To Kill A Mockingbird Social Status Essay

582 Words2 Pages

The Negative Effects of Social Status “An individual’s or group’s position within a hierarchical social structure.” This is the definition of socioeconomic status, a concept that directs almost every aspect of your life. Wherever you are, there exists a social scale exists that impacts you. As a student and young woman who is not of the Caucasian race, I have experienced and seen many problems with the ranking pyramid our communities are based upon. The negative effects social hierarchies have imposed upon our society are problems we need to fix. This web that has dominated the commonwealth produces unfavourable effects on interaction, emotions, and crime rates. Without a doubt, social inequality creates an unnecessary divide within our communities, spawning an imbalance in education, wealth, and occupation. The gap between the rich and the poor has expanded since they generally do not interact with each other. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Aunt Alexandra does not allow Scout to invite Walter Cunningham over for dinner because she believes it is a disgrace to their family name; preventing her niece from being friends with someone for the sole reason of him being poor. Therefore, career, income, and schooling differences are a poison produced by our positions on the social scale. Furthermore, the According to Adam Waytz, low-status individuals often have a higher tendency towards violent behaviour. People of a lower class are likely to be in need, prompting them to take desperate measures in order to attain what they want and responding in an undignified manner when they do not. After the trial of Tom Robinson in To Kill A Mockingbird, Bob Ewell targets the people involved with the trial because he did not receive the recognition he was striving for. Individuals of a lower ranking are more likely to respond with violence, inducing a threat you and others in your

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