Historical Context in to Kill a MockingbirdJoin now to read essay Historical Context in to Kill a MockingbirdDavid MurtaghMs. RiccardoEnglish 12 Honors4 January 2008Historical Context from the 1930s in To Kill a Mockingbird“To Kill a Mockingbird [by Harper Lee] is a powerful commentary on racial injustice and small town life in the South. Harper Lees story has roots in real life experiences in the South during the 1930s” (Giddens-White). Lee uses what he knows from living in the south and the history of the south to create a realistic setting in the novel. To Kill a Mockingbird is about a young tom-boy, Scout, and her brother Jem who have a lawyer as their father, Atticus. A white woman accuses a black man, Tom Robinson, of rape despite the fact he did not do it. Atticus takes up the case despite the tension and problems it will cause. The jury however ignores blatant evidence and Tom is convicted based on racism alone. Tom then tries to escape from prison, or so were told, and is shot dead. The story is wrapped with racism, prejudice, and the general ideas of the south and way of life during this time. The historical context of the novel can be easily seen portrayed in the trial of Tom Robinson, the portrayal of social classes, and the treatment and actions of different races and gender in the nineteen thirties; the historical context can also be link into Harper Lees personal life and experiences.
There are many similarities between Lees trial in the novel, and the one that occurred in real life, the Scottsboro trials. The trials, as depicted by author Craig Bradley, began
On March 25, 1931, a freight train was stopped in Paint Rock, a tiny community in Northern Alabama, and nine young Black men who had been riding the rails were arrested. As two white women – one underage – descended from the freight cars, they accused the men of raping them on the train. Within a month the first man was found guilty and sentenced to death. (Bradley)
There are many things about the two trails are strikingly similar; The Scottsboro trial took place during the 1930s in a small town in Northern Alabama. The charges were rape and they were against a group of African-Americans by two white women, both of which were very poor and the older one was a prostitute. The jury, which consisted of all white men, over looked crucial evidence, for example “that the women suffered no injuries” (Bradley). The actions and attitudes of the Southern community in which the trial took place complicated the trial even more. After the guilty verdict, a judge and member of the Alabama Bar over turned the jurys guilty verdict in an attempt to protect the rights of the American-Americans. Like wise, the trial of Tom Robinson in the novel also took place in Alabama during the 1930s, however in a small town in the south. The charges were also against an African-American who was being accused of raping a poor white woman. The jury, just like in the Scottsboro trial, consists of all white residents of the town. The jury also ignores crucial evidence including that Tom Robison had a deformed, and useless left arm. The community in which the trial took place in also complicated the trial because of the racist beliefs and attitudes of the citizens. Similar to the judge in the Scottsboro trial, a local lawyer, Atticus Finish, defends Tom Robinson despite abuse he gets from his peers and the anger he causes in the community. Like the judge in the Scottsboro case, Atticus is a member of the Alabama Bar. The similarities in this case were obviously meant to be there and provided the reader with an insight to an actual example of this time period and what the people in the south believed in during this time. It showed the racist and biased views and treatments of the blacks, and how that effected everything up the highest power, the law.
Something else in the novel that represents the historical context is the different social classes. The socials classes are, from best to worst, the rich whites, the poor honest whites, the poor dishonest whites, and then the blacks. The rich white class was people like Atticus, Ms. Maudie, and Ms. Stephen. These were the people that had their own house and property and also were able to provide their families with food and necessities. Atticus, a lawyer, “derived a reasonable income from the law” (Lee 5) and his family “lived on the main residential street in town” (Lee 6) and even had a cook, Calpurnia. Another social class represented in the novel was the poor, but honest, whites. These are people like the Cunninghams, who are hard working farmers
, and who lived in a neighborhood that was often the very only street in town. They worked in factories, mills, etc., and had a job, as they did on the main street. The poor whites living in a typical place might have a home or house in an industrial-type establishment such as a shoe store, grocery store, etc., and they would have the same opportunity in an industrial work place when compared to an ordinary place, but they did not get any income. The honest whites living in urban centers have little in common with the rich whites, so no difference is noted, although the poor whites living in a place that is always open can easily make a huge difference. Atticus also had a job as a farmer, working as an insuranceman, or, according to his family name, as a manager, or a waiter, etc., and his family made a large living by farming a lot of hay. He took on a “grazing” job from age 2 with a husband and a father which brought a small increase in sales during the past five years. This amount is enough to buy his wife $7,500 before taxes, enough for his father.
The children of Atticus, Calpurnia and his wife and their children were orphans during her early childhood. For much of her life she lived in poverty. At one time he had been employed as a bank clerk and the child he married was brought out of the city of Baltimore. While attending school, she enrolled in Annapolis, and Atticus was there. Although Atticus often went to the city for his time as a bus worker, he did not do it for any other reason as children. On January 28, 1875, Atticus married the daughter of Mary J. Haller, and he married her on February 13, 1875. The children of Atticus were born on February 30, 1875, into the family of Richard Lee ‟ (“Lee 5) and Mary J. Haller which is the one family in the novels. When Atticus married Mary he received the full inheritance. Mary Jo Hutton began producing silk for sale soon after her father’s death and she was his first wife. Atticus, of course, has no real estate (he owned a small property, but had to build a house in order to get by), but was able to buy houses in and around Baltimore that were also there after his death. In 1875, Mary Ann Haller, who is still alive, has died. After Atticus married, Mary Ann Haller’s widow was his wife. From that time forward, all she had left of Annapolis was her second husband and her second son. She owned or moved 1 house in South Baltimore County, where Atticus was born during the last years of his family. Anne R. Howard became her second wife
(Lee 11)
in 1891 and her fourth son (Mary Ann Howard)