‘Analyse how setting was used to reinforce an idea in the written task’

Question – How was the town of Maycomb used to reinforce how prejudices are formed in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird?

1. School – Classism, Racism
2. Finch Household – Sexism
3. Courtroom – Racism

Thinking Points:

• How much of who we are is based on our upbringing?
• Humans are born with their minds as a blank slate. In Maycomb children develop prejudices as a means of fitting in to the way that society works. Over time the prejudices become so ingrained into them that holding these views become second nature
• If I was born in Maycomb in the 1930s would I have formed prejudices?
• Prejudice is often formed subconsciously
• Uses scout to expose the prejudices in the town, she is still a child so her perception, ideas and beliefs have not yet been fully formed yet
• Prejudices are formed by the people who raise us, education or often lack of, generalisations, stereotypes, being misinformed
• What were womens position in Society in the 1930
• Being a ‘girl’ is viewed by Scout as being something negative. Due to the negative connotation that Jem has placed on it and due to Aunt Alexandra’s idea of how a ‘proper woman’ should be.
• The formation of prejudices is a vicious cycle in the town of Maycomb, it gets passed down through the generation as the normal way of thinking.

Introduction

• “I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks” – Scout
• “There’s something in our world that makes men loose their heads, they couldn’t be fair if they tried” – Atticus

1. School – Classism, Racism

– School is a place where children should be educated so that they can change the world for the better. The school is window into the future of Maycomb. First hand witness to the social classes that exist in the town. The children are not taught to treat each person equally. What they are taught as children will shape who they are as adults. The prejudices in the town are not talked acknowledged by the teacher. Not taught that holding prejudices is bad. Teacher even neglects that they have formed prejudices (shown by quote about Hitler)

• “Miss Caroline, he’s a Cunningham” – Scout
• “Whole schools full of ’em, they come first day every year and then leave” – Scout
• “Over here we don’t believe in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced” – Mrs Gates

2. Finch Household – Sexism

Scout views being a girl as a bad thing. The idea that girls should attend tea parties and wear appropriate clothing. That they are not supposed to do anything worthwhile with their time. Aunt Alexandra tries to pass down her views of what a woman should be down to Scout. Children are impressionable so they will often believe what adults say. Subconsciously form prejudices. Aunt Alexandra is very easy to dislike because she so blatantly expresses her views (bad views). Lee uses the Finch household to show how prejudice can be formed even in the most innocent of places. So much ‘value’ is placed solely on appearance which is frankly crazy in my opinion because a person is so much more than their exterior.

• ‘Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches, when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn’t supposed to do things that required pants’ – Scout
• ‘I should be a ray of sunshine in my father’s life’ – Scout
• ‘Jem told me that I was being a girl , that girls always imagined things , that’s why other people hated them…’ – Scout
• ‘I declare to the Lord you’re gettin’ more like a girl every day!’ – Jem

3. Courtroom – Racism

Most people in the courtroom already thought that Tom Robinson was guilty just because he was black. White persons word over a black persons word. The children knew that what was happening was wrong because prejudice has not become ‘normal’ to them yet (Dill crying). The stereotypes that exists surrounding the black community. More likely for a black person to be pulled over than a white person because over time stereotypes have become over generalised and applied to all members of a community. How are stereotypes broken?

• “The one place where a man ought to get a square deal is in a courtroom, be he any colour of the rainbow, but people have a way of carrying their resentments right into a jury box.” – Atticus
• “I don’t know, but they did it. They’ve done it before and they did it tonight and they’ll do it again and when they do it—seems that only children weep.”
• “In our courts, when it’s a white man’s word against a black man’s, the white man always wins.  They’re ugly, but those are the fact of life. “
• “Tom was a dead man the minute Mayella Ewell opened her mouth and screamed”
• “It made me sick, plain sick.” – Dill (when My Gilmer was ‘so hateful’ towards Tom Robinson)