Discuss how the historical, political and social setting of Harper Lee's novel 'To Kill a Mockingbird' contributes to the fears that are present in Maycomb County.
Catherine Spillman 11L
"Maycomb County had recently been told that it had nothing to fear but fear itself." (Scout Finch, Chapter 1, 'To Kill a Mockingbird').
Discuss how the historical, political and social setting of Harper Lee's novel 'To Kill a Mockingbird' contributes to the fears that are present in Maycomb County.
'To Kill A Mockingbird' is set in a small town in Maycomb County, Alabama, in the 1930s, which was a dark period in time for America as it had been hit by the Depression. Up until 1929, America had been doing very well, becoming a much richer country. However in 1929 when stocks had soared to an all time high, in September they plummeted. This day in history is known as Black Thursday and is remembered as the Wall Street Crash of '29. The crash hit people's interests hard and Americans all over lost a lot of money. Banks had to spend all of the money they had on regaining the economy, and agricultural needs were ignored, and didn't seem as important as other things like industry. Landowners had let out land to farmers to grow crops in, and when the Wall Street Crash hit them, they wanted to regain their land, as it was all they had. Therefore, the crash hit farmers the most and the Deep South was hit very badly because so many people were farmers by trade.
There were many black people in the South of America, especially Alabama, and there was great racial hatred between them and the white communities. The Civil War from 1861-1865 between the North of America who wanted the abolition of slavery, and the South who wanted to keep slavery resulted in victory by the North, and slavery was later abolished. The South had lost its pride, and this was the reason for the racial hatred. Black people were thought to be inferior to white people and in the 1960s when the novel was written, black communities were rioting and causing disturbances to get across the point that they were not inferior to white people. After Abolition Black people were terrorised by the Ku Klux Klan, who would burn them, rape the women, and torture the children and the reader is shown an example of this in Chapter 15 where a group of white people, go to the county jail to terrorise Tom Robinson.
Maybe this hatred for the Negroes wasn't hatred after all, but brought about by fear. As slavery had been abolished, black people were entitled to the same rights as white people, however they were still ostracised by white people because of their colour. The main fear of the white people was that they would lose their power and "superiority".
Change was another of the main fears in Maycomb County. People had been so used to the same daily schedule and things running normally that when the Depression hit them they had to face their fear. They had to face the fact that things would be different, and the reader is made to see, through, for example, the trial of Tom Robinson, that this is not something the people of the south like.
People in the Deep South persecuted the black people because they were different, however it was not only black people they persecuted. In the novel was a neighbour of the Finch family called Arthur Radley, known to the children as "Boo". He was not seen very often by anyone, hence the nickname Boo, and this started off horrifying rumours about him. The children were intrigued that they had not seen Boo Radley, and the author goes as far as saying that "The Radley place fascinated Dill". Scout Finch, the main character stated that "Inside the house lived a ...
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People in the Deep South persecuted the black people because they were different, however it was not only black people they persecuted. In the novel was a neighbour of the Finch family called Arthur Radley, known to the children as "Boo". He was not seen very often by anyone, hence the nickname Boo, and this started off horrifying rumours about him. The children were intrigued that they had not seen Boo Radley, and the author goes as far as saying that "The Radley place fascinated Dill". Scout Finch, the main character stated that "Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom". Members of the community had probably influenced this idea, and the fact that Scout believed Boo Radley was a phantom might have sparked off the nickname "Boo". It was not only the children that thought these things about Boo Radley. Scout said, "People said he went out at night when the moon was down, and peeped in windows. When people's azaleas froze in a cold snap, it was because he had breathed on them". Stephanie Crawford (a neighbour of the Finch family) would tell the children about him poisoning pecan nuts in the schoolyard, and eating cats and squirrels raw. These rumours sparked off one of the main themes in the book; prejudice. Not only for people who look different, but also against those who act differently.
In Maycomb county there seemed to be a set of unwritten rules about how one must act, and those who didn't keep to the rules were persecuted. The children would tease Boo Radley by knocking on his door and running, and one night they crept up to the Radley's house, and as he tried to flee Jem caught his trousers on the fence. When he returned he found them mended, and the reader realises that they were mended by Boo. When Atticus finds out that the children are teasing Boo Radley he tells them to see life from Boo's point of view, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb inside his skin and walk around it" (Chapter 3). Atticus Finch seems to be, unlike his fellow citizens of Maycomb, a man without prejudice. The reader sees this when he takes on the trial of Tom Robinson. Atticus shows a great sense of courage here because he has no choice but to defend Tom Robinson, as Maycomb knows, knowing that his case will fail. However, it is Atticus' determination to win this case that causes problems in the community. From 109-32 BC a man called Atticus lived in Rome. He escaped to Greece during the Roman Civil War and refused to join either side. This seems to be an apt name for Atticus Finch, because even though he is friends with the white people of Maycomb County, he refuses to stoop to their level of intolerance of Negroes in America. In the real 1930s there would have been few people like Atticus. There would have been people who were like Atticus, but were too afraid to take a stand against the injustice.
Atticus knows the truth about Boo Radley, and throughout the story he tries to teach his children that prejudice is wrong, even though many people around them ignore that fact. By the end of the novel the reader sees that Boo is not actually the "monster" he was thought to be. He is actually a kind, but shy man whose greatest act of kindness was saving Scout and Jem from being killed by Bob Ewell. This was the first time Scout had actually seen Boo and because she has finally come to know the truth about him Scout is not scared. In Chapter 28 on the way home from the Halloween Pageant Boo Radley was actually sitting on their porch, however Scout didn't seem to be very bothered. This is ironic even though she doesn't yet know it is Boo Radley, because for the past 2 years she has been waiting to see him. We do get a description of Boo Radley in Chapter 29, and although he is as pale as a ghost, he doesn't possess any of the ghostly characteristics the children thought he hadn
Just like society today, people jump to conclusions when they hear rumours, and most times the rumours are wrong. Boo Radley left gifts for the children in a tree at his house, however in Chapter 7 we learn that Nathan Radley covered up the hole in the tree preventing Boo from acting out this act of kindness. We know that the people of Maycomb County knew that Boo Radley did not conform to society, however by the Radleys doing things like this it did add to the suspicion.
In the last few pages of the novel we see that Scout finally realises the truth about Boo Radley. Even though Jem, who the reader sees maturing throughout the novel, realises that Boo has been leaving gifts and that Nathan has covered up the hole, Scout, being much younger, doesn't, and just thinks it is an odd idea of Boo's, which contributes to her suspicions.
As has been previously said there is a great amount of racial prejudice in this novel, and not necessarily just from one side, as we see in Chapter 12 when Calpurnia takes the children with her to her church. While most of the people are extremely welcoming to the children, one character, Lula, is unfriendly towards them because they are white. However, Lula should not be immediately persecuted for her argument: the church was a safe haven for black people on a Sunday, it was where they could spend a few hours without being persecuted and just be around their own people. When two white children walk in, it is like the white people are taking away the only thing they have, and this is the reason for her outburst. Lula says, "You aint got no business bringin' white chillun here- they got their church, we got our'n". Scout does not understand why Jem and herself should not be welcomed into the church by everyone, as she sees no difference between her and Lula in status.
Scout doesn't understand why Negroes would be lower than the Ewells in terms of status. At the top of this social ladder would be families like the Finches and Radleys; they are well respected in the town, and comparatively well off. They have morals and live them out in their daily lives. Lower down would be families like the Cunninghams: even though they are poor, they try to live their life with dignity. The Cunninghams do not accept charity from others, and always pay back debts in kind, because they cant afford to pay with money. Much lower down the ladder would be the Ewells: they are poor and have no morals. Bob Ewell lives off relief cheques issued by the government, which he spends on drink. His children are dirty and most probably suffer from malnutrition. It is also suggested that he is violent towards his children, and in fact the bruises on Mayella Ewell's face that she said were from the rape were most probably from her father, even though she did state that her father had never hit her (Chapter 18). Ironically, below the Ewells would be the Negroes, purely because of the fact that they are black.
Maycomb County is shown to be a town full of prejudice of many different kinds, however, in Alabama racial tension was the worst, and it is shown in this novel in the case of Tom Robinson's trial when Tom Robinson is found guilty even though the evidence is very weak. However, we return to the unwritten rules of Maycomb County: he went against the acceptable behaviour of a black person and felt sorry for a white woman.
When Tom is called into trial the reader may think that he has a good chance of winning the case. The stories from the accusing side don't seem to fit in with each other, and there is no physical evidence that Tom Robinson actually raped and attacked Mayella Ewell. However, the reader must take into account that Tom Robinson is black, and probably all cases involving black and white people in the 1930s and previous to that would have gone in favour of the white people, regardless of the evidence. What is ironic is that it seems that Mayella seemed to fancy Tom Robinson and tried to kiss him before he allegedly attacked her, and yet, her family looks upon black people as scum. Tom Robinson was actually nice and respectful towards her, and this was something she was probably not used to, having a father like Bob Ewell around.
We learn that Miss Maudie's idea on Christianity is to love one's neighbour, and that people should be treated equally. She is right, but is persecuted by the strict Baptists who do not follow that simple rule at all. In Chapter 24 we see Aunt Alexandra's missionary tea taking place. This is the most obvious example of hypocrisy in the book. The women all discuss abut the poor children out in Africa, and discuss sending some money, however they persecute the Negroes on their own doorstep for being lazy. This is also an issue in today's society, and I'm sure the society in the 1930s, dealing with problems far away, before sorting them out closer to home. Is it easier to feel kinder to people who are far away?
In conclusion, I believe that the two central characters in this essay, Boo Radley and Tom Robinson, were just like the mockingbird that Atticus Finch describes when he says, "It is a sin to kill a mockingbird, as all it does is sing". The mockingbird, like Tom and Boo does nothing to harm people, and needs to be protected. When it is not, as with the case of Tom Robinson, people who seem to know no better shoot it down.
I believe that the main fear of Maycomb County was change, being different, which is just like today's society. No person wants to be put out of his or her daily schedule, to make things awkward, and even if it does benefit others (in the case of this book, the Negroes), some people are just so ignorant that they cannot see beyond their own problems. The history in the novel of "To Kill A Mockingbird" is so important as it shows how cruel people can be, explaining one of the main themes of this novel (prejudice). I think that Scout showed a great example of developing an open mind, and becoming unprejudiced. If everyone was like this then maybe this book may not have been written, as the injustice in society would not be present. Scout decided early in her life that no matter how others divide other people up, whether it is over race, ethnic group, religion, or social status there is really "just one kind of folks. Folks". Maybe there is another fear, that Scout Finch could actually be right, and that we could all be the same.