To Kill A Mockingbird: Breaking Social Norm

Social inequality is an uncivilized ranking scale which was created by simple minded people who held the fear being surpassed. The argument made by Harper Lee in her work To Kill a Mockingbird is that social inequality is a hierarchy that is complex and affects everyone. More specifically, the author argues that the racial boundaries put between the black and white during the 1930’s caused great stress. This is proven in the novel multiple times. The people of Maycomb judge one another based on the background and wealth of their families. Not only do they judge each other within the community, they discriminate against anyone different than them. Social inequality does not only exist in the form of racism, there are many forms; some of the major ones appear in this book. Social inequality based purely on family background, social inequality based on the wealth of the individual and family, and racism. These are three of the major forms of social inequality that appear numerous times in the book.

In the book ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee, racism and social inequality are two central themes. Many different forms of social inequality coexist in the society depicted in the book, as the people of Maycomb are very rigid in their ways. This is because the book takes place in a time at which there was much racism and social inequality. In Maycomb, firstly there is discrimination between rich and poor white people, who do not often interact with each other. There is also racism against blacks by all white people in society, both rich and poor. Black people are denied basic rights and discriminated against in this town. Lastly, there is racism between the lowest classes of the community: poor white people and

“It takes a village to raise a child”, is an African Proverb. In other words, it can take more than just a child’s nuclear family to make her grow into who she will be as an adult. This lens is true because even though parents and siblings have a major effect on a child, and how they turn out later on in life, society and a child’s surrounding are what really shapes, and makes them who they are. What a child sees when he or she is new to the world, and doesn’t know everything, effects their behavior, and outlook on their life ahead. This lens is illustrated in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by

The human experience is expressed in different ways from different characters in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. She explains the experience through her characters and explains how the human experience is preternatural and bewildering.

thing during and following slavery. In the novel, a man named Bob Ewell despises black people and calls out Atticus by saying, “too proud to fight, you nigger lovin bastard?” (Lee, 291). What that quote is saying is how Bob is getting upset with atticus just because he is Tom Robinson's lawyer and Bob Ewell doesn’t like black people. Another example of racism occurs in chapter 11. This happens when the kids are walking by Mrs.Dubose’s home, and she starts yelling out racist comments about Atticus. She yells out to Jem and says, “your father is no better than the niggers and trash he works for!” (Lee, 105) She attacks their father for doing his job, but even more so attacks Jem and Scout by Yelling furiously about their father. These two ways are clearly shown in To Kill A Mockingbird and there are many other ways throughout the novel.

To Kill A Mockingbird takes place in the 1930’s Alabama during the great depression. From reading the book, we get taken into the roots of human behaviour and find out some of the experiences that people had back in 1930's Alabama. The book centres around the main character Scout Finch, and through her narration, she shows us how people thought, and what racism looks like at that time. The small town of Maycomb is a place where everyone knows each other and expects everyone to act a certain way. When Atticus, a man who is respected by the entire town, decides to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, the whole town turns on him because he did not do what society thought was right. Societal expectations have a major impact on an individual's actions. An example society expects you to do could be as simple as holding the door for someone else or . It’s a social norm, individuals who have to make a decision will tend to do what society thinks is right even if they have to go against what

Social inequality based entirely on race affects people who don’t deserve it. To Kill a Mockingbird original publication was in 1960, it is a classic novel written by Harper Lee, the book is set in 1933 to 1935. To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in a small town called Maycomb, Alabama and follows two years in the life of 7-year old Scout Finch, her brother Jem, and their father Atticus, an attorney who hopelessly strives to prove the innocence of a black man accused of rape. The book also talks about Boo Radley, a mysterious neighbour who saves Scout and her brother Jem from being killed. The definition of social and legal codes are social codes made up of rules and standards, and a legal system is a code of laws made by a state or nation. Throughout the book, social and legal codes are exploited by people to help maintain their social status. In Maycomb County, social and legal laws harm black people to protect white people, such as Atticus Finch, Bob Ewell, and Tom Robinson.

John F. Kennedy once said, “conformity is jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.” I happen to think this quote is very true, because if no one ever had a different opinion, then would anything ever change? Or would it all stay the same? Forever? The idea of conformity can be seen as a good, or a bad thing. In many cases it is a bad thing, as one idea that is wrong is the only one that people think is right. This can specifically be seen in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird. Atticus, one of the main characters, needs to defend a black man named Tom Robinson. In his town of Maycomb most of the people think of black people as nothing. Although the whole town would be against him if he did it, Atticus knows that it is the right

On August 9, 2014,a young man by the name of Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer. It is little known why the shooting occurred, but the boy was unarmed.This could be one of many cases of modern day racism and segregation. In 1930, “even after the abolishment of slavery in 1865, blacks were still almost powerless(BBC 2)”.Blacks were heavily segregated and had almost no rights.Many cases of segregation in the 1930s caused a lot of current day racial tension in the united states.

From reading To Kill a Mockingbird, I learned that racism is very harmful to the people it affects, that it was a huge issue at that time, and that it was considered a part of everyday life in the South. I also learned that there is more to a person than meets the eye and you will never know a person’s entire story, so you should always be kind and compassionate to them.

The criticism brought on by social roles negatively impacts one’s views on themselves and their actions. Maycomb’s strict social roles have lowered somes self esteem and has trapped people in a certain personality or financial stance. These social roles can get in a person’s head and change their views and actions in result. An example of this is shown at the school where Scout explains to Miss Caroline about the Ewells, ” He’s one of the Ewell’s...They come the first day every year and then they leave… You’re supposed to mark ‘em absent the rest of the year”(27). The Ewells have always left the first day of school because that’s who they are and who they will always be, but how are the children supposed to better themselves if this social role has been placed on them since birth. This normal behavior of the Ewells restricts the

The theme that plays the strongest role in creating the setting of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is society. Maycomb County is an old, small town in Alabama during the Great Depression. All of its citizens have lived there, for almost their entire lives. Throughout the years the townspeople create a reputation, some are good and some are bad. Since Maycomb is such a small town they have nothing else to do but gossip. “Maycomb County had recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself.” because they are expected to be perfect and if they are not, the town will go against them. Another example is Maycomb County created stereotypes. If someone did not fit in with the rest of Maycomb’s citizens they were viewed as odd, even

Social injustice is a huge issue that is depicted in Harper Lee’s novel. Social injustice is seen throughout the world. Where racism and social inequality exist social injustice prevails. Social injustice has a role in society to give an excuse to treat people rudely and poorly. The effects that social injustice has is violence.

What society makes people believe and act are based on certain standards they are expected to do. The setting in the novel is set in Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression (1930s). Maycomb is an old “tired” town with most of its residents being poor. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee argues that social expectations are valued more than the actual truth/reality.

Society has made an impact on so many people as well as children. The world is changing around us, you all have different points of views and different reactions. In the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird”, at the age of six Scout has learned that people can be harsh and that there is always ‘good and evil in people’ according to Atticus. A child’s development can be understood as when everything around the child changes them, from the parents to friends. Therefore, in “To Kill A Mockingbird” it’s shown that society can change people, but an individual can benefit from this change when they see a situation not from one point of view but instead multiple.