Most people in today's world are always running around all over the place, always with places to be and things to do, and often times, they do not take the time to get to know their neighbors. This was not the case during the early 1930's. Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird" takes place during the Great Depression, which was a massive global economic recession that hit the United States the hardest, and many people barely had enough money for the basics, so they usually walked to wherever they were going and did not drive often. This limited how far they could travel, so they ended up interacting with the same people pretty much all the time. Because they were so close to their neighbors, whenever someone was in trouble, they would come together and help them, proving that they are really not evil people.Throughout her novel "To Kill A Mockingbird", Harper Lee shows how the people of Maycomb, Alabama will come together and help each ot ...view middle of the document...
However, by the end of the story, the reader finds out she is really not that bad, especially when she is told about Tom Robinson's death. She does not act happy about it like the black people have been "put in their place," but is actually kind of upset that the case ended the way it did (Lee 268). A third character who is severely misjudged is Arthur "Boo" Radley. No one has seen him for years, so the townspeople invent wild fabrications about him, which could not possibly be true. One person especially guilty of this is Miss Stephanie Crawford. "According to Miss Stephanie, Boo was sitting in the livingroom...[and] as Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent's leg...Miss Stephanie said old Mr. Radley said no Radley was going to any asylum...so Boo was locked in the courthouse basement" (Lee11-12). Of course, the townspeople believe anything because they really did not know what was true and what was not. However, when Jem and Scout were attacked by Bob Ewell after the pageant, Scout finds out how he really cares about them like a parent, and he is not nearly as scary as everyone thought. He is actually really nice. Throughout her novel, Harper Lee shows her readers how the same people who are ridiculed and made fun of really are not as bad as everyone thought. She also shows how other people who treat others like they are lower than themselves one minute will turn right around and help them the next. This proves that although some people may not be like everyone else and fit in with the rest of society, they really are good people at heart.In conclusion, the people of Maycomb care a lot more for each other than they sometimes act. Even though they are constantly disagreeing with and ridiculing one another, they still come together and help each other when someone is in trouble. If only people today could slow down a little and take some time to get to know their neighbors, like the people of Maycomb. They would be there for each other and help one another when someone is in need, and maybe there would not be some of the problems that there are in the world.Works Cited:Lee, Harper. To Kill A Mockingbird. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1988.
