Social Inequality in To Kill a Mockingbird
Chelsea Dawson
“…and I hope and I pray I can get Jem and Scout through it without bitterness, and most of all, without catching Maycomb’s usual disease. Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don’t pretend to understand… I hope that Jem and Scout come to me for their answers instead of listening to the town. I hope they trust me enough…” (Pg. 88) The words of Atticus Finch speaking of how people over react when anything that shows them the complete social inequality present in Maycomb Alabama. As you read on you should learn about the different types of social inequality that are present in Maycomb during the 1930’s. You will be introduced to the Cunninghams, the Ewells and the black community. Discovering people`s thoughts on social inequality and how it does or doesn’t affect them. Whether or not we can tell it’s there social inequality is always present even if we don’t notice.
In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” there are many forms of social inequality, more than just the whites and the blacks. In Maycomb there is prejudice against the Cunninghams because they are considered to be lower members of society. There is evidence to support the prejudice against the Cunninghams in what Aunt Alexandria has to say about them, “The thing is, you can scrub Walter Cunningham till he shines, you can put him in shoes and a new suit, but he’ll never be like Jem. Besides, there’s a drinking streak in that family a mile wide. Finch women aren’t interested in that sort of people” (Pg. 224). This quotation from the book does a good job of explaining Aunt Alexandria’s feelings towards the Cunninghams. The quotation is saying that no matter what Walter Cunningham does he will always be a Cunningham and there for not good enough for a Finch. She is stereotyping the Cunninghams and assuming that they all have a drinking problem even though you know that Walter Cunningham doesn’t and is a good boy from the way he treats Scout with respect and how he wants to go to school and pass but can’t always because he has to stay home and help out in the spring. “Because he-is-trash, that’s why you can’t play with him, picking up his habits and learning Lord-knows-what. You’re enough of a problem to your father as it is.” (Pg. 225). This is what Aunt Alexandria has to say when she finds out that Scout wants to play with Walter Cunningham. In Scouts eyes there isn’t a big difference between Walter Cunningham and her except the wealth of their families. Scout didn’t see the social inequality with the Cunninghams but when she did she had a problem with it but Aunt Alexandria didn’t and neither did majority of Maycomb, they just went along with their business happy to ignore the Cunninghams and the rest of those at the bottom of the social scale.
Even lower down the social scale is the Ewells. They are the bottom of white society, as low as a white can get. “The boy stood up. He was the filthiest human I had ever seen. His neck was dark grey, the backs of his hands were rusty, and his fingernails were black deep into the quick. He peered at Miss Caroline from a fist-sized clean space on his face.” (Pg. 27). That was Scouts description of Burris Ewell followed by the explanation of how all the children comes to school for the first day and then never come back until the next, how they figure that’s good enough. Burris Ewell had been coming to the first day of grade one for three years. Partially through Scouts first day of school her teacher Miss Caroline is horrified because a bug crawled out of Burris Ewell’s hair. This was followed by Burris standing up and saying he had done his time for that year. The town never tried to do anything to help the Ewells instead they just let them go about their business and living in their old negro cabin and continue to live in filthy disease filled surroundings by the town dump. Out of sight out of mind. The Ewells got welfare from the state and Bob Ewell, the father, used it buy whiskey everyone in the town knew that that was what he used his welfare for instead of to support his many children but didn’t do anything change it because they were the Ewells and that’s just what they did. They were the Ewells but they were better than the blacks.
At the absolute bottom of the social scale in Maycomb, Alabama were the blacks. Atticus is appointed to represent Tom Robinson, a black, in a rape case. Tom Robinson was accused of raping and beating Mayella Ewell. It was the Ewells word against Tom Robinsons and as always the white’s word was the one that was considered the truth. It was the belief of majority of Maycomb society that the blacks were liars and cheats. The reaction of the community towards Atticus after he was appointed to defend Tom was not a way to treat a respected lawyer. “Yes indeed, what had the world come to when a Finch goes against his raising? I’ll tell you!” “Your father’s no better than the niggers and trash he works for!” (Pg. 102) Those words came from Mrs. Dubose an elderly lady that lived up the street from the Finchs. Along with another phrase common towards Scout in the school yard, “Negro lover.” Scout didn’t understand at first the mistreatment of the black community and why the kids were calling her what they did. During the trial Dill has to leave and goes outside and cries and had this to say about why he was so upset, “I don’t care one speck. It ain’t right, somehow it ain’t right to do ‘em that way. Hasn’t anybody got any business talkin’ like that- it just makes me sick.” (Pg. 199) Dill, Jem and Scout were beginning to realize how much the black community was mistreated and they knew it was wrong, why couldn’t everyone else see that? They were some that did. “As you grow older, you’ll see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it- whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash.” (Pg.220) This quotation from the back is meaningful because it shows you Atticus’ feelings and perspective on social inequality. Atticus is one of the few people in Maycomb that teach their kids that treating blacks and others is wrong and you should be ashamed if you can’t stand up and defend others.
You have learned about the Cunninghams and how people look down upon them as being lower class citizens. You have learned about the Ewells who are the lowest in white society and how the wqhite community almost pretends like they aren`t there. And you have learned about the blacks, the lowest you can be in Maycomb during the 1930`s. You`ve learned about what Atticus thinks, how you need to respect everyone and Calpurnia who said, “Don`t matter who they are, anybody sets foot in the house`s yo` comp`ny, and you don`t let me catch you remarkin` on their ways like you was so high and might! ” (Pg. 24) And what Atticus said, “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.” (Pg. 30) These are both lessons that Atticus and Calpurnia taught Jem and Scout and they`re lessons that we can still use today. Whether or not we notice social inequality is still present, we can chose to acknowledge it or ignore it completely but it`s still there if we can just open our eyes and look.
This pice of work may not have gotten the best mark or even a very good mark at all but it's something that I am proud of because of all the effort that I put into to it. It took me a long time to plan and write this essay because I wanted it to be the best I could make it. And even though it didn't end up being the best because it didn't answer the question it's still something that I can be proud of.
No comments:
Post a Comment