Poverty In To Kill A Mockingbird

“The Cunninghams never took anything they can’t pay back--no church baskets and no scrip stamps” (Lee 26). Others saw them as poor but they had pride so they didn’t take handouts. “Because that’s the only way he can pay me” (Lee 27). They may not be able to pay with money but they do the best they can to give back what they have taken. The people in Maycomb viewed the Cunninghams as poor people therefore showing social inequality, but how were the Ewells viewed as.

The Ewells and Cunningham families in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee or complete opposites of eachother. The first way they vary is in their appearance. The Ewells don 't care what they look like so their “necks are dark grey, backs of hands are rusty, and fingernails black deep into the quick” (27). However, the Cunninghams look as best the can with a “clean shirt and neatly pressed overalls” (19). Another way they differ is their education.

Jem and Scout realize from their father that some children may not have the same respect from their parents as Atticus respects them. Atticus states that Ewell’s father buys himself cheap whiskey for his own satisfaction, and he does not bother to buy his children food as they starve (Lee 34). The Ewells do not have a very good home life, and the children realize that respect is the best option for this family. They should give them the respect they deserve, and not the respect they get from their parents and home

So·cial jus·tice, noun, 1. justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. 2."individuality gives way to the struggle for social justice.” (Google Search). Social Justice is a term used to justify the equality in the world; equality of race, equality of gender, equality of religion, of age, of background; equality of all people not dependent on any outside factor, but of the people themselves.

In the world right now, there is still inequality for all. People are criticized everyday because of how they look, speak, dress, act, etc. In America, although there is people that are changing, there with always be that small group of people that won’t change their views on what they believe is right and wrong in our society. You can also see this in the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, written by author, Harper Lee. All throughout the novel, you can see how white people are superior to the African Americans that live in the same town.

In To Kill A Mockingbird, there are many chapters that involve racism, poverty, and or violence. This book takes place in Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression. The Finches, Jem, Scout, and Atticus which are the rich white people, the Cunninghams, the poor humble people, the Ewells, the dirt poor white trash people, and the colored folks all are involved in either racism, poverty, and or violence. Many examples of poverty are stated in To Kill A Mockingbird. An example of poverty is the Ewells because the Ewells have nearly nothing.

To kill a mockingbird tells a story of a county whose morals are masked by the great depression, a county whose judgment is masked by racism and social stigma. In to kill a mockingbird,

Race has always been a part of history, from slavery to MLK, to Barack Obama. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee defines race in the south during the 1930’s. Jean “Scout” Finch, is the narrator of the story. Her brother Jeremy “Jem” and her dad, Atticus, are both main characters. Calpurnia is their house cook and helper, she is also black.

Showing them the harsh reality of life with honesty and fearlessness. During this time the Great Depression was hitting the southern town of Maycomb. This novel compares many of its characters to mockingbirds, a symbol of pure innocence. One summer, Atticus, who is a lawyer, finds himself in the middle of a controversial case, involving a African American man, Tom Robinson and a white woman, Mayella. Despite the town throwing hatred towards Atticus and his family, he doesn’t back down because he takes pride in helping the innocent.

Racism, family background, and wealth are the three main forms of social inequality that appear multiple times in To Kill a Mockingbird. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee proves that the Negroes are not respected at all simply because of their skin color. They are so disrespected and looked down on to the point they have their own little community out of the town away from the white people. Although, the colored are racists towards the white people in Maycomb.

To Kill a Mockingbird has many of underlying themes such as racism, courage, respect, femininity, etc. But the theme that fits this book most appropriately is innocence and the harm caused to the innocent by evil and bigotry. Examples of this include Jem, Dill, Tom Robinson, Boo Radley. While all these characters have completely different personalities and circumstances they all have one thing in common. All of them were innocent at one point and were harmed by the evil of

In the successful novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, the character, Mayella Ewell, is portrayed as a victim and villain. She is a complex character who can be viewed as a lonely victim of poverty and neglect. She is also a 19 year old adult who falsely accused a man of a crime he didn’t commit. A victim is a person who feels powerless, needs lots of attention, and is passive. A villain is one who is trying to accomplish a mission, acting on personal desires, and is hiding something.

In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee teaches us about the town of Maycomb County during the late 1930s, where the characters live in isolation and victimization. Through the perspective of a young Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, readers will witness the prejudice that Maycomb produces during times where people face judgement through age, gender, skin colour, and class, their whole lives. Different types of prejudice are present throughout the story and each contribute to how events play out in the small town of Maycomb. Consequently, socially disabling the people who fall victim from living their life comfortably in peace. Boo Radley and his isolation from Maycomb County, the racial aspects of Tom Robinson, and the decision Atticus Finch makes as a lawyer, to defend a black man has all made them fall in the hands of Maycomb’s prejudice ways.

The main Characters of the book are Atticus, Scout, and Jem Finch. Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird the author gives the reader insight into how racial, gender, and religious discrimination, impact the community of Maycomb. There are many times when racial discrimination is shown in the novel, like when Calpurnia takes Scout and Jem to her church and Lula tells them many times that she has no business bringin white children to a black church.

In the novel, ‘To kill a mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates the small, imaginary town, the Maycomb County, as a place where racism and social inequality happens in the background of 1930s America. Not only the segregation between whites and blacks, but also the poor lived in a harsh state of living. As Scout, the young narrator, tells the story, Lee introduces and highlights the effects of racism and social inequality on the citizens of Maycomb County by using various characters such as Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Mayella Ewell. Firstly, Harper Lee portrays Boo Radley as a victim of social inequality through adjectives and metaphor in the phrase, “There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten;” ‘Long jagged scar that ran across his face’ tells us that Boo Radley has stereotype about his appearance, which forces to imagine Boo as a scary and threatening person. The phrase, ‘yellow and rotten’ make the readers think as if Boo Radley is poor and low in a social hierarchy, as he cannot afford to brush his teeth.