Analysis of Setting

Analysis of Setting

By: Kylie Chiu

Maycomb County is where the story To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee takes place in. The setting takes place in an area described to be like a desert or somewhere that has not been cared for in a while. “Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town… grass grew on the sidewalks…somehow, it was hotter then: a black dog suffered on a summers day.”(Lee 6) As this environment was being described, I was able to come to a conclusion that this area was abandoned and had very poor living conditions. This description does fit, as the story took place in the 1930’s during the time of the great depression; Alabama especially was greatly impacted by this.

Through a cultural view, Maycomb is a country that is of old-fashion in which the morals of the citizens are valued deeply. The controversy fought between those of African and Caucasian heritage was and still is a very heated topic within society. In regards to Atticus Finch, his decisions and beliefs have no impact from how the community feels, as he believes in equality and justice. It is clear that the environment in which the Finch’s are currently living in, consist of people who believe that those of African culture do not belong to this society. They are looked down upon by the coloured and they’re not pleased with the fact that Atticus is defending a black man. But for the African M.E Church, the opposite was happening, as Caucasian individuals are being frowned upon by those of colour. “You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillum here- they got their church, we got our’n.” (Lee158) Those in Calpurnia’s African church feel the same about people like the Finch’s. In regards to culture, the values in Maycomb can be described as robust as every culture has different beliefs. They value and view each other in different ways, both positive but more so negative.

Through a socio-economic view, the novel demonstrates the climatic differences of those in Caucasian backgrounds vs those of African descent. The differences found within the two cultures are mainly represented through the characters, Atticus and Calpurnia. Atticus Finch, a Caucasian man, is the towns lawyer, in which is defending a coloured man accused of rape. Calpurnia, the Finch’s housekeeper, is an African woman that spends her day caring for Scout and Jem while also keeping the house neat and well kept.  Atticus is a man that holds a more respectable job that requires a greater amount of expertise and knowledge. Where as Calpurnia, performs labour work that requires very minimal intelligence. As you can see, during the 1930’s those of Caucasian race were given positions that required more intelligence compared to the coloured who were given work that was messy and dirty. The author Harper Lee, has successfully touched upon the racial differences found between the coloured and not coloured individuals, in a way where no biased is expressed. Although it may seem as if this novel was written in favour of Caucasians, this was in fact how society was back in the 1930’s.

The cultural beliefs are represented in this story as both sides have different beliefs and values towards each other. As you can see, the morals and beliefs that the Caucasians understand is that those of coloured races are nothing but labour workers. Their only duty is to serve and work under those of superiority, which in fact is how they were viewed and treated in the 1930's. They believed that those of African descents were always causing trouble within the neighbourhood and can't really provide or do much to better the community. The views for those of colour however were much different, for they believed that the Caucasians delivered no physical work that was needed to build a better community. All they did was treat other cultures as if they were servants and had with very little respect for them. They place themselves in higher positions hoping the other cultures would serve and care for them, which can be considered as selfish and demeaning. 

            In conclusion, the setting of a book can include a variety of topics including the actual place of setting, the different cultural morals and values believed and the socio-economic views. The book has provided much information about the wide spread topic of racism and prejudice. The readers, through the setting, are exposed to the different values and morals believed through the vast amount of cultures existing today. But in the 1930’s there was a larger topic of conflict between those of Caucasian culture vs those of coloured race, which here in this novel is clearly revealed.