The Culture of Alabama in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

The Culture of Alabama in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

In this essay I will be attempting to answer the above question. "When

it's a white man's word against a black man's, the white man always

wins." This is the first point I will be looking at; racism. I will be

looking at different situations throughout the novel, how the views of

whites and blacks differ. This is the most important plot as it takes

up the main plot of the novel. I will also be looking at how the

community of Maycomb acts towards outsiders. In particular I will be

looking at Boo Radley. I will also be looking at how the community of

Maycomb treats Atticus when he decides to take the case of Tom

Robinson and defend a black man. For my third point I will be looking

at the attitudes of the Ewells, Cunninghams, and Finches towards

children and education. Another of my points of discussion will be

attitudes towards women, looking at Scout's clothes, the absence of

women on the jury, Mayella Ewell, and Mrs. Dubose. I will conclude by

discussing the ideas of communities: how do they help and support each

other and how do the outsiders fit in? These are the five points I

will be looking at.

So, to begin with racism. The main plot is based on racial prejudiced.

In Maycomb there are several different types of racism. Bob Ewell is

violently racist. Not only does he abuse Negroes behind their back, he

verbally assaults them to their face as well. He refers to them as

"niggers" and their houses as "nigger-nests." He thinks he will win

the court case based purely on the fact that he is white and Tom

Robinson is black.

The court case is the biggest white and black split in the novel. The

case is based on witness statements. There are two statements

supporting the claim that Tom assaulted Mayella, and one against it.

In fact, the whole court case is based on substantial evidence. The

black community support Tom and the white community support the