Theme Of Poverty In To Kill A Mockingbird

In the old, sleepy town of Maycomb, racism, poverty, and domestic violence are a complication of everyday life. Like other Southern towns, Maycomb suffers considerably during the Great Depression. Poverty reaches from the privileged families, like the Finches, to the Negroes and “white trash” Ewells, who live on the outskirts of town. Harper Lee paints a vivid picture of life in this humid Alabama town where tempers and bigotry begin to explode into conflict. Life in the early 1900’s in Alabama must’ve been devastating. Racism is mentioned throughout the whole book of To Kill A Mockingbird. There are many victims in the book who suffer from racism. “‘You ain't got no business bringin’ white chillun here- they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church, ain't it, Miss Cal?” (Lee 158). Since the white people were racist, Lula felt like she had to be rude towards Jem and Scout since they were the only white people in a black church. It’s fair to say Jem and Scout were invading the black people’s space where they’re

They are considered to be in the higher class of Maycomb County. “She owned a bright green square Buick and a black chauffeur, both kept in an unhealthy state of tidiness…” (Lee 169). While the Finch’s show no sign of poverty, pretty much everyone below the higher class lives in poverty. “Walter Cunningham was sitting there lying his head off. He didn’t forget his lunch, he didn’t have any. He had none today nor would he have any tomorrow or the next day. He had probably never seen three quarters together at the same time in his life” (Lee 26). This is how poor everyone, except the Finch’s, are in Maycomb. Three quarters back then was a lot to the people. Most people didn't even have that. This shows how the middle and lower class in Maycomb live in poverty. The characters that are symbolic to poverty are the Cunninghams, the Ewells, and the African-Americans. They all live in poor