Preview

Social Class in to Kill a Mockingbird

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
784 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Social Class in to Kill a Mockingbird
There are many different social classes in “To Kill A Mockingbird.” The factors that separate people into these social classes are their skin color and their occupation. For example, Atticus, Scout, and Jem are part of the highest social class. They are part of this social class because Atticus is a lawyer, which makes him a highly respected person in the community. He is also white, which, at that time was a very important factor that chose who belonged in what social class. Scout and Jem are his children and therefore are also part of this social class.

Another person in this same social class is Miss Maudie Atkinson. She grew up with the Finch’s and is an old friend of theirs. She is now Atticus’s neighbor and is loved by his children. Aunt Alexandra is also part if this because she is known as the “perfect example of what a southern lady should act like.” She is part of the Finch’s family and is highly respected by the community.

One of the very important rules of belonging in this social class is to treat white people with lesser status kindly. It is an unwritten rule that white people with a higher social class than other white people must be hospitable and treat them with respect. An example of this is when Walter Cunningham is invited by Jem to come over for dinner. When Scout notices Walter using a lot of gravy during dinner she is rude to him and as a result is punished by Calpurnia. The reason for this is because Walter is of a lower class and was invited to eat with Atticus and his family. As a result, it is rude not to let him do and eat what he wants to.
An example of a person who is in the next social class is Mrs. DuBose. She is a nasty women and one of the factors that hints that she is not part of the higher social class is the way she talks to her community members. She is supposed to be kind and respectful to the white people of Maycomb, like Jem. Even though she is nice to Atticus, she talks badly about him behind his back. That is

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    In To Kill a Mockingbird, social class is crucial to everything, from respect to survival, especially during the crude 1930’s in the southern state of Alabama. With the country still recovering from World War 1, The Stock Market Crash of 1929, the Great Depression and even the Civil War, nobody is in the clear of tough economic times, crime, and for most, poverty. However, caucasians with a more reliable profession that contained no manual labor such as Atticus Finch, a wise, noble, reliable and very much respected father and lawyer who represents the Tom Robinson case, Judge Taylor, the judge of the Tom Robinson case, along with Miss Maudie and Miss Stephanie, who had no stated profession, had this stronger respect because of their higher…

    • 288 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The society of Maycomb County had a definitive structure containing four classes. The first and upper class consisted of white collar Caucasians who were considered "rich" in the post-depression years. Characters who fit into this class were Atticus Finch, a wealthy, highly respected lawyer and citizen in town, and Judge Taylor, the justice of Maycomb County and presiding judge at the Robinson trial. Other characters who belonged to this upper class were Miss Maudie Attkinson, an open-minded, kind woman, and Miss Stephanie Crawford, the renowned gossip of the town.…

    • 1030 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Stereotyping is an act that many might do out of ignorance or intentionally. It plagues society today, for it causes many individuals to hate others based on a personal opinions. In Webster’s New World Dictionary, the word “stereotype” is defined as “a way of thinking about a person, group, etc. that follows a fixed, common pattern, paying no attention to individual differences”. In “To Kill A Mockingbird” there are many examples of stereotyping between Whites and Negroes. In the book, Lulu, a fellow negro, says, “You ain't got no business bringin’ white chillun here- they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church ain’t it, Miss Cal?” (136) Certain races might have conflicts between each other, causing them to have a negative thoughts…

    • 370 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “I speak to everyone in the same way, whether he is the garbage man or the president of the university” - (Albert Einstein). These words reflect the way Atticus Finch, protagonist, attorney, and father in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, lives his life. There is no difference to him in regards to race, social status, or gender. Atticus Finch is an admirable gentleman who demonstrates intelligence and respectfulness throughout the Tom Robinson trial and his interactions with people who despised the fact that he was taking the case. He strongly believes in respect for people of color and passes his belief down to his children by taking the Tom Robinson case. Although he is at times too trusting of people, his words and actions continue to prove to his children and community how a real gentleman behaves.…

    • 667 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atticus believes in treating people fairly. For instance on page 100 Atticus says the reason he defends tom robinson is “I couldn’t hold my head up in town, I couldn’t represent this town’s legislature, I couldn’t even tell you or jem not to do something again”. This is an example of how Atticus treats Tom Robinson equally no matter the color of his skin by defending him like how he would defend a white man when the rest of the town will despise Atticus because of it. Also on page 39 Atticus and scout are having a…

    • 533 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first example of these groups is the Ewells. The Ewells represent the poor white society in our community. At the start of the novel, our first impression of the Ewells is a negative one. We are described the unhygienic nature of the Ewells when a “cootie” erupts out of Burris Ewell’s hair. Our impression of the Ewells is worsened when we learn that the Ewell’s only arrive for one day of the school, and stay home for the rest of the year hence receiving no education. And when the teacher tries to discipline him, he calls her a “snot-nosed slut”. When Scout tells Atticus of her day in school, we are given more detailed information of their way of life. Atticus calls them “the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations”. We are also told that because of their animalistic nature, the law is bent on certain occasions. Such as going to school only for a day and hunting out of season. The only reason Mr. Ewell, the father, is allowed to hunt out of season is because if he was forbidden to do so, his children would starve. This characterization of the Ewell family serves to make us look at the Ewells in a disgusted and negative manner.…

    • 770 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The segregation faced by black people was brought to the attention of Scout and Jem Finch during different parts of the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. During the beginning parts of the novel, Scout asked her father, Atticus, about the social hierarchy in Maycomb. He pointed out that they were towards the top, the…

    • 319 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Maycomb county inevitably has a specific social structure. The people of Maycomb county each have different statuses and places in society. There is a top to every social hierarchy, and starting at the top in Maycomb county are the wealthy white families. Included in this social class are the Finches. Atticus Finch is a white lawyer; therefore he makes a good income and is a highly respected figure which places him and his family in this specific social class. Many of the Finches’ neighbors who live on the same street are also in the same social class. A step below in the ‘social ladder’ is the middle class. These people are white and are the average inhabitants. For example, Heck Tate , one of the characters in…

    • 746 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Harper Lee published an amazing novel in 1960 that would change lives for years to come. In her novel, Lee portrays her childhood through a story about a little girl and her family who all live in a small town of Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. The story revolves around the lives of Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, her brother Jem, and their father Atticus. In the story, Harper Lee expresses one major theme: the only way to truly understand other people is by considering their perspective. This could resolve bigotry, racism, and class warfare in society.…

    • 1211 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    "To Kill A MockingBird''

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… Until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee). In the Maycomb County there is a lot of whites, blacks and even some mixed. There are some that are wealthy and some that are not. Some get along and others do not. Even in a small town, they all live so differently. Throughout Harper lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, hypocrisy, injustice and evil is envisioned in an adult society. Miss Gates and Lula contradict themselves. Atticus is harassed, Tom Robinson gets accused for a crime he did not commit. Bob Ewell tries to kill Scout and Jem and Maycomb is loaded with rumours of Boo Radley,…

    • 681 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Social inequity is an arising issue has been affecting billions of people around the world for centuries, and it needs more attention! Even innocent teenagers have been exposed to these types of prejudices. Of course, the effects of it are not good. Different kinds of literature are useful tools for shining a light on social injustice, and writers are taking advantage of this fact and writing many novels about social inequities. Authors have been writing articles and stories about racial, social, financial and gender inequities which reflect to today’s society to try and galvanize readers into action.…

    • 1338 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful 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
  • Satisfactory Essays

    To Kill a Mockingbird

    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Miss Maudie demonstrates Atticus’s advice of seeing from another’s perspective. First, “she still took a lively and cordial interest in Jem’s and my affairs,” (97) even though she had just lost her house in a fire. When she lost her house she didn’t become sulky and miserable. Instead, she said, “Just think, I’ll have more room for my azaleas.” (97) Also, she doesn’t decide to get angry at the “foot washing baptists,” (59) for telling her that her flowers were a sin. She shows that she doesn’t get upset about the trivial things in life. She looks at the bigger picture and sees that she has her friends to support…

    • 302 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Could a perfect society exist in where everyone is treated like equals? Social Justice is a cause that aims to create equality for everyone in the world. However, this aim is prohibited by repressive groups that view only themselves as worthy of ideal lives. These groups try to put down the vulnerable minorities and keep the imbalances in their society. Therefore, their actions create Social Injustice. These Social Injustices affects everyone in the society, whether they realize it or not. In the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the science fiction book Ready Player One by Ernest Cline, and the dystopian novel Unwind by Neal Shusterman, characters face various Social Injustices caused by unequal power. In these books, Social Injustice is created by an oppressive society viewing a more vulnerable group as inferior to them.…

    • 1819 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Social class, race, or gender is not a choice, but discrimination is. The people who choose to discriminate do not realize what it means to be different. If people can learn the meaning and take the time to appreciate its importance, many would not be witnessing, experiencing, or taking part in discrimination. Scout experiences this in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee as well as Skeeter in The Help by Tate Taylor. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout grows up in a town full of discrimination. It seems that wherever she is, whether it be school, church, or at home, discrimination is present. This is also seen in The Help where Skeeter is actually raised by a black maid, and she experiences discrimination at work, home, and among other places…

    • 932 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics