The Great Depression Of Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

It’s interesting to see the ways different authors depict how a character matures. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mocking Bird we can easily see how she chose to do it. The novel is set in Alabama in the 1930’s, while black vs. white racism was a big issue and problem for many. Atticus is the father of Scout and Jem, young children who witness the discrimination first hand when their father, a white man, defends a black man in court. Lee does a great job developing the characters; especially the narrator, Jean Louise Finch (Scout). Scout’s thoughts, conversations, and actions, illustrate that she’s emotionally maturing from the innocent child that she was.

Firstly, Atticus shows empathy throughout the whole story to everyone. Atticus told scout you have to stand in someone's shoes to understand them, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb in their skin, and walk around in it,” said Atticus (39). Atticus gives the advice to scout, so Scout can show more empathy to everyone, and so she can try to understand what a person is going through in their life, and Atticus taught her how to do that. It took courage and empathy for Atticus to defend Tom Robinson. It was not normal for a person in the 1930’s to try to defend an African American, much less care about him and the case, that is real empathy. Atticus really tried his hardest to defend him, and prove Tom’s innocence, but the jury still had the prejudice of racism against Tom. Atticus is the same person everywhere, on the streets, and at home. He treats everyone one with great respect, and shows empathy for everyone, even if

One unfortunate mistake can not only ruin the world, but the lives of innocent children and their families. Although America has had an amazing growth in economy over a course of decades and centuries, there was a time when everything plummeted. In history, this time was called the Great Depression, and essentially the stock market crashed. However, the impact of the Great Depression not only affected the economy, but the many lives of innocent American humans. Like Walter Cunningham in, To Kill a Mockingbird, the more poor families struggled to give even the basic necessities to their children. The headlines were splattered with photos of the eerie visuals going on regularly during the time; adults not being able to find jobs, and children

Atticus’ fairness also shows he is a good father because he believes that everyone deserves a chance to be understood and all have reasons for their actions. For example, after revealing the news to Jem and Scout of Tom’s death, he says, “Depends on how you look at it. What was one Negro, more or less, among two hundred of ‘em? He wasn’t Tom to them, he was an escaping prisoner” (Lee 235). This passage shows Atticus's fairness because he always tries to put himself in other people’s shoes in order to give everyone a chance at being understood, as he teaches Jem and Scout to do. He gave up his respectable reputation among many of the whites in Maycomb to defend Tom Robinson, and still speaks highly of the men who killed him. When he says this, he is trying to make the children see that the men who killed Tom did not know him as a person, but as a Negro who committed a crime, so cannot be discriminated upon for doing their job. Along with Atticus’ sense of fairness, his Teaching also characterizes him as a good father to Jem and Scout.

In Part 1 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee introduces Atticus Finch as a father who rejects ideas or practices of racism. At school, Scout hears Cecil Jacob shout that her father, Atticus, is defending ‘niggers’. Later that day, when Scout asks her father what Cecil meant, Atticus explains that he is defending a Negro named Tom Robinson. Scout was stunned by his unexpected response. When Scout asks why, Atticus responds, “I’m simply defending a Negro… for a number of reasons. The main one is if I didn't I couldn't hold my head up in town, I couldn't represent this county in the legislature, I couldn't even tell you or Jem not to do something again.” (86) By accepting Tom Robinson’s case without a single argument, Atticus really shows his civility towards Negroes, even when they are not respected by anyone else in the state. Atticus seeks to treat Tom as an individual while rejecting racism in all forms, both language, and behavior. Not only does this show his belief in racial equality, but it also shows his courage.

When asked why Atticus was defending Tom Robinson he said “I couldn't hold up my head in town........ I couldn’t even tell you (Scout) or Jem not to do something again.” (78) Atticus cares very much about being a role model to his children so much, he took up a case because he wants to be a good role model and lead by a good example.

The Great Depression in the U.S history was a time where there was very little jobs and some money. Banks had very little money so most people couldn’t get money out. It was a hard time in U.S history for people when this was going on. The stock market crash a horrible time for people when they had some money and very little jobs. Franklin D. Roosevelt tried to help by creating The New Deal. The great dustbowl affected farmers and the change in farming affected the economy. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee illustrates The Great Depression was a worldwide economic slump of the 1930’s.

When many people are children, their parents, grandparents, or anyone who poses as a parental figure tell them that they will become more mature with age. However, psychological maturity is mainly learned rather than simply accompanying a person’s ascent into adulthood. Inevitably people grow, but this statement proves the experiences a person has in their life, whether good or bad, will change the path he or she takes while growing up or even continuing his or her adult life. In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Jean-Louise “Scout” and Jem Finch are six and ten in the beginning of the book, respectively. Although they gain only three years by the end of the novel, the children develop even more mature mindsets than many of the physically grown-up people in the town. Three events that prompt this early maturation are a conversation that takes place between Atticus and Scout, Tom Robinson’s death, and the ordeal with Mrs. Dubose.

Scout’s school did not stress the importance of equality, and it showed in the town’s ignorance. But, Scout did not let school taint her perception of others, and she believed “everybody’s gotta learn, nobody’s born knowin’. That Walter’s as smart as he can be he just gets held back [...]. Nothing’s wrong with him. Naw, Jem, I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks” (Lee 304). Scout’s friend was going to get held back in school because he was poor and unable to attend as often. She stood up for him, because she thought everyone deserves an equal chance. However, a place that did not give everyone an equal chance was the courtroom where Atticus defended a black man accused of a crime he did not commit. After losing the case, Atticus consoles his children and tells Scout and Jem that “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, or how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash” (Lee 295). While others may see a situation such as this and say that the black man was at fault, Atticus sees through the color of a man’s skin. He wants to make sure his children do this, too. Growing up in the south, racism was expected to be seen. But, just because something is common does not make it right. Atticus made it a priority to teach his

"First of all … if you can learn a simple trick, Scout, you'll get along a lot better with all kinds of folks. You never really understand a person until you consider things from their point of view- until you climb in their skin and walk around in it (page 39)" This quote from a conversation between Atticus and Scout shows how he believes in the idea of widening your perspective, and being able to show others what it's like to see things in a new light. Atticus is a father of two, so it's very important for him to give his children lessons that they will be able to keep with them for their entire lives. " Simply because we're licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win. (page 101)"

To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is set in the time of The Great Depression, and shows several families that are faced with poverty. The Great Depression started with the stock market crash in 1929, between 1930 and 1934, one million farmers lost their homes and jobs. The Great Depression was making everyone poor and inflation was high. Many characters in the novel are extremely poor, such as the Cunninghams, so setting the the novel in the time of The Great Depression helps Lee to show differences between different classes.

Atticus is the town’s most respected lawyer. He is not wealthy, but he is well off in the community and is very kind towards everyone. As a single parent, he faces the world, raising his two children with his maid, Calpurnia, who experiences better conditions and responsibilities than other African Americans of her time, due to Atticus’ beliefs. He has a reputation for being an open-minded, fair man, and a unique personality that is overflowing with honesty. He has been assigned a case of defending a black man who is apparently accused of rape. Now Atticus is both loved and unloved by the townspeople. Since they live in the South during the 1930’s, Atticus gives a lot of advice to his children, Scout and Jem. Atticus tells Scout and Jem that they should not say anything about a person especially when they do not know that person. Atticus describes what he means in a quote “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around it”(Lee 39). Atticus defends a black man named Tom Robinson, who is accused of raping a girl. Atticus has the confidence and the courage to defend Tom and prove that he is innocent. Scout does not believe that her father is nice enough or has the courage to defend Tom. Atticus proves that

To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee. The novel is about the experiences of two siblings growing up in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. Scout and her brother, Jem Finch, over several years, learn valuable lessons about life and society. The main themes of the story are the loss of cherubic innocence and the rift of inequality in society. The novel is largely influenced when it was written by the author’s own experiences, Civil Rights, and the Great Depression. The Great Depression is referenced many times in the novel since the Great Depression plays an important part influencing the story’s setting, plot, and characters. In To Kill a Mockingbird there are signs that the Great Depression is present and that certain characters are affected more by it than others, and the Great Depression is shown in the story’s families and their lives.

Privilege plays a major role in the novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird “by Harper Lee. Set in 1930’s during the great depression in the southern part of America where racism is predominant and still is in some parts of the world, portrays the lesson of “Privilege is real from race to baking cakes. Sometimes you’re born into it, and sometimes you’re born with it”. The bitter reality of this lesson is that it still exists and is hard to come to an end.

The sentimental and thought-provoking story begins by establishing the nucleus of the film, the Finch Family, lead by the father Atticus Finch, who is the quintessential father, strong, honest, intuitive, and spoke with wisdom; whose character was consistently imparted to his children through small teachings on life as it unfolds. One such example shows Atticus hugging Scout as they swing back and forth on the front porch, He tells her, "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." In another scene after being teased at school for her father defending a Negro, Scout questions her father as to why he chose to take the case. He states that if he didn't he would be unable to "hold his head up high", or even tell his children what to do anymore. Given the standard of that day, Atticus was risking his reputation and even the safety of his children by defending a black man. These phenomenal displays of impeccable character are so rare that it causes the credibility of the role to come into question; Atticus, at times seems too stoic to be