Question 1 - Discuss the social dynamics in Maycomb. How many classes does their appear to be? Who represents them? What kind of representations do these provide the reader?
In Maycomb there are three apparent social classes that are introduced in the first part of the book. Although there are four classes, it is obvious that none of the classes have very much money as everyone was hurt greatly by The Great Depression.
The first (and highest) class would include the Finch’s, Miss Maudie Atkinson, Miss Stephanie. These are the people that live in town and as Scout noted, they are older. They are preferably government officials (like Heck Tate) or white collar workers (like Atticus).
The next class are the poor whites, which could arguably be subdivided into two groups (the honourable and the dishonourable). People like the Cunningham’s never take more then they can give back. Also, Little Chuck Little is also noted by Scout to be a gentleman. The Ewells on the other hand are a loss cause and no one in the town bothers to fight with them anymore. The Ewell’s hunt during off season and their children never attend school. The lower class white people own land. They can’t pay workers to tend their farms, so their children have to take off the spring and never pass in school, although the Ewell’s do not bother going to school.
The final class are the African Americans. Although they were no longer slaves, the white people (like Mrs. Dubose) still did not regard the African Americans as people. Mrs. Dubose referred to Atticus as a “n word-lover” even though she had Jessie, a black maid and companion who took care of her until her death. In the first part of the book, there is not a lot known about the African Americans, but they do introduce two African American maids (Calpurnia and Jessie) and one man that Atticus is defending in court (Tom Robinson) but they don’t go into many details about their lives.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5WIexiYeQg
(Sorry I could not figure out how to embed a video on Tumblr)
This song is called The Beauty of Grey by Live.
The lyrics “The perception that divides you from him/Is a lie/For some reason you never asked why/This is not a black and white world/You can’t afford to believe in your side” represent the ignorance of some people in Maycomb and the racial divide and social divide between African Americans and Caucasians in the south.
Question 3 - The Children are afraid of Boo but are also compelled to know him. Discuss their curiosity and courage as both a hallmark of youth and as character traits that promote learning and development. (Poetic Response)
In the Radley house lived Boo,
His presence overdue,
The children were afraid,
They thought in the chimney he decayed,
Miss Maudie gave her point of view.
Dill, Scout and Jem grew curious,
At times they made Atticus furious,
They played as the Radley’s,
Which scared Scout badly,
The letter they wrote was perjurious.
Their childish bravery and interest,
Could leave Atticus distressed,
It defined the sunny days,
They grew in many ways,
Their personalities lead their quests.
