Rape In To Kill A Mockingbird

The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, tells the story of two children and their father who is defending an African-American man that is put on trial for rape in the 1930’s. One of the main characters is Scout, who is the narrator of the book, her brother Jem, and their father who is a lawyer named Atticus. Tom Robinson, a black man, is being put on trial for raping Mayella Ewell, a white women. The setting of the story is Maycomb County Alabama in the 1930’s. Atticus is the man defending Tom Robinson and is the father of Jem and Scout who are the two main characters. We see the story through Scout’s eyes and how she and her brother deal with challenges that come upon them giving the reader perspectives of their lives. Lee reveals
This scene occurs at the Maycomb Courthouse and the characters involved are Jem, Scout Atticus, Tom Robinson, Judge Taylor, who interprets the case, Mr. Gilmer, the lawyer for the Ewells, and Dill who is the friend of Jem and Scout. This scene reveals that even though Mayella Ewell comes from a poor home she still tries to look her best. Mayella lives in the town dump so she has to use whatever she can find to look her best. The Ewells are very poor so they cannot afford nice things. “In Maycomb county it was easy to tell when someone bathed regularly, as opposed to yearly lavations. Mr. Ewell had a scalded look as if an overnight soaking deprived him of protective layers of dirt, his skin appeared to be sensitive to the elements. Mayella looked as if she tried to keep clean, and I was reminded of the row of red geraniums in the Ewell yard.” (Lee 239) This scene reveals levels of society and how it defines a person’s identity in the town of Maycomb because it shows that even though Mayella Ewell doesn't have as many things as the other people of Maycomb county she still tries to take care of herself. She can dress nicely and be a good person however, she is an Ewell who will always be hated by the Maycomb society and will never get the opportunities that
Lee also reveals levels of society when the Finch family goes over the aftermath of the Tom Robinson case. As you can see from these examples, Harper Lee reveals levels of society and how the social caste into which a person is born defines that person’s identity. Harper Lee was trying to convey this message because she was trying to reveal the kind of unjust society people like the Ewells and Tom Robinson had to live in. In those times people like them were never treated right and were considered second class citizens. She was trying to show how our society has changed from then to now. The same “truth” does not exist in our world today because of how differently we treat the people of our society today. In this time period of our society everyone is treated equally and nobody is really considered a 2nd class citizens. Whether a person is poor or has a different skin color or race everyone is treated the