...Racism, Social Class, and Gender Issues: A Look Into 1930s Maycomb, Alabama. The film, To Kill A Mockingbird directed by Robert Mulligan, portrays a message of racism, social class, and gender issues faced by southern towns post Civil War era. The 1962 film adaptation of the classic book, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee was masterfully captured being placed on the American Film Institute’s list of greatest American movies of all time and taking home many countless awards. The black and white portrayal from text to film is exquisitely captured turning pages to picture while reveling a heartbreaking reality. Through camera, lighting, and sound Robert Mulligan creates a mood to communicate the vision of Harper Lee. The film takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. Robert Mulligan illustrates the story of the lives of Scout and Jem, children growing up in this small town with their friend Dill who stays for the summer. The youngsters become infatuated with getting a glimpse of Boo Radley the unseen hermit of a neighbor. This summer also entails issues facing, their attorney father, Atticus Finch. Atticus Finch defends Tom Robinson, an African American man falsely accused of raping a white woman from town, Mayella Ewell. The children catch wind of the trial and for the first time witness evil realities of the world. Jem and Scout, Atticus’s children become the targets of Bob Ewell, the father of Mayella Ewell. Bob Ewell tries to kill them one Halloween...
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...you consider things from his point of view until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.’ (3: 85-87) To Kill a Mockingbird (TKAMB) written by Harper Lee focuses on the inequality of race throughout America in the early 1900’s. The building roman novel published in 1960 utilises literacy techniques including symbolism, first person and characterisation in order to explore key themes such as innocence, social inequality and gender stereotyping. The novel promotes an insightful, entertaining and morally educating perspective for all readers. Literacy techniques are a critical part of the storytelling. Symbolism is used in order to enhance the story; it expresses a deeper meaning towards...
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...The American Dream, the archetypal notion that every US citizen should have an equal opportunity to achieve success and prosperity through hard work, determination, and initiative, is an ideal that most people strive to achieve. Unfortunately, in the past and in modern day, the population that surrounds us has been propelled by conceptions such as racism and gender roles which avert us from obtaining our visions. Classic works of literature including To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, and A Raisin in the Sun accurately display a lack of equality and fair treatment in the sharing of wealth and opportunities by incorporating racism and gender roles into the lives if the characters in the novels. The authors of To Kill a Mockingbird,...
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...write stories which are a reflection of the attitudes and the norms of their time and contemporary Southern fiction reflects this. The southern part of the United States has always had a large percentage of people of African descent living there. At the beginning of the twentieth century, two states actually had an African-American majority; South Carolina and Mississippi. However, the White community was, and still is the socially and economically dominant group and this can be seen in much of Southern contemporary. Several aspects of race were explored by various authors and they include: Racist words against blacks Contemporary Southern fiction frequently contained a lot of racist words, lines and dialogue. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird,...
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...Racism, Poverty, and Violence in To Kill a Mockingbird Maycomb, like other Southern towns, suffers considerably during the Great Depression. Poverty reaches from the privileged families, like the Finches, to the Negroes and “white trash” Ewells, who live on the outskirts of town. Racism violently attacks the people of Maycomb and causes many conflicts throughout the novel which causes violence amongst the citizens. Harper Lee uses the characters involved in To Kill a Mockingbird as symbols of the main themes of the story, which includes, poverty, racism, and violence and these recurring themes influence the actions of the characters in numerous ways. Poverty is repeatedly referenced throughout the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. Many citizens...
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...How does Harper Lee explore ideas of prejudice in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’? Harper Lee, author of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, demonstrates the clear prejudice within Maycomb through the structure of its society. Cleverly painting a picture of injustice and horror, Lee uses the social class of Maycomb and the roles within society given to individuals, along with the discrimination within the trial of Tom Robinson to reveal prejudice in this ‘tired old town’. Lee primarily utilises the town of Maycomb to illustrate the prejudice within the social classes of society during the 1930’s. Through the restricting roles given to those with darker skin in society and through the first-person narration of Scout, Lee highlights the injustice that results from strict social classes and expectations. Calpurina’s role as a house help to the white Finch family, and the ensuing expectation that her children will also be destined to a similar fate is an example of this. As ‘old Tim Johnson’, a rabid dog, is shot by Atticus Finch, it is Calpurina’s son who is sent to dispose of ‘the pet of Maycomb’. Thus, Lee implies that those of darker skin are expected to perform menial or undesirable jobs, while those with fairer skin comfortably watch on. Furthermore, although Scout sees Calpurina as a mother figure, she unintentionally...
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...“I’m simply defending a Negro- his names Tom Robinson”. With these words Atticus informs Scout of his life altering task of standing up to the prejudice and racism that pervades the sleepy southern town that was Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930’s. The effects of racism on Maycomb and its citizens will be discussed with further reference to ‘To kill a Mockingbird’. The court case of Tom Robinson seems to be a turning point for “the sleepy town “of Maycomb County. One acquires the impression that Tom is hated by everyone in the town as he, a black man, falls at the bottom of the social hierarchy that is very much a part of the town. Due to racism , black people are looked down upon by white people and the very few who choose to go against this norm...
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...to believe that being of color – “despite its abundance of admirable qualities”- made one less than the hoi polloi (MLA). For instance, even though the Ewels were the lowest of the low because of their behavior and mediocrity, they were still higher in the social chain than the color people. Talking about racism back in that era was a highly controversial topic. When the book was released in 1960, many people were disturbed by the fact that someone would talk about it so freely in a favorable way towards black people and how racism works both ways. Not only white people would degrade color people by saying “a common, ugly term to label somebody” such as “nigger-lover” (Lee 107), just the same, colored people would deplore of white people being in their areas. “You ain't got no business bringin' white chillun here—they got their church, we got our'n. It is our church, ain't it, Miss Cal?"(Lee 135). Nevertheless, years later, the book still enlightens people about racial issues, for example the comedian Meera Syal commented on 2007 how "To Kill a Mockingbird was the first book that made me aware of racism, and aware of what was happening to me. It even...
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...Racism has for a long time been a worldwide problem and does still exist to this very day. Although several protagonists of rights has accomplished a lot of success throughout the time by defending blacks, some people still think that the color of a man’s skin is connected to his status as a human being. But what happens when a white man stands up to defend a black man, in a society which is based on prejudices against blacks? And does moral even interfere? That is some of the question the author, Harper Lee, is answering in his novel "To kill a Mockingbird", published in the year of 1960. The story is about the siblings Scout and Jem Finch living in a small town called Maycomb. They have lost their mother but as a replacement they have their nanny, Calpurnia, to look after them. Their father, Atticus, does also take care of them while being one of the only lawyers in the county. One summer, the siblings become fascinated by their neighbor, Boo Radley, who never seems to leave the house. Scout and Jem spend most of the summer, in company of their friend Dill, trying to get a glimpse of their mysterious neighbor. After several attempts of getting near the house they must conclude that Boo Radley remains a puzzle as Jem and Scout goes back to school. The subsequent summer Atticus is struggling with a case, in which he is defending the black man Tom Robinson. Tom has been accused of raping the white girl Mayella Ewell. Atticus, as well as Jem and Scout, is assured that...
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...In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, numerous people are stereotyped in many different ways such as gender, race, and their outward appearance. The novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee focuses on the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man who is falsely accused of raping a white woman Mayella Ewell. The hardships that Tom Robinson’s lawyer Atticus Finch and his family face are also documented in the book. Scout and Jem are taunted by their classmates about how their father is defending a black man while the Ewells are near the bottom of the social hierarchy just above black people. Due to their naivety, Atticus’ children Jem and Scout are oblivious to other people's feelings. However, overtime the children begin to mature and realize the differences in their community. Additionally, the children feel compelled to reach out to Boo Radley, their elusive neighbor who is the center of the town’s fascination. Over the years, many rumors of Boo’s whereabouts have been rumored and the cause of his private lifestyle is questioned by many. Throughout the novel, Boo Radley, Scout, and Tom Robinson each represent how people are stereotyped by...
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...How we live is based on our social class. The lower class live in small homes, don’t get what they need sometimes, and cannot enjoy certain luxuries. Then there’s upper class; they can do what they please with no afterthought. Then there is acting classy: being respectful, having poise, and treating everybody with equality. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. There are many people in town who are deemed low class or upper class due to their wealth or lifestyle, and because of this they are treated differently. However, there are people who still act with respect and dignity even though they live and are treated poorly. In the novel, someone’s social class is built off of the opinions of others;...
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...JUDGMENT- (n.) the ability to make considered decisions or come sensible conclusions. Everyone in Maycomb is judgemental which’s Maycomb’s disease. Racism, the amount of money and a social hierarchy are social issues of the town that socially determined their worth. In the story the setting of Maycomb is the true antagonist. Skin color makes a man in society. Atticus, a lawyer and probably the fairest man in Maycomb, defends black man Tom Robinson. Atticus is a true rarity, because he’s a white man who’s intelligent and has money, who respects blacks fairly. In court Atticus makes a bold move by saying,”But there is one way in this country in which all men are created equal..” (Lee, 27). Atticus stands up for Tom Robinson, which makes him hated by racist white men. White men like Bob Ewell, Bob Ewell has Maycomb’s ‘disease’. Bob is a lazy and insane drunk poor man who accuses Tom Robinson of raping his daughter. Tom Robinson is a disabled black man who’s affected by Maycomb’s disease. Tom gets wrongly accused, and ends up dead because of it,Tom was innocent, but because of his skin color he was found guilty. Racism is a big social issue, which affects everyone’s lives....
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...To kill a Mockingbird Journal entry #1 “Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop…” Pg: 5 This quotation on chapter one is Scout’s introductory description of Maycomb. Scout emphasizes the slow pace, Alabama heat, and old fashioned values of the town. She writes of time when she “first knew” Maycomb, indicating that she embarks upon this recollection of her childhood much later in life, as an adult. It makes reference to the widespread poverty of the town, implying that Maycomb is in the midst of the great depression. As stated in the quote “There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with.” As been specified above Maycomb county was a ghost town. In the text on page six it clarifies how mysterious it was, “Maycomb County had recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself.” To kill a Mockingbird Journal entry #2 “I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.” Pg: 20 On chapter two scout talks about how she takes reading for granted. Losing it would be devastating to her. Scout compares it to not breathing anymore, reading, for little kids, is not a priority in Maycomb. Scout, however, has Atticus her father teach the incredible joy of reading to his children. This applies to the second sentence about breathing. Although she does not think to herself ‘I love breathing’ for there she does not realize...
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...judge, or casually residing in those on the streets, tempting them to change their opinions based on someone’s differences. The courts, juries and everyday people across the nation demonstrate this ideal of racial injustice everyday, shown from the writings of anti-racist Tim Wise and the life of Scout Finch in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, in which they highlight the difference in treatment between those of color and those who are white. Throughout the entirety...
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...not favorable. They had never troubled me before, but they troubled me now, as vulgar appendages . . . I wished Joe had been rather more genteelly brought up, and then I should have been so too (Dickens 55). This quote articulates that Pip’s feelings about his social class have been altered because of the mockery to Pip’s “coarse hands” and his “common boots”, going so far as to wish he were more “genteelly” raised. Pip no longer feels a sense of belonging to the lower class because of this newfound shame, but due to his common upbringing by Joe, neither is he accepted into the upper class by Miss Havisham and Estella. This quote portrays how failing to feel satisfaction in one’s own social class keeps a person from being included in the social hierarchy. The social system is set up to make the action of changing one’s class extremely difficult, because upper social classes refuse to accept the lower social classes and their lower members into the higher society. Therefore, if a person attempts to improve their social class because of a lack of pride in their social status, this person will find himself in a position of not belonging to any class. Abandoning one’s social identity causes a lack of belonging to a social...
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