Sunday, February 16, 2014

From the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, what attitudes prevail as a result of elements of the setting?

Setting: Alabama, post Civil War, pre Civil Rights
Movement.


Attitude: There are many terms to denote this
geographic region during this time period.  Among them are the "Old South" and the
"Bible Belt."


Keeping that in mind, the first prevailing
attitude is prejudice based largely on the hatred or fear of something different.  This
attitude is manifested in several ways.


-  Prejudice
against black people.  Examples: townspeople's reactions to Atticus taking Tom
Robinson's trial or Aunt Alexandra's reaction to the kids attending Calpurnia's church.

-  Prejudice against poor white people, or "trash."  Example: townspeople's
reactions to Bob Ewell.
-  Prejudice against social outcasts.  Example: Miss
Stephanie's gossip about the Radleys.


The second most
prevalent attitude is the idea of a double standard or an attitude of hypocrisy among,
for lack of a better term, high society.  This attitude is shown most overtly during
Aunt Alexandra's missionary society meeting.

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