Introduction
“To Kill a Mockingbird” exhibits several social classes. These social classes are defined by the people’s skin color as well as their occupation. The three general forms of social classes are the high class, middle class, and low class. Atticus, the father to Scout and Jem, falls under the highest social class. This is because Atticus is a lawyer by profession, therefore making him a highly respected person in the Maycomb community. Atticus is also white, which makes him belong to this class.
Additionally, his children, Scout and Jem are also part of this social class. Atticus’ children possess a strong sense of morality and justice. Atticus demonstrated racial equality by choosing to defend Tom Robinson, who had been charged with rape. Lastly, Atticus falls in this social class because he holds strong convictions, wisdom, and empathy – which is the moral backbone of the story. Also, belonging to this social class meant that one should treat other white people with lesser status kindly.
Calpurnia, on the other hand, is part of the wealthy or middle-class black people. She is part of this class because of her skin color. She bears all characteristics of a proper southern lady, and she portrays upright manners. Calpurnia is accorded high respect and exhibits good relations with the Finch family. She would be part of Atticus’ social class if she were not black. Lastly, the other social class is the poor and black people. Lula falls under this social class. She is a shame to the black people because of her adamant racial discrimination by claiming that black people should hold a boundary and stick to their community. She also claims that the whites should stay with their community as well. Lula is harsh and shallow to Calpurnia (who bears same skin color as her) and she is harsh to two innocent kids because they are white. The characters in the novel depict a very interesting relationship between white people and black. Most of the black people are mature and have much more class because they accept themselves plus their status. The blacks are used to being denied the credit to their work and always settle for less. They tolerate all that because it is a white man’s world. However, not all whites fall under the same social class because white people do not treat each other equally, thereby bringing about the aspect of various social classes.
The Maycomb society is a functioning, balanced society because of the good and evil illustrated by the characters. The town is filled with racism and prejudice, which is well depicted by the Ewells against the African Americans, the likes of Mr. Robinson. On the other hand, the good is portrayed by the Finches and the Radleys, who opted to stand for morality and justice. The novel, in general, explains the question as to whether people are inherently good or intrinsically evil. The plot captures the thinking of Scout and Jem as transitioning from a perspective of childhood innocence to a more adult perspective. At first, Scout and Jem assumed that people were good because they had never encountered evil. They get to experience evil after Robinson’s case.
The Moral Voice of the Story
The moral voice of the story is captured by Atticus Finch, who happens to have experienced evil and has come to understand evil without losing his faith in the human capacity for goodness. Atticus understands that no matter a person’s race, they bear good and bad qualities. He believes in appreciating the good in people and treating them with sympathy as well and trying to reason from their point of view. He teaches that to his children, who gradually grasp that and help in Robinson’s case. Again, Boo Radley supports the fight against evil when he helps Jem from being harmed by the Ewells.
Racism, hate, and prejudice are depicted by Bob Ewell, who frames Mr. Robinson for raping their daughter. This happens only because Mr. Robinson is black, and he, Bob, hates the black community. The further evil character is exhibited by Bob when he chooses to go after the Finches following the trial. He feels that the judge, as well as Atticus, made a fool out of him. Bob attempts to attack Jem, but then Boo Radley comes to the rescue. Based on these events, it can be seen how Maycomb society is a functioning, balanced society. It had characters ready to fight evil – which is manifested through hate and racism/prejudice against the African Americans, whereas some propagate the evil actions. The Finches and Radleys stood for good, whereas Ewell represents evil.
Conclusion
There are drawn lines of power between the characters in the novel, and the class division manifests this. The Finches, headed by Mr. Atticus, are top of the pyramid – the education level of their father gives them a position in the high social class. As such, the Finches family has the power to stand for its rights if they are violated. For this reason, Atticus chooses to represent Mr. Tom during his case in court. He does not fear the isolation from the rest of the whites because he believes in fighting for the good regardless. The other lot that lacks power in the society is the African Americans, the likes of Tom and Calpurnia. However, Calpurnia is hard working and works for the Finches family, and so bears some privilege for working for a white family.
On the other hand, Tom, is accused for rape by Mr. Bob Ewell and is taken to court. Tom gets charged for rape even after being represented by Mr. Atticus who bears civilizing powers. This shows how the black are powerless over the whites in front of the justice system. Tom faces the limitations of being part of a low social class and gets jailed. Mr. Bob gets away with such a false accusation against Tom with no further investigation – his word is trusted by the court instead.
