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The Great Depression took its toll on the real world, but how does it affect “To Kill a Mockingbird”? Harper Lee, the author, created a world-famous story that took place in the 1930s. This was when the Great Depression hit America hardest, but also when social inequality was at its high point as shown by Tom Robinson. Why should Lee incorporate different issues in the main book? Lee tried to make the book as realistic as possible from the 1930s, using accurate allusions and plot elements of each worry during that time. These themes are displayed many times throughout the book, but the Great Depression is one of the main points of how Lee’s work is affected. With all the commotion going on in the real world, it seems abnormal that Lee would …show more content…
Walter Cunningham is described as a poor farmer, who cannot pay Atticus in anything but crops for his legal services. The book states that Walter Cunningham could get a Work Progress Administration, or WPA, job, but that his crops would die too quickly. The WPA was created by Franklin Roosevelt to counter the dangers of the Great Depression. Bob Ewell, the man who went against Tom Robinson in defending his daughter Mayella, also secured a WPA job, but was fired due to laziness. As this is a short list of those who the Depression hurt economically, there were many others as …show more content…
This is to explain the basis of the world’s problems, and in the 1930’s, the Depression was what shaped America. Lee incorporates other issues,such as slavery, but Lee uses the Depression to connect with readers, and to inform how life really was in the 1930’s. She did not exaggerate how the stock market crash could make or break a family. For example, “...the crash hit them hardest”, was what Lee wrote about the Cunningham’s, forcing Walter to become poor in money, and in crops. Since the market crash, the Cunningham’s have to pay with crops. Many were unemployed in Maycomb, which made it a privilege to be able to work for money, especially if you were African-American. Calpurnia was able to be a cook for the Finch family during the 1930s, and the Finches were still wealthy compared to the rest of society. Usually, in the 21st century, jobs like orthodontists or surgeons make the majority of the money in America. In the 1930s, this was not the case. Atticus says that “professional people were poor because farmers were poor.” He follows this by saying that Maycomb was “farm country”, and money was hard to come by since the farmers had to pay with their crops. On the other hand, there are a handful of families like the Ewells, who were already poor before the Great Depression, and the Depression wiped out most of the little amount of money that they
Poverty can be a terrible thing. It can shape who you are for better or for worse. Although it may seem awful while you experience it, poverty is never permanent. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, which takes place in Alabama in the middle of the Great Depression, Walter Cunningham and Burris Ewell are both in a similar economic state. Both of their families have very little money; however, they way they manage handle themselves is very different. In this essay, I will compare Walter Cunningham and Burris Ewell’s physical appearance and hygiene, their views on education, and their manners and personalities.
Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is based during the era of racism and prejudice. This era is commonly referred to as The Great Depression and is during the mid-late 30’s. The novel is set in a small town and county called Maycomb, Alabama. The novel follows the story of the Finch’s and their struggle before, during, and after a rape trial that is set against an African American by a white woman and her father.
Though both Scottsboro and Maycomb seem like a loving town with nice people, however, their dark sides are discovered through their actions. There are many parallels between Scottsboro and Maycomb, the major issue being the events that occurred during the Great Depression. The Great Depression happened after World War Two. It’s an economic crisis worldwide where mostly everyone has no job and money at that time. Maycomb is a town with a traditional old generation because their thinking is different than the city people, they dress differently and people like Aunt Alexandra would want to teach their kids about their family name or its legacy.
'To Kill a Mockingbird' is a novel that was written in the 1960s, but Harper Lee decided to set the novel in the Depression era of the 1930s in a small town in Alabama. Lee provided her readers with a historical background for the affairs of that time and in doing so she exposed the deeply entrenched history of the civil rights in South America. Like the main characters in this novel, Lee grew up in Alabama; this made it easier for her to relate to the characters in the novel as she would have understood what they would have experienced during the period when racism, discrimination and inequality was on the increase within the American society.
Students today should be informed about the racials tensions and struggles that black people faced in the 1930s. To Kill A Mockingbird explains the difficulties of the racial divides of that time. In the book there were several different racial
The book, To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the Early 1930’s. The 1930’s was a decade of racism,pain and struggle. However, this decade soon became the new beginning. To escape the horrendous reality of being unemployed and unable to provide for their families, many turned to entertainment to escape the hardships and realities that they were going through. Many families went to church regularly to ask for forgiveness and to hope that things would change for the better. Many churches seen about a 5 percent increase in the amount of members attending church when the Great Depression had started. Also, the 1930s was a time where there was a lot of tension between the races. Discrimination against blacks was not yet illegal, and therefore
the 1930s just after the Wall Street crash, which consequently led to the great depression of the past. It is a novel, read by a lot of people as a moral parables. The novel deals with such things as prejudice, poverty. and a parental education. This novel is set in a small quiet town called Maycomb County, Alabama, a Southern State of America.
To Kill a Mockingbird’s relevancy to today’s society In To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee uses characters to explore the different stereotypes in the Southern United States of the 1930s. Through the eyes of Scout Finch you learn how these stereotypes are so absurd and fabricated they really are. The novel also portrays numerous examples of racism, sexism, in creative ways. The stereotypes and themes portrayed in this novel are exactly what makes it so relevant to today’s society. An important reason why To Kill a Mockingbird is relevant today is the ever-growing resurgence of racism throughout the country.
America’s longest serving president, Franklin D. Roosevelt, once said “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”. This quote from his inaugural address speaks of the American economy after the stock market crash when the country fell into the Great Depression. Roosevelt implemented a New Deal to provide economic relief to people who were hit hardest by the crash. “Although it lessened the hunger and harship of millios of people, it did not pull the country out of the Great Depression. That occured only when the nation entered World War II” (“The New Deal” 1). Roosevelt’s New Deal affects To Kill a Mockingbird because it takes place
Scout first notices Atticus’s tolerance when she realizes Mr. Cunningham was bringing them goods in order to pay for Atticus’s services. Scout questions Atticus about Mr. Cunningham’s doings. ‘“Why does he pay you like that?’ ‘Because that’s the only way he can pay me. He has no money”’ (Lee 27). Atticus understands the Cunninghams’ situation and allows them to pay him with what they can. The Finches are poor, but not as poor as the Cunninghams. Atticus knew that the crash hit farmers the hardest, and that the Cunninghams are hardworking people. This shows tolerance because Atticus is having a hard time also. He fathoms the others and makes exceptions to those who are worse off than him. Atticus is not the only person in Maycomb who acts in the same manner; for example, Dr. Reynolds also charges patients with what they can give. ‘“Did you know, that Dr. Reynolds works the same way? He charges some folks a bushel of potatoes for delivery of a baby”’ (Lee 28). Later in the novel, Atticus ap...
The book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel. It is set in the 1930s, a time when racism was very prominent. Harper Lee emphasizes the themes of prejudice and tolerance in her novel through the use of her characters and their interactions within the Maycomb community. The narrator of the story, Scout, comes across many people and situations with prejudice and tolerance, as her father defends a black man.
In all, the 1930s was a great time for criminals, but a hassle for the law enforcers. In To Kill a Mockingbird, it shows the impact of the economic fall. Jem and Scout live in a time period where the majority of crimes happened, however, since they lived in Alabama, they were not as affected. Most crimes happened in the midwest. A decade of crimes led to a 9.8% murder rate, and left many people scarred and worried about their protection. It also reversed the 18th amendment which prohibited alcohol after the government realized many people without a criminal record were being charged with the use of alcohol, and if the government took away the gangsters abilities to make a bootleg system, it would also lower the crimes. After all that America went through during the 1930s, the gangsters impacts are not to be forgotten.
During the Great Depression, receiving an education was becoming more and more difficult for southerners. From not being able to afford the required supplies needed, to not being able to pay for the tuition, many people found it nearly impossible to attend school. The novel, To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee shows how the lack of education in society during the Great Depression affected Southerners lives, not allowing them to change their futures for the better. The public school system changed drastically during the Great Depression. Society started to notice the changes during the years of 1930 and 1931, when conditions were at their worst.
The novel of To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the timeline and era of the 1930s which was synonymous for the renowned Great Depression. A tragedy in which social and economic change was urgently required yet old traditional beliefs and racial hierarchies including the Jim Crow laws were kept firm in position. These beliefs along with other aspects including behavior are clearly represented in the novel which leads the reader to infer that the time and setting of To Kill a Mockingbird is the 1930s. There are various methods and pieces of evidence that we draw upon that leads to the conclusion that the setting of the novel takes place in the
Atticus says ‘the crash [of the 30s] hit them hardest’ with regards to farmers and thus the Cunninghams. The verb ‘hit’ has connotations of pain and suffering, which describes the Cunninghams as they are known to have ‘no money’. This description implies Marxism. Their poverty may affect their later behaviour - attempting to lynch Tom. They have a mob mentality and only turn back when Scout talks to Mr. Cunningham about his life. Furthermore, Scout notes in her narration that ‘most of’ the men wore ‘overalls’, referencing that they work on the land. As mentioned, the 'crash ' of the economy crippled such men. Hence, the Marxist ideal mentioned may explain their actions and thus the novel seems to be a Marxist