2.4 Essay Task

Throughout TKAM Harper Lee uses the setting to reinforce the idea of prejudice. The three types of prejudice that I will talk about are racial prejudice, class prejudice and gender prejudice. The two foremost ways that the setting reinforces the themes are through providing a link between the text and the reader’s own lives, and through a contrast between the setting and the theme.

The setting of the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is important in reinforcing the idea of Racial Prejudice. One scene in the book which really highlights the theme of Racial Prejudice is the courthouse scene. The main reasons for this are that the injustices and inequality that’s commonplace in 1930s America is emphasized due to the fair and just connotations that come with a courthouse. An example that displays this idea is when Atticus tells Jem and Scout that an unbiased trial is realistically impossible: “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 is talking about the injustices that Tom Robinson, the defendant, experiences throughout his trial and the Jury that is made up of white men who cannot see past his colour. Because of the fair and just connotation that the reader gets when they think about a courthouse, it is far easier for them to see the impurities that exist in the book’s courthouse scene; It is similar to the way that dirt is more obviously seen on white clothes. A quote that shows the subliminal racism apparent in the courthouse scene is: “The Negroes and Mr Dolphus Raymond stood up and dusted their breeches… They waited patiently at the doors behind the white families.” This quote shows the reader the racism and segregation that goes seemingly unnoticed by the white people of Maycomb. Just as we are expected nowadays to hold the door open for our elders it was a social norm/expectation in 1930s USA that black people were to enter the building last. This idea is backed up by the quote from Dolphus Raymond: “Cry about the simple hell people give other people — without even thinking. Cry about the hell white people give coloured folks, without even stopping to think that they’re people, too.” It reinforces the idea that racism is normalised in the town of Maycomb as well as the rest of America. The setting of this scene is important as it makes the prejudice stand out due to the contrasting connotations that are associated with the courthouse. This is an important feature for this scene to have as the book is directed at everyday Americans in an era that is still deeply riddled with prejudices. The book needs to make the subliminal prejudice stand out, as it paramount that readers can question their own actions and gain a different perspective on controversial race issues of the time. For this reason, I believe that one of the main purposes of Harper Lee for writing this book was to enlighten and give perspective to a reader with prejudiced/opposing views.

Class prejudice is an idea prominent in To Kill A Mockingbird and is reinforced throughout the text by the setting. The main scene that demonstrates this is the school/home scene. In this scene, the different classes in Maycomb are explained by the children in their own perspectives. The setting is important in this scene as it helps to reinforce the ideas of class prejudice by showing the reader the normalisation of the ideas. One of the first places where class prejudice crops up is in the Maycomb School. The children are trying to explain to the teacher some of the class separation ideas that they find to be straight forward. For example, Walter Cunningham tells the teacher that he has forgotten his lunch but will not accept money from her to buy lunch. Scout tries to explain to the teacher why he will not borrow the money: ” “Miss Caroline, he’s a Cunningham.” I sat back down. “What, Jean Louise?” I thought I had made things sufficiently clear.” For the children, the Cunningham name is a sufficient explanation for Walter not borrowing money. The setting of the book being in 1930’s USA reinforces the idea of prejudice because it shows the reader the reality of the themes. For example, if Harper Lee had tried to communicate the same themes of prejudice and class separation in a book where the setting did not reflect them, it would make the ideas seem abstract, out of place and unbelievable. The themes are effectively delivered in the text and it is easy for the reader to make the connection between the text and the setting and their own lives when the setting of the book relates to both the themes and the reader’s lives. Another example from the text where class prejudice is apparent and reinforced by the setting of the book is: “The thing about it is, our kind of folks don’t like the Cunninghams, the Cunninghams don’t like the Ewells, and the Ewells hate and despise the coloured folks.” This quote shows the reader Jem’s clear understanding of the Maycomb Class system and it really demonstrates the theme of class prejudice. The setting is important to this quote as it gives the reader context. It is much easier for the reader to interpret the quote when they have prior knowledge of the nature of 1930’s southern USA and can make a more accurate decision on the authenticity/relevance of the theme. This brings me to Harper Lee’s purpose. When the text was published in 1960 it was designed to raise awareness about the still present race, class and gender issues of that time. Harper Lee’s intention was for the reader to relate the obvious social issues of the 1930s to their own time and think more about the way they acted. The setting reinforces the idea of class prejudice because it provides both context and a connection between the reader’s own life and the book.

The main settings that reinforce the theme of Gender Prejudice occur in the Finch family home and the courthouse. The setting of the book helps to reinforce the theme of Gender Prejudice because it provides context for the characters actions and statements. In the courthouse, Scout asks why women can’t be on the jury: “For one thing, Miss Maudie can’t serve on a jury because she’s a woman -” “You mean women in Alabama can’t—?” I was indignant.“I do. I guess it’s to protect our frail ladies from sordid cases like Tom’s. Besides,” Atticus grinned, “I doubt if we’d ever get a complete case tried—the ladies’d be interrupting to ask questions.” This quote addresses both the inequality between men and women as well as the stereotype that women talk too much. The setting of this quote is both the courthouse and 1930s Alabama. The courthouse setting reinforces the gender prejudice scene by emphasizing the inequality in a place of equality. The 1930s Alabama setting reinforces the theme of gender prejudices by providing context to the reader about the way people thought and acted in that time. The other scene that shows obvious gender prejudice is in the finch family house. “Aunt Alexandra’s vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born” This quote demonstrates some of the stereotypes that were commonplace in any family home in the 1930s. When Lee wrote TKAM in the 1950s-60 people were becoming more progressive and although sexism was not at the same level as the 1930s it still existed. American readers would easily be able to link the sexist stereotypes in the book to their own lives and hopefully try to regress the stereotypes of the 1930s. The setting reinforces this idea as it helps to provide a link between the book and the reader’s lives. Throughout the book, Lee’s purpose was to make the reader think more about their own lives and actions in relation to the actions of the characters in the book.

In this essay, I have talked about three different types of prejudice and how the setting has reinforced each of them in the text. The first type of prejudice that I discussed was racial prejudice which was mainly reinforced by the setting because it contrasted the themes. The second type of prejudice that I presented was class prejudice which was reinforced by the setting because it provided a link between the book/themes and the reader’s own life. The third type of prejudice that I addressed was gender prejudice which was reinforced by the setting because it both provided contrast and a link between the book and the reader’s life. Overall I believe that Lee’s purpose throughout the book was to wake the readers up to the reality that prejudice still exists in their own lives and she effectively used the setting to link the text to the reader’s lives.