ToKillaMockingbirdWritingTask

ToKillaMockingbird
byHarperLeeisnovelaboutayounggirlwho
growsupinthetownofMaycombduringtheperiodoftheGreatDepression.She
meetsmanynewpeopleandgoesthroughmanysituationsthathelpherbetter
understandtheworld,andwhatgrowingupisabout.Maycombhasagreat
impactonallofthecharacter'sdailylivesandaffectstheminvariousways.
Maycombsroleinthenovelistoshapethecharacters,alongwithlabelingthem
intoaspecificsocialclassandstatus.
Maycombisatownlikeanyotherandduringthistimeperiod,oldcustoms
andtraditionsareinplace.ThesocietyofMaycombstickstoolderwayoflife.
Leeexplicitlystates,
"IfUncleAtticusletsyourunaroundwithstraydogs,that'shis
ownbusiness,likeGrandmasays,soitain'tyourfault.Iguessitain'tyourfaultifUncle
Atticusisaniggerloverbesides,butI'mheretotellyouitcertainlydoesmortifytherest
ofthefamilyJustwhatIsaid.Grandmasaysit'sbadenoughheletsyouallrunwild,but
nowhe'sturnedoutaniggerloverwe'llneverbeabletowalkthestreetsofMaycomb
agin.He'sruinin'thefamily,that'swhathe'sdoin'.(Lee,98)Thisquotesimportance
comesfromhowbothScoutandAtticusareseenbytheFinchfamilyandtherestof
society.AsAtticusbecomesaniggerlover,heisseenasadisgrace,andallprior
respecthasbecomeembarrassmentfromhisfamily.Thewholetowntalksabouthim
heisseenasatraitoralthoughheisonlyfollowinghisprofessionsguidelines.Also
Scoutisnotasfeminineassheisexpectedandrequiredtobe.Shedoesntfollowthe
protocolthatallyoungwomenshouldbefollowingtheirentirelives.AtticusandScout
arequestionedandmockedforthechoicesandmistakestheymakeinMaycomb.This
showshowthetownshapestheirchoicesandlivestobeorderlyandwhatisseenas
sociallyacceptable.

Maycombscitizensareunique,andallhavetheirownhistories.Many
familieshavelivedthereforgenerationshadhavecreatedreputationsthatare
goodorbad.
Leestates,TherewasindeedacastesysteminMaycomb,buttomy
minditworkedthisway:theoldercitizens,thepresentgenerationofpeoplewhohad
livedsidebysideforyearsandyears,wereutterlypredictabletooneanother:theytook
forgrantedattitudes,charactershadings,evengestures,ashavingbeenrepeatedin
eachgenerationandrefinedbytime.ThusthedictaNoCrawfordMindsHisOwn
Business,EveryThirdMerriweatherIsMorbid,TheTruthIsNotintheDelafields,Allthe
BufordsWalkLikeThat,weresimplyguidestodailyliving:nevertakeacheckfroma
DelafieldwithoutadiscreetcalltothebankMissMaudieAtkinson'sshoulderstoops
becauseshewasaBufordifMrs.GraceMerriweathersipsginoutofLydiaE.Pinkham

bottlesit'snothingunusualhermotherdidthesame.(Lee,175)
Thisquoteshows

howthepeopleofMaycombarealllabeledinonewayoranother.Eachcitizenis
judgedduetotheiractionsortheirpastgenerationpatterns,whichareseenas
weirdoroutofplace.InthisquoteAlexandraknowsallthefamiliesintheir
neighborhoodandpointsouttheirusualactionsasanaturallyoccurringdisease
thatrunsthroughoutthefamily.Aseveryoneknowseachotherasneighbors,
theyhavebecomecloseenoughtoknowtheireveryaction.WhereasAlexandra
pointsouttheflawsineachfamily.Despitethis,thecastesystemcanalsobe
projectedthrougheachfamily's,socialstatusandsocialclass.TheCunninghams
andEwellshavelowersocialclassesthanmostotherfamiliesbecausetheyare
veryunfortunate.Theyareputinthelowerbranchofthecastesystem,although
thisdependsonwealthmorethanactualcaste.Moreimportantly,thetownis
madeupofthesocietyofMaycomb.Thesocietyalsorecognizestheirneighbors
andcreatestheirsocialstatus.TheCunninghamsandEwellsareinthesame
socialclass,butareplacedinadifferentsocialclassbecauseoftheirreputation,
hardwork,andhonesty.TheEwellsareseenaslazytrashbecauseoftheir
actionsandtheymannertheypresentthemselvesas.AlsoAtticussocialstatus
changesthesecondthecommunityofMaycombdiscoversthatheisprotecta
negroonhisownfreewill.ThisshowshowMaycombcanbequicktomake
decisions,andcanalsochangethewayapersonisviewedentirely.
Inconclusion,Maycombmakesahugeimpactonitssocietyandcitizens.
Asthetownisthepeopleitself,thisaffectsthelivesofpeopleimmediately
withouthesitation.AtticusandScoutarefewexamplesofpeoplebeingshaped
bythetownbecausetheyareenvisionedinanegativewaybysociety,which
forcesthemtobelievetheyhavemadeamistakeorarenotcivilized.Alsothe
samepeoplechangehoweachandeverypersoninMaycombisviewedby
judgingtheirdecisionsortheirwealth.Finally,wecanseeMaycombhasamajor
impactonitspeoplebyacknowledgingthatfactthateveryoneiskeptinline
becausetheywanttobecomesociallyacceptable.Noonewantstobedifferent
orleftoutsotheypresentthemselvespositivelytobenormalinMaycomb.