Marxist Within the Mockingbird
Today the world is open to people of all races, economic classes and much more, but in the 1930’s the world was not as accepting. To Kill A Mockingbird, is a book by Harper Lee which takes place in the 1930’s. Throughout the story there are issues with feminism, racism, and injustice. It starts with a young girl and her family, and as the book progresses the reader gets to find out some of the things that go on in their life and around them. Such as a stressful case which includes, a black innocent man who is accused for something he did not do. It is clear that To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee demonstrates Marxist theory by displaying the characteristics of power differences, conflict between classes, and
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For instance, lots of the people in Maycomb would avoid black people throughout the story because they were considered the lowest class of people. Lots of white people in town would make comments about black people or ignore them. The majority of white people gave them a hard time. One example of this would be when Mr. Raymond talks to Scout about how white people treat black people. The text states, “‘Cry about the simple hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to that they’re people, too’” (Lee 269). This shows conflict between classes because white people are giving black people a hard time. Black people were perceived as the lowest class and throughout the story people would treat them as if they were dirt. Being in the lowest class, they would have to do all of the terrible work. They never had a chance to get a good job and be successful because of the white people. This was common down in the South in the 1930’s which resulted in many conflicts between the two. In addition, lots of black people started to lose hope about Tom’s case. People who supported him began to think that he would not win due to white power in the courts which was a problem between the two classes. One example of this would be when Tom tried to escape and got killed because he didn’t think he was going to win the case. The text states, “‘I guess Tom …show more content…
Many of the beliefs people had about other people caused them to divide and make their own groups. One example of this would be when Mr. Dolphus Raymond was talking to Scout and felt like she should not be talking to him. The text states, “I had a feeling that I shouldn’t be here listening to this sinful man who had mixed children and didn’t care who knew it” (Lee 268). From that, the reader is able to see how people in the town avoid other ‘groups’ of people. Their society did not accept mixed children so people were expected to avoid the Raymonds. For a long time values like that existed. The majority of people divided because it was not right to mix. As unfair as it sounds these things occurred many time throughout the story which lead to tension between the classes. Throughout the story there are many examples of division. Not only did society divide by color but also by economics. In the story Aunt Alexandra gets angry at Scout for hanging out with people that were not in the same economic group as them. The text states, "She took off her glasses and stared at me. 'I'll tell you why,' she said. 'Because--he--is--trash, that's why you can't play with him. I'll not have you around him, picking up his habits and learning Lord knows what. You're enough of a problem to your father as it is'" (Lee 256). Aunt Alexandra wanted to uphold the Finch name but felt as if Scout and Jem needed to change for
Breaking Away Even though Letty Cottin Pogrebin, an American author and social activist, recently stated, “When men are oppressed, it’s a tragedy. When women are oppressed it’s tradition,” in recent times, women decades ago experienced even greater prejudice (Deborah, Golda, and Me). In Harper Lee’s 1930s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee discusses the tradition of inequality between men and women. The protagonist and narrator, Jean Louise Finch, also known as Scout, lives in a time when women are expected to be perfect Southern ladies.
The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee which was published in 1960 and set in1930 is just asrelevant today because of the timeless themes in the novel. These themes include racism, humanbehaviour and way of life. These themes will give a better understanding of why thenovel is relevanttoday. Firstly, in the book there is extensive racism towards the black people of the town. Racism stillhappens today.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Atticus believes Maycomb is unjust because the town is inconsiderate of other people’s view, which is shown when Atticus gets targeted for defending a black man, worries that his kids will become bitter and catch Maycomb’s disease, and Aunt Alexandra advising Atticus that he is raising his kids wrong. To begin with, Mrs Dubose addresses to Scout and her family about how Atticus is disgracing his race and his color by defending Tom Robinson on the alleged rape case. Mrs Dubose says, “Your father’s no better than the ni**ers and trash he works for” (135). Atticus views Maycomb as an injustice town because during this time period black people were seen as a lower class. Atticus is mark as an overall victim because in the trial the county is shocked that Atticus is
Why are people biased against others? In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows the stereotypes created by the different people in Maycomb County and Scout's perspective of these stereotypes. Scout doesn't understand why people discriminate against each other, and refers to Atticus, her father, to understand the discrimination in Maycomb County. People have many stereotypes about, social status, religion, and women. The people of Maycomb are judged wrongly by these stereotypes because the hate towards others and the lack of respect they have for each other.
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it”(Lee 30). These are the words of Atticus Finch, the wisest character in the famous novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. He is a fictional man that embodies human traits that all people should strive to emulate. In the novel; narrated by Atticus’ daughter Jean Louise Finch, more often referred to as Scout; Atticus defends a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping a white female, Mayella Ewell. The main message of the text is the prominence of racial injustice, specifically in the 1930’s, the era the novel takes place in.
Harper Lee’s classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird was set in the southern states of America during the interwar period, a place and period of time where racism and sexism were predominant. This story highlights the plight of those that acted out against the dominant ideology. Some brave people began to speak and act upon what they believed in no matter what society said. A few women began to speak up which was very uncommon. Miss Maudie Atkinson, Calpurnia, and Scout Finch showed very strong characteristics.
Literature can be analyzed with many different critical lenses. While analyzing To Kill a Mockingbird, one may use a critical lens to recognize the different ideas throughout the novel. Harper Lee’s novel demonstrates her perspective on intolerance and discrimination within the early twentieth century. Firstly, intolerance of people who are different is very prevalent within the novel.
This shows that people in Maycomb chose to not say certain things with a colored person present because they believe that all colored people like gossiping amongst each other and anything you say in front of them will be known by all of them. This is also another example of how the race of those on around them affect what the characters say and this is a terrible mindset. You shouldn’t make assumptions about people, especially because of their race. A lawyer called Mr. Gilmer asked Tom Robinson during his trial,”Had your eye on her [Mayella] a long time, hadn 't you boy?” “No suh I never looked at her.”
The novel To kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee shows how prejudice and discrimination can influence a community. The story takes place in the 1930's during the Great Depression and uses the point of view of Scout a young girl to show how deeply effected the people were, both young and old by these discriminatory views. I believe that To kill a Mockingbird is still relevant today because many of the problems that happened in the book still happen today and although we are trying to stop discrimination by writing new laws and enforcing them it still occurs quite often. To Kill a Mockingbird still relates to today’s world because of issues in relation to sexism, racism and political injustices. Society might tell us
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is the story of a small town named Maycomb Located in Alabama, highlighting the adventures of the finch children and many other people in the small town. The people in this town are very judgemental and of each other and it often leads to people being labeled with stereotypes and people think they know everything about that person however that is not reality. It is not possible to know the reality of a person 's life by placing a stereotype without seeing it through their own eyes and experiencing the things they experience. This happens often throughout the story with many people in the town. People are labeled as many things such a “monster” a “nigger” and many other things that seem to put them in their
This shows how social classes separate people even if they are from the same place. Poor people were with poor, and and middle classes people or rich people with their groups. That was not discrimination about race, it was about social classes. The highest class in Maycomb, Alabama consisted of those who were white, came from good family lines and worked for a living. This class was treated with mostly respect, but they were expected to maintain their integrity of white peoples and their own families.
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that show the life of a southern state od Alabama during the “black racism” time period, where majority of the people had the mentality that (quote) with the exception of a few. To chosen to portray it from the eyes of Scout Finch, from a child’s point of view. Living in Maycomb, in the midst of a conservative society of the 1930’s and 20’s Southern America Scout Finch is an extra ordinary child.
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.
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.
Though most of the town Maycomb feels negatively and discriminates the African-Americans, characters like Atticus show us how one person can impact his surroundings if he has high morals. Although he couldn’t change the mindset of the other town residents , he made sure that his own children didn’t discriminate people, purely on the basis of their skin colour. Racism can be seen even in the first few chapters of the book. These racist comments by nonracist children typify the culture in which they were growing up.