Provincialism
The 1930s was a time when the U.S. was undergoing major changes. As well as the economic depression which was being felt so sharply; it was the years where clashes between certain ethnic groups occured. The happenings of those days have been reflected upon literature as well. Most of the authors often take racism as their theme, as their main idea. However,”Harper Lee”’s book, To Kill A Mockingbird, was different than the other books because Harper Lee created the theme of “provincialism” which added great variety to his book. The book is about a six-year-old called Scout who is reacting to the provincial events in her town, Maycomb County in Southern Alabama. Harper Lee classifies the types of provincialism in three major parts such as; distrust of others who are different, evidence of different levels of society and finally racial intolerance.Firstly, Harper Lee uses the general attitude of Maycomb people towards some persons who they think are untrustworthy; to show a face of provincialism. The first example is the town’s perception of Miss Maudie, an old lady whose hobby is to look after her flowers and keep her garden neat. The town thinks that if she went inside the house to read the bible she might have done something bet . . .
That’s what mostly can become from a black person. Merriweather sees the blacks as servants only, as field workers or cooks. 179) Bearing in mind the fact that the word “rut” means special excitement time for animals, here Bob Ewell does maybe the most embarrassing thing that can be done to a man. An individual is belonging to one of those communities. “The Radleys welcome anywhere in town had kept to themselves, a predilection unforgiveable in Maycomb”(p. 135) says Scout, commenting on the things Aunt Alexandra does. According to the Maycomb people there is no difference between a black person and an animal. Lastly, Harper Lee uses the discriminatory acts of white people against blacks that create a convenient mood for provincialism. The Maycomb County is a place where people live with their traditions and it contains many ethnic groups. “To all parties present and participating in the life of the county, Aunt Alexandra was one of the last of her kind; she had river-boat, boarding school manners; let any moral come along and she would uphold it; she was born in the objective case; she was an incurable gossip”(p. Maycomb, being a little town where everything is constant and where people happen to always predict what is waiting ahead of them, has become a boring place. In a conversation about the trial of Tom Robinson, a Negro, Mrs. For instance during the trial of Tom Robinson when Bob Jewell is explaining to the jury what happened on the night, when his daughter, Mayella was raped; he points his finger at Tom Robinson and curses: ”I seen that nigger rutting on my Mayella. This is our church, ain’t it Miss Cal.
Common topics in this essay:
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Acceptance Essays
