To Kill a Mockingbird- A Well Known Classic in Historic Literature

To Kill a Mockingbird—A Well Known Classic in Historic Literature Almost every human that has gone through a high school English class has read the classic novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This highly acclaimed novel tells the story of Scout Finch, an ambitious, intelligent tomboy living with her older brother, Jem, and her attorney father, Atticus in the midst of the Great Depression. Scout has a strong sense of knowledge of the good and evil in people. Especially when the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man accused of the rape of Mayella Ewell, a young, white woman, brings a bought of racial prejudices even a seven year old can’t ignore. When Tom Robinson, represented by Atticus himself, is found guilty of the accusation, he is sent to jail, and later, killed, presenting the children with the true evils of people that they didn’t previously recognize. As stated above, the story takes place during the Great Depression. Although the Finch family is less affected by the economic downturn due to Atticus’s profession, the rest of Maycomb, Alabama is devastated with hard financial times. The farmers, such as the Cunningham family, were the most affected, as Atticus explains to Scout, “The Cunninghams are country folks, farmers, and the crash hit them the hardest” (pg. 23). Along with the Great Depression, the book speaks of the racism that was prominent in this era. The Finches even had a black cook named Calpurnia, whom they treated as family. The rest of the town, however, treated the blacks in hateful, demeaning ways. During the Tom Robinson trial, these feelings of hatred towards the black people are heightened. Derogatory terms, such as “nigger”, are associated with not only Robinson, but any other black member of the community. Because of his ethnicity, when he is accused of raping a white woman, he is found guilty, even though he was completely innocent. The book’s author, Harper Lee, does a wonderful job of conveying the thoughts and feelings of the characters regarding both the Depression and racism. A main theme of To Kill a Mockingbird is the existence of social inequality. The people of Maycomb truly were divided by social status and by racial differences and the acceptance of these differences. The social hierarchy of Maycomb goes something like this: the well-off Finches, the working class Cunninghams, the “white trash” Ewells, and, lastly, the Negros. For the most part, the Finches have no problem accepting the differences that people have because of the way Atticus raised Scout and Jem. However, Atticus’s sister, Alexandra, is very outwardly prejudiced against the lower classes, forbidding Scout to be around Walter Cunningham because he is of a lower social status than her. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Bob Ewell, due to the lack of his own importance, persecutes Tom Robinson for the supposed “rape” of his daughter, Mayella. Being part of the black community, Robinson is already being discriminated against. Although Maycomb is a fictional town created solely for the purposes of this novel, the troubles with acceptance of differences were seen in many American towns in this time period. The characters in Lee’s classic novel were based on real people in her family. Scout was a representation of herself, Jem was inspired by her older sister, Alice, and the children’s friend, Dill, was rumored to be based on a real life friend, Truman Capote. Scout Finch really stands out as a relatable character in the sense that she believes in the goodness of all people, regardless of race, social status, past experiences, etc. She has been taught to not judge a person without getting to know them. Her father teaches her the analogy that killing a mockingbird is a sin because “mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for [us] to enjoy…but sing their hearts out for us…” (pg. 94). Learning this at a young age helped shape Scout’s view on people and taught her not to judge people that haven’t done a thing to her, a lesson that Maycomb residents should have also learned. “Naw Jem, I think there’s just one kind of folks: Folks” (To Kill a Mockingbird, Ch. 23, pg. 259). Such a short quote, but with so much meaning. Scout sees that, contrary to the belief of the community, all people are equal. There are no “finer folks”, as she mentions previously. It truly is amazing how one little girl can realize what an entire town fails to. This book is praised by critics for a reason; it is well-written with a concept that, being part of the American history, can be easily grasped, but not necessarily understood. The darkness of its nature and events only makes it more relatable to the reader. People should not read this book because they have to, but because it is one of the finest pieces of historic literature ever written.