Effects Of The Great Depression In To Kill A Mockingbird

“Maycomb was a tired old town...there was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see...” The book To Kill a Mockingbird is set in Maycomb, Alabama around the early 1930s.The Great Depression was a troubling time for the unemployed.It not only affected the jobless but it had an effect on youth to the elderly. Children had to deal with changes in their education if they were able to attend school and most children suffered from malnutrition. The middle class had to make do of a life without money and security.
Many places in the deep South such as Maycomb, Alabama, the Depression in the south were supposedly a little bit worse than anywhere else. However Atticus Finch is an educated man
who goes to work,the family owns a nice home and have the privilege to have Calpurnia , An African American housekeeper.Even though they have a somewhat comfortable lifestyle the Finches are friendly and compatible with the other farm families who live Maycomb. But they still didn’t have a lot, only a little bit of money.They still had it better than some during this time.
During the depression Many children couldn't afford to go to school. They may just go for one day out of the whole year. For example, when Scout's class studied current events most of the children are not even sure exactly what the study was. Young adults did know exactly what that study was .Many tried to travel around looking for a new and a more preferable life . Problem with that is they didn't have enough to eat in a restaurant. When Dill eats in a diner, this is enough to make him a minor celebrity in Scout's eyes. What happened inside families and communities during the Great Depression was no less important than what happened in government offices and the U.S. Congress. According to one commentator, "The survival of an open-hearted and optimistic spirit may be the most remarkable legacy of these impoverished southerners.”
The Jim Crow laws separated the Black people by having separate restrooms,separate eating areas, separate water fountains and even separate entrances to places.
Obviously the Jim Crow laws were tyrannical , especially in the south. Of course, even worse in a small country such as Maycomb. They had said it’s separate but equal .That definitely wasn't the case in this situation. Blacks were only to have certain jobs that were usually left over that nobody wanted. They usually worked on trains. During the depression some white men lost their jobs so they were searching for train jobs. Most white men killed the black workers so they can take their place. When Atticus gets the job to defend this African and believes his word over a white man's . This caused the women of the town of Maycomb to get in a fuss of him bending the social order. But Atticus still defended the man in court. There was a lot of racism in southern Alabama .It wasn't really surprising that this happened.Especially during the Jim Crow Laws.
The conclusion to this is that in To Kill A Mockingbird. The Great Depression has a big impact to the book.The depression and the Jim crow laws would have been out of the picture . It wouldn't have gotten the overpowering grabbing character of the book.Even though it was hard times , getting to experience the Great Depression and Jim Crow laws were enthralling .It really affected the county of Maycomb . The challenge is thinking of living like them. It was definitely harsh
.Maycomb was definitely under a lot of stress.