The gap between the rich and poor can have more of an effect on society, then some may think. “To Kill a Mockingbird” holds many examples of socioeconomic inequalities. Since “To Kill a Mockingbird” the effect of these economic inequalities have not gotten better. Society is still receiving consequences from the inequality going on now. Socioeconomic inequalities can have an effect on education, economic growth and mental health. In “To Kill a Mockingbird” Harper Lee’s character, Scout, asks her aunt if she can play with a boy who is in a lower income family. Her Aunt responds with “ ’Because-he-is-trash, that’s why you can’t play with him’” (225 Lee). The time “To Kill a Mockingbird” was set in each social class stayed within their social class, “Every town the size of Maycomb had …show more content…
Many who have disagreed about the huge effect of the growing socioeconomic inequality and/or income inequality, have argued with the suggestion that this inequality can benefit today’s world. Tejvan Pettinger, an economics teacher, argues, “If someone works harder and as a consequence receives a higher wage then this is not market failure.” He suggests that by rewarding hard workers there will be a “boost of productivity” which then he goes on will “lead to a higher output.” Another argument is if workers can get extra income, that it can ’trickle down’ to others. An example of this is if an entrepreneur sets up a business he may become a millionaire, but also will create jobs and provide income for other workers. There may be a gap between highest and lowest earners. But, the lowest earners are still better off than without the entrepreneur. The final argument critics might use is that people deserve to have a high income if they work for it. An example would be if a top football player gets paid $100,000 a week, this is a reflection that people are willing to pay that kind of money to watch
It is acknowledged by many readers that there are many different social classes in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ written by Harper Lee and published in 1960. One of the most obvious social class distinctions is between skin colors, which can be seen through this novel. Since most readers’ focal point of this novel is on the distinctions between skin colors, they are unlikely to pay attention to the difference in social class within the white community. Lee wants to illustrate a contrast in white society and how characters behave differently through the uses of character foil, characterization, and the theme of society inequality in order to emphasize the differences in social classes.
song, we characterize it only by what the other birds sing. Hence, we see the
Social Justice There are many responsibilities and duties that one should fulfill to rid the world of social injustices and inequalities but if no one doesn’t step in then how is this issue supposed to be put to rest? In To Kill a Mockingbird, the fictional town of Maycomb County isn’t a perfect little town but one that is filled with racist, critical, and judgmental people with no morals. On the other hand, there are people like Atticus Finch who do what they believe is right. Atticus filled his responsibility for this issue by defending Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping Mayella Ewell. This was a pivotal moment in the book because Atticus took the case when no one else in Maycomb would because they are too afraid and racist to defend a man like Tom Robinson, an African American.
Long ago, everyone lived in harmony. Then everything changed when people from Europe took slaves from Africa which ended up in America. Only Harry S Truman, angry from lynching events, could stop inequality in the 1930s. But when he was needed the most, his term hadn’t started yet. “I believe in brotherhood….of all men before the law….if any (one) class or race can be permanently set apart from, or pushed down below the rest in politics and civil rights, so may any other class or race……and we say farewell to the principles on which we count our safety…….The majority of our Negro people find but cold comfort in our shanties and tenements. Surely, as free men, they are entitled to something better than this” (Harry Truman and Civil Rights). To
Racism is a huge problem around the world. It ruins lives and makes people not want to live because of all the disgusting effects that come with it. The worst thing about racism is that people can’t control what color skin they have and how they look but people still judge them and don’t respect them. Racism discriminates characters because discriminates characters because it prevents, equal respect, equal laws / rights, and equal fairness.
America has drastically changed throughout the years and has improved to become better. Although the past has problems with gender, socio-economics, age and ethnicity. The main problem that was in the past that even still happens today is ethnicity. Ethnicity inequality was a big problem involving African Americans, but are slowly changing today. Back in the days, racism was a huge problem that we had. Black people were slaves and treated poorly. Segregation has been a cause for an example, School and busses were separated by skin color. There were two schools, one for white skinned and one for the black skins. They even had separate drinking fountains and sit sat in the back of the busses. They were sometimes openly abused just for doing nothing. It’s
In a desperate attempt to save his client, Tom Robinson, from death, Atticus Finch boldly declares, “To begin with, this case should never have come to trial. This case is as simple as black and white” (Lee 271). The gross amounts of lurid racial inequality in the early 20th century South is unfathomable to the everyday modern person. African-Americans received absolutely no equality anywhere, especially not in American court rooms. After reading accounts of the trials of nine young men accused of raping two white women, novelist Harper Lee took up her pen and wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, a blistering exposition of tragic inequalities suffered by African Americans told from the point of view of a young girl. Though there are a few trivial differences between the events of the Scottsboro trials and the trial of Tom Robinson portrayed in To Kill a Mockingbird, such as the accusers’ attitudes towards attention, the two cases share a superabundance of similarities. Among these are the preservation of idealist views regarding southern womanhood and excessive brutality utilized by police.
In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, housing inequality is readily apparent and is vividly described in the description of the “Negro settlement.” Even the fact that the white townspeople call it a settlement makes it clear they do not want it to be part of the town of Maycomb. The inequality goes beyond just the housing, affecting many aspects of how the African Americans are forced to live.
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird expresses the ideology that the social standard of a particular individual, classifies their status in the world. Individuals placed in social classes are labeled to create a sense of social identity. The socio-economic class an individual is born into should not be the determining factor of how the individual is regarded and treated, however, their character and personality should be a primary factor in determining how they are thought of in society.
In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Lee uses setting and point of view to highlight the social inequality in the African American community and the outcasts. The novel being set in Alabama in the 1930s emphasizes the social inequality because of the history of racial tension towards the African American community. During the trial, Mr. Gilmer is questioning Tom Robinson on why he would do work for Mayella Ewell and not ask for money, Tom responds, “Yes, suh. I felt right sorry for her, she seemed to try more’n the rest of’ em-’
As a contemporary theme, it is only natural that prejudice is a dominant theme in the illustrious contemporary classic; To Kill a Mockingbird. Here, Harper Lee exploits the 1930s Southern setting to artfully exhibit the theme of prejudice, demonstrating the profound adverse impact such an attitude has on society. This awarded novel divulges the tale of a lawyer’s fight to save a Negro man from imprisonment after he was accused of rape in the deeply Southern town of Maycomb. Class prejudice is a prevalent theme throughout, with many members of this community holding flagrant classist ideals. Perhaps most notable of these members, is Aunt Alexandra; with her unapologetic discriminatory statements and utter non-acceptance of any individual of lower class than her own central to her character.
To Kill A Mockingbird is a dramatic story about human behavior- cruelty, love, compassion, and hatred. The sweet family of 3 lives in the Southern town of Maycomb County. Atticus, the father, Scout Finch, and Scout’s brother, Jem. The Finch family lives in the time period of the Great Depression. Atticus still has his job as a lawyer and that’s when he realizes one of the greater themes of the story- The Existence of Social Inequality.
For as long as America has been around social and racial injustice has been everlasting throughout this country. The promise that “all men are created equal” has been broken throughout time. The racial and social wrongdoing of African Americans essentially began during the late 18th century and has been ongoing to this day. Even through all of this oppression the blacks of America will persevere. In Harper Lee’s, To Kill A Mockingbird , the reader is engulfed into a world where social and racial injustice is prevalent.
Author Greg IP, describes real pay as the amount an individual makes in monetary terms after accounting for inflation. The logic behind this theory is that “the more a worker produces for his employer, the more he’ll earn” (Ip, 2013, p. 58). Greg Ip, provides an example of this theory and its dilemma in his book titled The Little Book of Economics: How the Economy Works in the Real World. Greg Ip, states that “someone with a backhoe can dig more than someone with a shovel”, therefore it may be expected that the employee who produces more is compensated respectively (Ip, 2013, p. 58). However, the employment world does not always guarantee that the highly productive employee will benefit more than the employee with less productivity and often it is the “employer” who gains the capital profitability in this employment agreement and other times it is even the consumer of the product or
Income inequality continues to increase in today’s world, especially in the United States. Income inequality means the unequal distribution between individuals’ assets, wealth, or income. In the Twilight of the Elites, Christopher Hayes, a liberal journalist, states the inequality gap between the rich and the poor are increasing widening, and there need to have things done - tax the rich, provide better education - in order to shortening the inequality gap. America is a meritocratic country, which means that everybody has equal opportunity to be successful regardless of their class privileges or wealth. However, equality of opportunity does not equal equality of outcomes. People are having more opportunities to find a better job, but their incomes are a lot less compared to the top ten percent rich people. In this way, the poor people will never climb up the ladder to high status and become millionaires. Therefore, the government needs to increase all the tax rates on rich people in order to reduce income inequality.