What can we learn about society from Maycomb in To Kill a Mockingbird?

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What can we learn about society from Maycomb in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’?

‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ was written by Harper Lee in the 1960s, and although a work of fiction, it is a reflection of the attitudes and values of life in southern America in the 1930’s. Embedded deeply within the novel are aspects of the political, social, racial and criminal injustices that are inherent in the American South which Lee loathed. Deeply troubled by the inability of the human race to live together in peace and harmony, she highlights the forces that divide man from man, and hence exposes their frailties.

The novel explores these issues that are the cause of such unrest in the macrocosm of South America by using the fictitious town of Maycomb which is based on Monroeville (Harper Lee’s hometown), Alabama, it is an ideal microcosm of the ways and culture of American people living during the 1930’s Depression. The novel entwines two plot lines. The main one is that of Atticus Finch's defence of Tom Robinson an African-American man who is falsely accused of raping a poor white town’s woman. Robinson is clearly innocent, but the jury unjustly finds him to be guilty leading him to be killed while trying to escape from prison. Atticus‘s defence of Robinson makes him the target of rage by the towns folk. The second plot line is concerning Scout's and Jem's fascination of the local recluse Boo Radley and although they think of him a nasty person it is he who saves them when Bob Ewell attacks.

The novel is written through the eyes of an innocent young girl, Jean Louise Scout, however Harper Lee incessantly replaces her approach in order to give a more adult opinion about the events and experiences that occur throughout the book and the southern ways enhance the plot of the story to give it a realistic and historical perspective. The portrayal of southern culture is depicted in an array of themes. Family, racism, hypocrisy, hatred and poverty are just some of many that Lee draws attention to. The main protagonist Jean Louise (Scout) Finch, along with her brother Jeremy Atticus (Jem) Finch and friend Tom Baker (Dill) Harris explore Maycomb finding out life isn’t as fair or idyllic as they think. The novel spans over three years starting when Scout begins school to when she sits by her sleeping brother when he breaks his arm. There are many things that we can learn from ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ such as racial segregation, class segregation and the roles of women.  The novel utilised the naiveté and innocence of young Scout and to a lesser extent, Jem and Dill to show how irrational adult prejudices and some customs were.

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Scout is the main character in the story, the whole novel is narrated by her and it is her who is looking back and recalling the events that happened. Scout symbolises the author Harper Lee as she herself shared similar experiences when she was a young girl in her hometown of Monroeville. Harper Lee’s father was a lawyer just like Scouts father Atticus, however Scout isn’t the most important character in the novel, her father Atticus Finch is.  Atticus is a moral hero; he fights for what he believes in no matter what the odds are. Although he is an ...

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