Examples Of Social Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird, a book written by Harper Lee, takes place in the era of the Great Depression. Many people are struggling, and race discrimination is prominent. Many events throughout this book evince social inequality within this time period, such as when Jean Louise Finch is repeatedly suppressed by her aunt and told to act like a girl. When Tom Robinson is charged guilty just because of his skin tone, social inequality is also evident. The different families that appeared in the book also depicts social inequality when one could be defined by his family name, for instance, the Ewells who are known for being filthy and disrespectful. Though the importance of morality is stressed by Atticus, Jean Finch’s father, the constancy of social

One could be prejudiced of his personality or quality by his last name. When Burris Ewell is found to have cooties and acts out in class, the kids just accept his behavior because Ewells are known for being mean and uneducated (34). As Jean Finch’s aunt explains to Jean Finch that “there is no doubt in my mind that they're good folks. But they're not our kind of folks,” it can be shown that the kids in each household are also taught who they should and should not hang out with. When Jem Finch explains that their “kind of folks don't like the Cunninghams, the Cunninghams don't like the Ewells, and the Ewells despise the colored folks,” Jem shows that he thoroughly understands the social inequality that presents itself among the families (303). The amount of prejudice that comes from one’s last name depicts a strong inequality of treatment amongst the families of

Throughout this book, negroes are constantly displayed in a poor neighborhood and treated unequally. This is most evident during Tom Robinson’s court trial when “Mr.Bob Ewell accused him of rapin’ his girl an’ had him arrested an’ put in jail,” (164). Even though Robinson is innocent and all of the evidences are on his side, the jury votes against him due to his skin color. In addition, the church made for negroes also portrays lack of funding for its absence of a ceiling, painted walls, and hymn-books (159). In general, negroes living in Maycomb often have the lower hand and are not able to be treated as the