Analyse how setting was used to reinforce an idea in the written texts.

Harper Lee, the author of To Kill a Mockingbird, uses the different settings of Maycomb to reinforce the idea of the power prejudice holds over society. The settings within Maycomb such as the court, the school, the Finch house, all highlight different forms of prejudice, each of which essentially brainwashes society into accepting immoral things that go against basic human instinct. Having a basic understanding of what is right and wrong is the concept that becomes blurred to the society of Maycomb, except however for the children who are not yet used to such atrocities and see with clearer eyes. Inevitably, the society’s engrained beliefs catch up with the children which triggers a recurring cycle of prejudiced fuelled behaviour and actions. The harsh portrayal of the setting of Maycomb is a brutally honest depiction of the society in the 1930s and similar still to today as it becomes apparent that prejudice still holds a major place in our society.

 The court of Maycomb reinforces the cruel affects prejudice can have on people and society. “To begin with, this case should have never come to trial… The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence…”, this explained by Atticus is the factual side of Tom Robinson’s case, however to a society such as Maycomb it means almost nothing. The people of the court, the jury, the spectators, all entered the court with a pre-determined decision regarding Tom Robinson’s fate. To them, Tom is just black, therefore guilty. The racial prejudice the court of Maycomb have installed in their mindset, kills their ability to make a factual, simple and moral call. It becomes obvious that in this court of ‘justice’ it’s not a case of facts but as Atticus ironically states “…as simple as black and white.”. The setting of the court projects the time period of the 1930s, the ‘superior’ white race always coming before the blacks. Lee uses the racial prejudice expressed in the court to allow us as readers to understand the power prejudice can have on someone’s life, in this court, an innocent man’s life is ruined because of the idea society has constructed of him from years of oppression. We like to believe we have come so far in regards to racial prejudice and bias in the legal setting of court but, we really haven’t. A study in America showed that in a mock jury, people were more likely to find a black person guilty than a white person based on the exact same evidence and scenario, proving the power of prejudice is so strong it still reins today. As a black man, Tom receives belittlement and disrespect in all forms, almost in the courtroom accepts it without a second thought, even Scout accepts it justifying it to Dill saying “Well after all, he’s just a negro,” but Dill says “I don’t care one speck. It ain’t right, somehow it ain’t right to do em that way.”. Lee uses this to show that a child can see the wrongness of treating one human being with acceptance and respect and the other with the complete opposite, yet every other person in that court simply ignores it because they are filled with prejudiced ideas telling them that it’s ‘ok’. The setting of the court is Lee specifically referring to the history of the deep south in the 1930s, where Jim Crow Laws segregated blacks and whites in every aspect, constantly minimising the opportunity for some sort of equality. In the 1930s, a lot may have said it was a major step forward for their country, being years since slavery was abolished but it’s obvious as readers that it was still far beyond terrible and unfair for the black race. Something that needs to be recognised is that this exact setting we see in the novel is just as applicable to today. Sadly, the court of Maycomb, although a ‘fictional’ setting, is far too realistic to what it was and what it still is. Prejudice still holds the power and still blurs the clear line between right and wrong for too many people.

The setting of Maycomb as a whole, but specifically the school and the Finch house, provide an insight into the class prejudice that ultimately divides the town and well, society. To most people in the setting of Maycomb, including Jem, “There’s four kinds of folks in the world. The ordinary kind like us and the neighbours… the Cunningams… the Ewells… and the Negroes.” . During the great depression in the 1930s, poverty swamped the country leaving most without and a few with more. Race and class being the only factor separating the whole of society into ranks from being the respected to the trash. In Maycomb, the class of the Finches and their neighbours reside in nice houses, the part of Maycomb they live in is white and privileged, however, as soon as you move slightly out of the town setting you stumble into the Cunninghams, the Ewells and then even lower in the ranks, the black community, all of each are less privileged and poor than the next. The setting of Maycomb establishes the base of the class prejudice present. Classism is embedded into Maycomb through the use of setting, each class of this social hierachy to think they are better than the ones below. The Finch house subconsciously and some consciously recognise themselves as superior, as Aunt Alexandra tells Scout that she cannot hang out with Walter, “I’ll tell you why, Because- he- is- trash, that’s why you can’t play with him, picking up his habits and learning…”. The prejudiced ideas the higher class have constructed of the lower classes impends their ability to have basic decency, that we as humans are born with I believe, as even the most ‘respectable’ Aunt Alexandra, uses disgust to talk about the Cunninghams. Scout in both scenarios; Jem telling her there is ‘four kinds of folks’ and her aunt forbiding her to play with Walter, is yet susceptible to the mind-controlling prejudice as to her Maycomb has just ‘one type of folk’- elaborating on the idea that prejudice is taught and developed rather than born with, a cycle that Lee is trying to make us aware of. Education and being taught prejudice can be seen in what better setting than the school. The class prejudiced in school is explained in one sentence “He’s a Cunningham.”. The students in the class know exactly why Walter Cunningham won’t accept the money from his new-to-town teacher Miss Caroline because of the pre-conceived idea that they have of him and his ‘class’. Class prejudice consumes the whole of Maycomb and is portrayed through the obvious social hierarchy seen throughout the town, which is a true reflection of society in the 1930s.

Gender prejudice in the settings of the Finch house and the school are very apparent. Both settings highlight the reality of the prejudice a woman faces, note the use of present tense, as it’s clear that the prejudiced shown in these settings is still seen in our society today. Ironically, the school, a setting where children are sent to learn and be educated criticises not a boys but a girls ability to read and write. When Scout’s teacher found out she could, she “…looked at me (Scout) with more than faint distaste.”. Instead of admiring her intelligence, her teacher can only see the wrongness of it, this is a result of the prejudiced ideas of what a woman should be able to do, clouding ones proper judgment. The prejudice Scout faces is the result of years and years of the idea that women are there to ‘care’, and anything more is seen as a threat, such as her intelligence, because that’s not what women were ‘created’ for. In the 1930s women were expected to cook, clean and care for a family along with more prejudices such as the expectation to dress and act like a ‘lady’. Lee’s use of prejudice towards Scout in the School setting enforces the idea that it is something that is taught and developed, eventually turning into a continuous cycle. Scout as child doesn’t understand why she should have to pretend to not be able to read and write especially in a setting of education, however, the adults are just used to years of oppression by the male sex, which is another reality of then and now of the pressure women face to fit the prejudices, in the process hiding their talents and abilities. Contradicting this is another expectation that girls shouldn’t act like girls as they are ‘weak’, Jem ‘insults’ Scout by telling her “… Lord you’re gettin’ more like a girl every day!”. In the Finch house gender prejudice attempts to corrupt the mind of Scout from her brother and her aunt who are both controlled by prejudiced ideas of what she should be like. Jem’s comment implies that its bad to be a woman because they are weak, ladyish, etc. but then at the same time Aunt Alexandra harshly expects her to be a ‘lady’ . She is constantly nagging Scout in her own house telling her that ” I (Scout) wasn’t supposed to be doing things that required pants”. The two contradicting prejudices that are presented in the house of the Finches, the school, Maycomb all reinforce that society is never truly happy with women, all because they have allowed prejudiced ideas to fill their heads. Both prejudices involving gender and the expectations of a woman are so clearly wrong and anyone with clear eyes could see the immorality of trying to change someone’s way of living their life or condemning them for not falling into societies norm. Still, no one sees it because they are so used to their ‘way’, that the prejudices formed in their minds take complete control.

Maycomb, the school, the court, the Finch house, all provide an insight into the reality of the prejudice that controls society’s everyday life. Each setting reinforces the racism, sexism and classism that resides in our actual society, simply because we allow prejudiced ideas to consume the humane part of us that sees the difference between right and wrong. Lee reinforces the concept that prejudice is powerful enough to blatantly mind control someone, a result of time and the normality of it. She makes it clear that it’s a cycle that brainwashes us, with the children being the only way to break it through education and the ability to question societies norm.