The Relationship Between Social Classes In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee
Even though the United States is a country where all men and women are created equal, there still exists social class. Many people deem this practice of separation as harmless. However, today, many clashes of these clans make the news. For example, the Ferguson, Missouri, riots caused mass physical and emotional damage. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, these same racial tensions also boil over. Some of the blame belongs to Maycomb’s social system, including the wealthy whites, the poor whites, and the blacks.
A wealthy white family presents itself in the Finches. Their family is prominent in the town, as they descend from Simon Finch, “they were related by blood or marriage to nearly every family in the town” (6). The Finch’s neighbors also represented the class. One example of a social get-together presents itself in the Missionary Society. All of the wealthy white women meet with aunt Alexandria to discuss raising money for orphans in Africa, but neglect the Robinson’s needs in their own town. This goes to show the lack of understanding between social classes that erupt in the book. …show more content…
A protuberant specimen of the poor whites is the Ewell family.
The first mention of the family is in the schoolhouse, where on Ewell claims that he has, “been comin’ to the first day o’ the first grade fer three year now.” (36) Of course, later in the book we learn that the Ewells live in behind the town dump. Their house reflects their surroundings, a cobbled together heap of junk and cast-offs with a roof. And yet, in the corner of the yard are a bunch of fondly cared for plants, living in tires. While the Ewells live in squalor, some of the family members try to make the most of their sordid situation and
reputation.
An accurate portrayal of the blacks evidences in the Robinsons. Tom Robinson, the father, works in Mr. Link Deas’ fields, and according to Mr. Deas, is an honest worker. When Tom is shot trying to escape, the Finches pay a visit to the Robinson’s cabin. From the book’s description of the location, their cabin was barely a step above the Ewell’s. “We turned off the highway, rode slowly by the dump…and down the narrow road to the Negro cabins.” (321) It goes to show that in this social circle, no matter the amount of money a black had, he was still no greater than the poorest white man. After viewing the social classes of the wealthy whites, the poor whites, and the blacks, the conclusion that the social system of Maycomb exists wrongly evidenced itself. This conclusion was reached because the blacks, no matter what, existed lower than the whites. This conclusion, now widely accepted, is the morally right one. To Kill a Mockingbird is a story that tries to evidence the wrongness of this view, and the many steps needed to remedy this situation. However, a few years after the book was written, the African-American population of the U.S. received equal rights. Harper Lee’s bestseller surely had some part to play in making aware the public to this grievous transgression.
A wealthy white family presents itself in the Finches. Their family is prominent in the town, as they descend from Simon Finch, “they were related by blood or marriage to nearly every family in the town” (6). The Finch’s neighbors also represented the class. One example of a social get-together presents itself in the Missionary Society. All of the wealthy white women meet with aunt Alexandria to discuss raising money for orphans in Africa, but neglect the Robinson’s needs in their own town. This goes to show the lack of understanding between social classes that erupt in the book. …show more content…
A protuberant specimen of the poor whites is the Ewell family.
The first mention of the family is in the schoolhouse, where on Ewell claims that he has, “been comin’ to the first day o’ the first grade fer three year now.” (36) Of course, later in the book we learn that the Ewells live in behind the town dump. Their house reflects their surroundings, a cobbled together heap of junk and cast-offs with a roof. And yet, in the corner of the yard are a bunch of fondly cared for plants, living in tires. While the Ewells live in squalor, some of the family members try to make the most of their sordid situation and
reputation.
An accurate portrayal of the blacks evidences in the Robinsons. Tom Robinson, the father, works in Mr. Link Deas’ fields, and according to Mr. Deas, is an honest worker. When Tom is shot trying to escape, the Finches pay a visit to the Robinson’s cabin. From the book’s description of the location, their cabin was barely a step above the Ewell’s. “We turned off the highway, rode slowly by the dump…and down the narrow road to the Negro cabins.” (321) It goes to show that in this social circle, no matter the amount of money a black had, he was still no greater than the poorest white man. After viewing the social classes of the wealthy whites, the poor whites, and the blacks, the conclusion that the social system of Maycomb exists wrongly evidenced itself. This conclusion was reached because the blacks, no matter what, existed lower than the whites. This conclusion, now widely accepted, is the morally right one. To Kill a Mockingbird is a story that tries to evidence the wrongness of this view, and the many steps needed to remedy this situation. However, a few years after the book was written, the African-American population of the U.S. received equal rights. Harper Lee’s bestseller surely had some part to play in making aware the public to this grievous transgression.