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... em not only between races, but also within races. In To Kill a Mockingbird, there are many caste systems represented. There are the apparent and standard castes, but when one looks deeper, there is more the meets the eye.
The upper class consists of the members of the Missionary Society, Atticus, Dr. Reynolds, Judge Taylor, and so on. (Bloom, p. 42) The Middle class consists of nameless individuals who flesh out Miss Lees story- Braxton Underwood, the owner-editor of The Maycomb Tribune, or Mr. Sam Levy. (Bloom, p. 42) Others such as The Cunningham's are another group of middle class people. The lower class said by Aunt Alexandra as trash is mainly made up of the Ewell's, who, though more slovenly than the supposedly slovenliest of the blacks, still possess the redeeming grace of a white skin. (Bloom, p. 42) Other then the main castes, there is also a smaller no so perceptive caste system that is recognized by certain people, not groups of people. The Finches are at the top of the social order. They are treated the best out of all the other castes.
The second highest family is the Cunningham's. They arent the richest or the smartest people in Maycomb, but they do repay for anything that they take. In Maycomb the lowest of the white people would be the Ewell's. The children run wild, the father is an alcoholic and lives off welfare, and the children do not attend school. The Ewell's may be the lowest on the white caste system, but the arent considered to be the lowest in all of Maycomb. The blacks are considered to lower then the Ewell's.
This idea has no simple explanation except the basic idea that they are black. Finally, at the bottom of the caste system, is the mixed race. These people come from the blacks and whites that are daring enough, in this prejudice community, to marry and have children of a mixed race. At the top of the social standings are the Finches. They are considered the highest because of the way the act toward others. Atticus is persistently treating Jem and Scout like mature adults.
This shows their maturity in all of the different situations during the story. When Atticus gave Scout and Jem the guns for Christmas, he says to them, I would rather you shot at tin cans in the backyard, but I know you will go after birds but remember its a sin to kill a mockingbird. (Lee, p. 94) This quote not only shows Atticus care for the mockingbird, but also his trust and confidence in Scout and Jem. The group that precedes the Finches is the Cunningham's. Walter Cunningham plays a small but important role in To Kill a Mockingbird. A farming family, the Cunningham's caste position is above that of the blacks and the Ewell's but below Atticus and the Finch family.
Honest and hard working, Walter Cunningham and his son are respectable community members who represent the potential in everyone to understand right from wrong despite ignorance and prejudice. Aunt Alexandra describes the Ewell's as the dregs (Lee) of Maycomb. An evil, ignorant man, Bob Ewell belongs to the lowest substratum of Maycomb society. He lives with his nine motherless children in a shack near the town dump. Bob Ewell is known as A drunken, permanently unemployed member of Maycomb's poorest family (sparknotes.
com). They receive welfare checks, which Bob uses to support his alcohol problem. In the 1930 s, blacks were considered to be the lowest of all the people in the world. They were treated like garbage. The black people were separated from the whites and the rest of the community (Bloom, p. 2).
Even though the whites were disregarded from the black community, the Finches were allowed in. The Sunday before the trial of Tom Robinson, Atticus, Jem, and Scout went to the Negro church for prayer. Even though several blacks looked at them weird, they were accepted with open arms. In the south, there were the few blacks that did mingle with the whites.
This meant that there were some biracial children in the south. These people werent accepted anywhere. The whites wouldnt take them because they are black, and the blacks wont take them because they are white. These people were considered to be the scum of the south. Not a soul accepted them into their community.
In To Kill a Mockingbird, there was a very powerful caste system that was developed in Maycomb. All families and people were separated into different groups of importance. Even though prejudice is still happening all over America today, there is a real substratum of class of the people. The only difference between the social orders in To Kill a Mockingbird and real life is that in the book, people were forced into these classes.
In the real world, there are mainly 4 classes: the rich, the upper of the middle-class, the lower of the middle-class, and those who cant support themselves. The rich people are people that earn a lot of money and live in luxury. They arent always rich snobs, but their behavior is, in fact, very different then that of anyone else this type of people is best portrayed by Miss Made. She had that entire house to herself, and in an obnoxious way she said that the house was too big anyway. The upper of the middle-class is made up of those people who have enough money to live in a good house and support their family well. They act like the average person.
Always caring for others, giving to the need, and doing whatever they can do to make people happy. The Finches best portray the middle class group. Atticus gladly supported Tom Robinson when he needed help. The lower part of the middle-class is made up of the people that can barely support themselves.
They can make themselves and sometimes others happy, but they are out to keep themselves around. The Cunningham's represent this the best. They always repay with what they take. Even though they arent out to impress anyone, they still have hope for a good future. The lowest of them all are the people that are constantly fighting with one another; namely the Ewell's. They dont support themselves or their families.
The money that they make is spent inadequately. As with Bob Ewell, they might spend the money on alcohol. Even though To Kill a Mockingbird portrays a very vivid caste system, one might need to look harder into the story to realize its true meaning. Bibliography: Altman, Dorothy Jewell.
Harper Lee. Dictionary and Literary Biography. Gale Research Company, 1980, 180 - 83. Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Interpretations. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 1998 Dave, R.
A. To Kill a Mockingbird: Harper Lees tragic vision. Indian Studies in American Fiction. The Macmillan Company, 1974, 311 - 23. Erisman, Fred. The Romantic Regionalism of Harper Lee.
The Alabama Review. April, 1973, 122 - 36 Going, William T. Store and Mockingbird. Two Pulitzer novels about Alabama. Essays on Alabama Literature. The University of Alabama Press, 1975, 9 - 31.
Johnson, Claudia. To Kill a Mockingbird: threatening boundaries. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1994, xi-xiv. Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Warner Books, 1982 Margaritopoulou, Cleopatra.
Symbolism and allegory in Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird. Chebucto. ns. ca / culture /harper lee / cleo . html web
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Research essay sample on The Caste System In To Kill A Mockingbird
