To Kill a Mockingbird is a story about injustice, racism and the co-existence of good
and evil. These aspects are the result of plot development. In her novel, To Kill a
Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses setting to contribute to the development of the plot.
Lee develops Maycomb, Alabama to be an old and prejudiced town. In the exposition
of the novel, Jean Louise,(preferred to be called Scout) introduce Maycomb as a
town where “nothing exciting happens”, although, throughout the novel we see
many interesting situations which have directly impacted society and their views.
Scout presents this town by describing it as “There was no hurry, for there was no
where to go, nothing to buy, and no money to buy it with,
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When she tells Atticus what Cecil says, he responded that he is simply
defending a black man, and if he did not, he would not be able to hold his head up in
town. Atticus defending Tom Robinson makes many people create assumptions
about him, as well as call him a “nigger-lover.” This portrays how disrespectful
society are to accepting others, as well as demonstrating the theme of good and evil.
Harper Lee creates Maycomb to illustrate several themes in the novel.
The novel is set during the Great Depression in the 1930’s. During this time, many
people were very poor. This also affects Maycomb’s economy since no one had
money to purchase anything, this is also cause by the stock market crash. One day,
Scout asks Atticus if they were poor, and he replies “We are indeed”(Lee 27). Jem
questions if they were as poor as the Cunninghams, Atticus responds, “Not exactly,
the Cunninghams are country folks, farmers, the crash hit them the hardest”(Lee
27). He explains that professional people were poor because farmers are poor. The
whole society was affected since no one had money or resources. Harper Lee
demonstrates the diversity of society during the times of the depression. When Miss
Caroline could not understand why Walter Cunningham would not accept the
change, Scout explains “The Cunninghams never took anything they cannot pay
back- no church baskets and
6. Here Scout is making fun of Jem, because earlier in the story he was dared to touch the Radley house and he did after days of thinking it through. This quote is significant because, it reveals that even after trying to face their fear of the Radley’s they still are terrified, just by walking past it sends a shrivel through their body. This shows the reader that Jem is still scared by the Radley’s it’s like the Radley’s have a curse over them.
Foster would classify geography as any setting or any detail of a situation pertaining to the surroundings of the character or characters. Geography in literature can then be very symbolic He stated that geography has four different aspects. Geography defines a character, develops a character, affect the plot, and can be used as a symbol.
The social setting of the novel is also important, as it could later explain characters attitudes towards other people. It is set in the U.S. in the 1930s; this is the time of the Great Depression. This was a result of the First World War. It
The tiny, sleepy, worn-out, dingy, slow-moving town of Maycomb, Alabama is where the novel takes place. The novel takes place in the early 1930s, during the Great Depression.
I think that this book was based upon the 1930s, It also kind of sounds like the Great Depression was also happening during this time.
Atticus, by defending Tom Robinson, is showing compassion and tolerance. Atticus, a white lawyer, stands up for Tom Robinson, who is black, and believes that everyone should have an equal chance in court. When Atticus was appointed to defend Tom Robinson, he believed that Tom is innocent, as he did not commit the crime. Atticus says, “ if I didn’t, I couldn’t
To Kill A Mockingbird is an iconic novel written to discuss the issues of racial injustices during the 1960’s. The book is written from the view of an optimistic six year old girl, scout, her innocence to the real world makes her blind to the problem of racism. During this time it was common for blacks to lose in lawsuits against whites, one of the most well known cases is Plessy vs Ferguson.
During the civil war, the states had a very vast difference between their views on slavery. The south refused to give up their views of slavery, before and even after the war was fought. This shows that even with forced sudden change in society, it will still take time for years of habit to change. In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, it shows a black man on trial for his life. Some will claim this is a reason why change should occur quickly, but the human mind is not keen to accept such drastic change. So this is why social change should occur slowly, because of the jury, the opinions of the town, and the actions of people like Miss Maudie.
“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is an inspirational, moving book full of valuable lessons. The novel allows readers to follow a young white Christian girl, Scout, through life in the 1930s. Her father, Atticus is a courageous lawyer who has wonderful morals. Atticus is appointed to defend Tom Robinson, a black man accused of rape by Mayella Ewells, a white female, in court. Racism in this novel affects the events in the plot by not only offending the characters, but the reader also.
This book is about racism, and good vs evil. Racism and stereotyping takes a toll on this. Good and evil are played because it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird. Mockingbirds are innocents who have been hurt or destroyed through any contact with evil. So, to kill a mocking bird means to basically to destroy innocence. Racism plays a role as Atticus Finch; a widowed white man takes on the role to be a lawyer for an African American male. Scout asks
Harper Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird about a little Alabama town called Maycomb. What is interesting is how Maycomb compares a lot to the town that Ms. Lee grew up in, Monroeville, Alabama. The history of Monroeville and the way it was in the 1930s makes a reader wonder if Ms. Lee took her hometown and made it the famous small town in the novel. By looking back to the history of Monroeville’s founding, the way it was in the 1930s, the way it almost mirrors Maycomb and the way it is it today, one can see that Ms. Lee’s used her experiences to create one of the most famous towns in literature.
Scout is a girl who reacts immediately upon her anger about situations she is oppressed with. Her very first day of school when she spoke to her brother Jem about how her day was going, she said, “If I didn’t have to stay I’d leave. Jem, that damn lady says
To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that aims to change the reader’s perspective on life. Harper Lee presents controversial issues and ideas through the innocent eyes of a child. Throughout the novel, you are assaulted by the evils in the narrator’s society; chiefly racism and prejudice. With events such as the unjust trial and the revelation of people’s true identities, the reader is forced to see the faults in the public’s opinion. As the child grows up and learns more about the adults in her town, she sees that many of them are deliberately blind to the real problems and truths in society, and she must choose on her own what is right or wrong, true or false. Harper Lee expertly shows the struggles involved in seeking the truth about society,
“‘Your father's right,’ she said. “Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.”’ (Lee 90). In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, siblings Jem and Scout Finch grow up in a small town called Maycomb, Alabama. There they witness racial inequality and injustice. By analyzing To Kill a Mockingbird, the reader can learn that racism, the moral nature of human beings, and social status relate to the theme of justice and fairness.
“I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks”(Lee 304). This concept that Scout brings up goes against what others Maycomb believe in as Maycomb County from To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee has lots of prejudice. Two reasons why the setting is very significant are, Maycomb County is a small town the significance of that is that everyone knows each other and often have the same views as each other this in turn causes prejudice. Also, Maycomb community finds their history to be very important this changes how people act which shows how the setting could have major effects. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, setting is very significant.