To Kill A Mockingbird Social Inequality Analysis

In the classic novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee explains the wickedness of social inequality during the 1950's. Specifically differences in social status and the social hierarchy of Maycomb and the unfair inequality between the whites and the blacks. It also tells the story of an ethical lawyer named Atticus Finch and his family as he tries to defend a falsely accused black man in an important trial in high expectations of attempting to reach equality within the town of Maycomb. To Kill a Mockingbird reflects the existence of social inequality through the characters along with references of racial and biased discrimination of African Americans within many areas of the novel. Scout, the main character, is being brought up by her father Atticus and their housemaid Calpurnia during the mid-1920s. The mid 1920’s was a time of racial discrimination against African-Americans. The people in that time believed that “a white man’s word will always win against a black man’s word” (Lee, 242). Scouts dad has brought her up protecting her from the hate and racialism. He has had a major effect on her and has been a great role model. He taught her to think, to question and to make her own choices and decisions. However he can’t completely
protect her from the upcoming events or the reality of the life in the southern part of Maycomb. He teaches her that “as she grows older, she’ll see white men cheat black men every day” (Lee, 295). One of the things that eventually trigger her
Vega 2 development as a person is her relationship with Boo Radley, the mysterious neighbor. Other neighbors have judged him and believe that he is a bad person. Ultimately he is the one who saves her and her brother. And from Boo she learns that "The evil assumption that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around woman" (Lee, 225) is not true, which teaches her the true value of not judging people without knowing them. With her relationship with Calpurnia, she is saved from racial discrimination and she has as well given Scout a perspective of the true value of a human being, whatever their color may be. A great example is when Calpurnia brings Scout and Jem to the local African-American Church. While being at the church they are being approached by an African-American woman who states that they aren’t welcome there. Calpurnia reacted by defending them aggressively, showing the true value of a human being. Scout begins to learn that there are bad people and good people regardless of their skin color. In the novel, Scout and Jem, are looked after by Calpurnia, their black housekeeper. Although Scout shares her differences with Calpurnia, Calpurnia serves as a mother-figure for the children. She’s revered and respected by Atticus, who acknowledges that Calpurnia is educated. Yet, it is speech that separates the black community from the white. When Scout and Jem attend Calpurnia’s church, Scout notes that Calpurnia adopts a different speech when she communicates with the congregation: “That Calpurnia led a modest double life never dawned on me. The idea that she had a separate existence outside our household was a novel one, to say nothing of her having command of two languages” (Lee, 143). Although Scout and Jem struggle with the idea that Calpurnia speaks two different languages, Scout respects Calpurnia for mastering both languages since she asks to visit Calpurnia at her home. The trial of Tom
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Robinson serves as the pivotal and highly-anticipated moment in the novel. Tom Robinson is accused of raping a young white woman named Mayella Ewell. The Ewell family lack education and money, representing the lower class. As the oldest child, Mayella becomes a mother figure for her younger siblings. The book also indicates that Mayella is in an abusive relationship with her father. While Atticus represents justice and morality, Bob Ewell represents ignorance and racial prejudice. After all, Bob Ewell’s full name is Robert E. Lee Ewell, named after the general who commanded the Confederate army. The name plays a significant role considering the Confederate army represented southern slave states and their right to expand slavery, thus reinforcing Bob Ewell’s racism. For Tom Robinson, we quickly learn that he is convicted based purely on the color of his skin. Earlier in the novel, Scout relates that Atticus views the Ewell family as “the disgrace of Maycomb” (Lee 33). However, because the Ewells are a white family, they hold a higher social status. During the trial, it is implied that Mayella seduces Tom Robinson, and her father, Bob Ewell, observes in horror that his daughter would share intimate feelings for a black man. In addition, Bob Ewell’s reaction to his daughter kissing Tom Robinson shows the fear of miscegenation. Atticus, however, strives for justice. Atticus explains the ugly truth to Jem and Scout: “In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins” (Lee, 251). He shows disgust with white people taking advantage of a black person’s ignorance. Atticus Finch is one of the most consistently honest and moral characters in To Kill a Mockingbird and his character remains, for the most part, unchanged throughout the book. He begins as an upstanding citizen who is respected and admired by his peers and even though he loses some ground during the trial, by the end of the book he is still looked up to, both by his
Vega 4 children and the community. As a lawyer, Atticus Finch represents everything that someone working in the justice system should. He is fair, does not hold grudges, and looks at every situation from a multitude of angles. As Miss Maude quite correctly puts it in one of the important quotes from To Kill a Mockingbird, “Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the public streets” (Lee, 87) and this could also be said of how he behaves in the courtroom. He is a skilled lawyer and without making outright accusations, he effectively points out that Bob Ewell is lying. Even more importantly, the subject of this character analysis, Atticus Finch, is able to point out to the jury that although there probably are a few black men who are capable of committing crimes, “this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men” (Lee, 208). His understanding of equality allows him to see clearly that the case has been motivated by social inequality and he is strong enough, both as a person and a lawyer, to see that this is a wrong that needs to be pointed out to the community. In general in To Kill a Mockingbird, as a lawyer, he is as much as he is a father—focused on justice, equality, and filled with the special talent of seeing a number of angles to every situation. Harper Lee has done a phenomenal job on demonstrating the racialism and inequality in To Kill a Mockingbird.
The book reveals the reality of social inequality through many of the characters and through many events that occurred throughout the book. Some are from judging a person on how they look and act or by their skin color. But as you have read, Atticus makes it clear to his children that racism exists by leaving them with this message: “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it—whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash” (Lee
295).