Preview

How Does Harper Lee Use Social Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
194 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Does Harper Lee Use Social Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird
The two main themes in the second part of To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee are Social inequality and perspective. Social inequality is ubiquitous throughout the book, showing up in interactions, thoughts, and behaviors. The Ewells are a stain in the fabric of Maycomb’s society, stealing, lying, and acting disrespectful because of lack of education and Moral development. The social inequality also sheds light on another issue, because the Ewells blamed a black man for raping their daughter, and the Ewells are eventually even caught in the act of lying about it. In the end the black man still gets crap for it, and eventually gets shot. Race has to do with Social inequality because Scumbags like Mr. Ewell with no honor or common sense of any

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Atticus Finch Empathy

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird takes place in rural south Alabama in a town called Maycomb during the Great Depression, in a time when many Southerners both accepted and expected discrimination toward minorities. Atticus Finch, a widowed father of two, trying to raise his children well, teaches them to see things from another’s perspective. Lee incorporates the crucial quality of empathy in the feelings of the characters and expresses the empathetic theme with the influence of racism and prejudice in Maycomb society within the main characters Scout, Jem, and Atticus.…

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The rigid class structure and social stratification of Maycomb County had a profound effect on the events in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The impact of this class structure and the underlying prejudice was especially evident in the trial of Tom Robinson, a Maycomb black man. Because of the strict class system of Maycomb County and the extreme prejudice of the town, Tom Robinson was unjustly convicted of, and sentenced to death for, a crime he did not commit.…

    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In a small and peaceful town in alabama, everything is peaceful for the residents at Maycomb, the people are happy and everyone is nice to each other...that is until a thirst for power changes the residents of Maycomb. ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ takes place in the great depression era, people are poor and buying food for their families is hard and stressful, everyone feels powerless and useless, the story is told by Jean Louise Finch(Scouts) memories, she talks about her brother Jem and her father Atticus and all the adventures she had with Jem and her friend Dill. The story takes a turn when Tom Robinson, a black man, is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman, when he in fact did not rape her, she tried to seduce him but got caught and blamed Tom, and since Tom was black, people were corrupted by the ‘Evil Assumption” and he gets put in jail until trial.…

    • 783 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel threaded with many powerful themes, morals and ethics. These controversial themes resonate with the setting of the American South in the 1930’s. The most prominent themes in the novel are cowardice, courage and prejudice. These themes recur consistently and are highlighted through context in the novel.…

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atticus Conflicts

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages

    To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel set in Maycomb County, Alabama in the 1930’s. Throughout the book, many conflicts happen and the setting plays a major part in the conflicts. During this time period, racial discrimination is coming into full swing and the character Atticus unfortunately gets in the middle of all of it. With everything revolving around Atticus, his character develops the theme of the book. Throughout the novel, Atticus reveals the theme of the book as “Always do the right thing, even if it is the hard thing to do.”…

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Caste Sytem

    • 598 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In To Kill A Mocking Bird, Harper Lee portrays racial bias from low class whites to maintain their position above blacks in the social hierarchy. After Tom Robinson is accused of raping Mayella Ewell, a mob of white men goes to the Maycomb jail to lynch Tom Robinson. “ You know what we want,’ Another man said. ‘Get aside from the door Mr. Finch.” Tom Robinson has been accused of rape, but he has not been put on trail, but these men decide to take it into their own hands and kill him just because he is black. These men do not personally know Tom Robinson, but if he were to win this case then these men would be at the bottom of the social hierarchy because of their socioeconomic status and respect in the community so they have want to lynch Tom Robinson to show their superiority over blacks. People like the Ewells are terrible people, and a disgrace to the community and the only thing keeping them from the bottom of the social hierarchy is the fact that their white. “Every town the size of Maycomb had families like the Ewells. No economic fluctuations changed their status people like the Ewells lived as guests of the county in prosperity as well in the depths of a depression.” The Ewells are a disgrace to the community, and live off of everyone else but they still have a slightly higher status than the whites only because of the color of their skin. The blacks in Maycomb are a hard working people and should have more respect than the Ewells in the community so people like the Ewells try so hard to put the blacks down to keep from the bottom. In Maycomb the Blacks are better harder working than many of the whites, but the whites have more respect just because of the color of their skin.…

    • 598 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee explored social inequality as seen through the eyes of young Scout, as She encounters the people’s different beliefs about social position of Maycomb County. Scout finds out why it’s acceptable for the Cunninghams not to have money in the town of Maycomb and why it’s ok for them to pay in packaged goods and deeds. Young scout finds the norms in social inequality of skin color, status quo of the family back ground and there economic status in Maycomb. Thus Scout is confused why she is being bad, and why other people tell her to believe what she does not believe. In order for her to discover or understand the indifferences…

    • 1491 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, social inequality and racial discrimination are represented through the patriarchal society. It is through the differences among Maycomb’s people and the prejudice against Tom Robinson that the “Master’s House” is reinforced in the novel. The distinction in social status is presented through the social hierarchy of Maycomb.…

    • 325 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout, the narrator, asks her father, “Atticus, are we going to win it?” to which he replies, “No honey” (Lee 87). Atticus knew his hometown of Maycomb would never emerge from its racial inequality, but he did everything he could to prevent it. Racial inequality is the unjust treatment of minority groups, such as African Americans. While some believe America can achieve true racial and social equality, America is unable to rid itself of racism because it is a human characteristic for people to group together with those whom they share similarities, and years of unequal opportunities for minorities will not be forgotten.…

    • 589 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Martin Luther King once declared, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. “ This widely known quote shows that the color of a person should not limit the from doing anything. The topic of racism is frequently visited in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, a novel that takes place during the Great Depression. It focuses on the life of Scout Finch, her brother and the neighborhood she has grown up in, Maycomb County. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee uses racism in the trial scene to show that some people are treated unjustly due to their status. This theme is used to represent characters in the novel to show how race creates tension between the people of Maycomb. The treatment of Tom Robinson during the trial scene reveals that people of the…

    • 1367 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Social inequality was a major factor of society during The Great Depression. People frowned upon other races.Some welcomed them to their community but many others did not. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, There's a huge difference between two races. The novel explores human morality and shows many indications of it throughout the book.…

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The novel To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee contains few aspects about Maycomb black community. This links very well with one of the most important theme of the novel, racism. Harper Lee describe black community as poor, uneducated and unfairly treated people, but in the end Harper Lee tells us that black people are just like anyone else in Maycomb and they deserve to be treated equally.…

    • 499 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atticus

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “But it was time of vague of optimism for some of the people: Maycomb county had recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself” (Lee, 6). Maycomb is a small, sleepy town in Alabama filled with polite people, however, that kindness only goes on for so long. During this time, the civil right movement had not taken place yet, and white supremacy was at its peak due to the Jim Crow Laws. Jim Crow laws ensured that all colored people live segregated from white men, but did not do anything that white people found displeasing. Black people lived in constant fear of being killed for a white person’s accusations. Although, there was one man who opposed this standard and fought for equality rights between all types of people neither black, white, rich or poor; Atticus Finch. To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee depicts a tale of a man fighting for equal rights, not for him, but for the rights of those who did not have any. He is the symbol of equality and justice in this novel. Atticus’ character is a representation of equality because he defends Tom Robinson, educates his family and community about treating others fairly, and by demonstrating non-prejudice through his actions and beliefs.…

    • 791 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Upholding social justice won't occur if it's applied to one person and only will occur if it's directed towards a society of people. In seeking to uphold social justice is to stand up for justice in basic rights and fight for equality for all. Gladwell's view is Atticus does not uphold social justice because he's not a civil rights activist. Atticus' only focus is on the freedom of Tom Robinson when his focus should be on the conditions of prejudice and ignorance that applies to all the black people in Maycomb. Applying what we know from before, Atticus only uses the hearts and mind effect to persuade the jury, but this won't be efficient by itself for a long span of time. By only using one source, upholding social justice is not possible in…

    • 317 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Think of social inequality. Is it fair for people to be ranked and divided simply because of their social status? Maybe you’re thinking of the high school social rankings but it’s more than that. People are being treated according to their social classes by the colour of their skin or their family background or financial status, all aspects that we do not have a choice in. Take the Royal family for instance. They are on the top of the pyramid, simply because of their status and wealth; people will treat them differently to how they would treat us commoners. They are deemed superior simply because they are the Royals, but it is only because they were born into that family with a silver spoon in their mouths. What about those homeless people on the streets? Would you treat them the same way you would treat the royals?…

    • 507 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays