shows how high Atticus being from the White community, keeps his standards and beliefs held high so that he may be looked up as Macomb’s role model. In conclusion this states, though Maycomb may

Cited: Moss, Joyce and George Wilson, “ To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.” Literature and Its Times. Detroit: Gale Vol.3, 1997. Print. Tavern-Corbin, Jacqueline; Humor and Humanity in to kill a Mockingbird. Vol. 169. Detroit. Gale. From Literature Resource Center. Web. ETC: A Review of General Semantics (07/06) P 272. From Literature Recourse center. Web. To Kill a Mockingbird: Man’s Inhumanity to Man. StudyMode.com. Retrieved01,2011. Web.