Maycomb is a small town in Maycomb county, Southern Alabama. Prejudiced views and white supremacy were common to most Southern States. At the time of the Great depression most people were poor and did not know what was happening outside of the town. Harper Lee presents the problems she saw within society such as gender roles, prejudice, racism and need for courage.
Lee expresses the superiority of men in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’, as in the 1930s women were expected to stay at home. Scout is told by to Jem to be a gentleman but when Aunt Alexandra comes she is instructed to be a lady. Jem conveys these views when he says ‘I swear, Scout sometimes you act so much like a girl it’s mortifyin’.’
The use of alliteration brings emphasis on the plosive…show more content… He is speaking softly to Scout and does not use any plosive sounds. He emphasises the word ‘try’ as he knows he may not win the trial. Atticus alludes to the fact that you cannot judge people before you know them and see things from their perspective. You should have an independent judgement, not based on superficial ideas about the colour of someone’s skin but only the way they act. To explain this concept to Scout, Atticus says ‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view- until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.’ This declarative sentence contains the metaphor of not understanding someone’s actions until you see things from their point of view. This relates to the racist attitudes of Maycomb in ‘climb into his skin’ as they base prejudices on skin colour. This is unfair to people like Tom Robinson who are considered lower in class than people like the Ewell’s as they are white. Robert Ewell is ‘the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations’ and ‘spends his relief check on green