Social snobbery can negatively impact a society by creating divisions, hostility, and inequality between groups of people. In the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Aunt Alexandra is the aunt of the protagonist, Scout, and her brother, Jem. Also being Atticus’ sister, she is very much the stereotypical lady of Maycomb. The Ewells, white trash, accuse Tom Robinson, an honest black man, of raping Mayella, one of the Ewell children. The Cunningham family is similar to the Ewells as they are poor but the Cunninghams have morals and manners. Aunt Alexandra considers Tom Robinson as unequal to the rest of Maycomb because of his skin colour and thinks he does not deserve a fair trial. She believes her family is superior to other families because of their status. Aunt Alexandra confirms her social snobbery when she does not allow Scout to invite one of the Cunninghams for dinner, saying they are all trash. Lee displays social snobbery through the character of Aunt Alexandra through her views on the Tom Robinson case, her family, and the Cunninghams. Aunt Alexandra shows social snobbery because she believes Tom should not receive a proper court hearing and tells Francis that she does not want Atticus defending Tom and that Atticus would be disgracing the family by doing so. She believes Tom does not deserve a fair trial because he is a black man. ‘“I can’t say I approve of everything he does, Maudie, but he’s my brother”’ (Lee 269).
Racism is witnessed many times throughout Scout's life, but not many times through her family as Atticus believes all people are equal. The only times she really sees it in her household is when Aunt Alexandra gets there. Jem and Scout talk to each other about what Aunt Alexandra says to Atticus and it shows her views. “She won’t let him alone about Tom Robinson. She almost said Atticus was disgracin’ the family. Scout… I’m scared.’ ‘Scared’a what?’ ‘Scared about Atticus. Somebody might hurt him”(167). Not only does this quote show her views about a different race, it also shows her directing her thoughts towards Atticus. She is trying to guilt Atticus into changing his mind and to keep the Finch family legacy going strong. This method of persuasion obviously does not work on Atticus, as he continues with the trial, despite Aunt Alexandra’s perspective on the
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
Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, many characters develop and mature in unique ways. Boo, who fears talking to others, Aunt Alexandra, who is against people of other races or social classes, and Scout, who is young and is not aware of life’s challenges, constantly suppress their emotions and personality. Their life choices and decisions that they make throughout the book, lead them to be more accepting of others and less prejudice. As the book progresses, Boo, Aunt Alexandra, and Scout learn life lessons and develop into mature adults.
Social classing systems, also known as social hierarchy have been around since the beginning of time. In such a system those of the upper class take advantage of the classes below them; whether it is kings and their servants or a boss and their workers. This social hierarchy has a profound effect on society and the events in Harper Lee 's novel To Kill A Mockingbird. There are four classes in Maycomb; they are distinguished in the Tom Robinson case and in the crowd who attend his trial. Due to the social structure of Maycomb, Tom Robinson, a black man, is unjustly accused and convicted of a crime he does not commit.
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.
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is about two children, Jem and Scout, and their relationships with their father, Atticus. The children raise themselves growing up, many people would say they were irresponsible, but they are both appear to be intelligent individuals. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird the novel demonstrates a rigid class structure and social stratification in the County of Maycomb. People should not be judged by their social class, they should be judged on their personality.
There are many different social classes in “To Kill A Mockingbird.” The factors that separate people into these social classes are their skin color and their occupation. For example, Atticus, Scout, and Jem are part of the highest social class. They are part of this social class because Atticus is a lawyer, which makes him a highly respected person in the community. He is also white, which, at that time was a very important factor that chose who belonged in what social class. Scout and Jem are his children and therefore are also part of this social class.
Social norms are apart of every society in some way, shape, or form. Issues occur off these social norms when there are outcasters who don’t exactly fit in with society's expectations. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout was pressured by many relatives and neighbors to “act like a girl”. Accept, Scout wants to be her own person. She wants to play in the dirt and have fun. Although, one particular person keeps putting her down, and that is Auntie Alexandra. Alexandra tries to play a female role for Scout and tells Scout how she is suppose to act. Scout however is very similar to Juliet capulet in this way. In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet was pressured by her mother to be more like other girls and to get married. Scout and Juliet,
In To Kill A Mockingbird, the ignorance seen throughout the novel conveys how expectations set by society affects the important events of life. The trial of Tom Robinson exemplifies how the recurring beliefs on race affected the outcome of the trial. The ideas of social class in Maycomb determined the way the Cunningham's were treated. Aunt Alexandra´s visits to Atticus's house and her gender view towards Scout. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee reveals how society sets expectations of how people should treat others based on race, social class, and gender.
What really is prejudice? Prejudice is an opinion based only upon personal bias, and not any actual facts or evidence. Within the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there are a variety of situations where prejudice is taken into effect over facts and evidence. When Lee does this, he is not only just giving the characters some detail, but he is also showing what prejudice really means and how it can affect people. A few examples could be when scout is basing her opinion on no facts, Lila at the church getting her opinion from just the kids being white, Boo Radley being judged without facts by everyone, and Tom Robinson being black meaning is already guilty.
Lee uses Scout’s situation to suggest that people’s prejudice mindsets about some individuals are forced upon by society. After Atticus reveals that the Cunninghams were in the jury, Scout asks Atticus a question."Why didn't Tom's jury made up of folks like the Cunninghams, acquit Tom to spite the Ewells" (Lee 226). Here Scout sees that the Cunninghams and the Ewells dislike one another, but does not understand that both of these families
José Emilio Pacheco says “We are all hypocrites. We cannot see ourselves or judge ourselves the way we see and judge others.” Hypocrisy is demonstrated and observed on an everyday basis in our society, and even in the rural town of Maycomb in the 1930s it is evident as well. In To Kill a Mockingbird, two children by the names of Scout and Jem start to see hypocrisy more and more frequently because of the events that happen to unfold. This includes , including an african american young man accused of something he did not do. This amazing novel by Harper Lee shows that hypocrisy is closely linked to privilege, and a dominating opinion about others. The characters Miss Gates and Mrs. Merriweather are great examples of hypocrisy and Atticus is a great counterexample, showing an effort of being larger than others in Maycomb.
How far do you think Harper Lee has effectively shown social class and family groups to be important at that time? The rigid class structure and social stratification of Maycomb County had a profound effect on the events in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The impact of this class structure was especially evident in the trial of Tom Robins on, a Maycomb Negro. The extreme prejudice of the town eventually led to the unjust conviction of Robinson for a crime he did not commit.
In the Bildungsroman novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the protagonist Jean Louise “Scout” Finch lives in Maycomb, Alabama. In Maycomb, races are segregated and people are alienated; Arthur “Boo” Radley was isolated by most of Maycomb, for example. In the novel, Scout met people in different social classes such as: Robert E. Lee “Bob” Ewell, Tom Robinson, Calpurnia, and Atticus Finch. Through the use of complications, imageries, and characters, Lee implies stereotypes and how a person’s development can be impacted by social classes.
God does not discriminate against people, regardless of color, religion, social class, gender, or sexual preferences. But we do. In every society there is an unofficial social pyramid that exists, the white and wealthy people usually lie on the top of it, some black wealthy people may also be up there but not quite. The poor white people are near the bottom, but of course they aren’t too low, a majority of blacks are at the undermost part of the pyramid. Because no matter what people say white supremacy is still present in our society the same way it was around eighty years ago. During the great depression and many years after that, every white person was above every black person no matter what. In the years, some has changed but not much. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee social status is a present subject through the entire book. To Kill a Mockingbird reveals how social status affects a society.