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“Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it. In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the sidewalks, the courthouse sagged in the square” Lee To Kill a Mockingbird The story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee starts with Scout, who is a nine-year-old girl, introducing her hometown, Maycomb. She also introduces some of their customs in order to allow the reader to understand the events that are going to happen fully.
While the narrative voice of a child is unconvincing, it perfectly matches the racially affected atmosphere of the Great Depression.
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Proficient in: Psychology
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The Civil War just ended, and slavery was still present. Maycomb was just like the rest of America, but they do not know or care about what is happening outside of their little town.
Therefore, the horrendous things that happens before was still present. Setting plays an important role in To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee prepares the reader by not only introducing the tradition and surroundings of the imaginary town, but he also introduces the audience to the Civil War and the Great Depression. The setting is important to the story because it is a part of the world where Jem and Scout learn lessons that will impact their lives. Starting off with a boring situation, Lee gives the reader an idea that life just goes on, nothing is to be expected. People just do their normal work and visit each other’s on Sundays.
The small town is the entire world for the people, they have not and are not willing to accept anything new. Setting is extremely important in the plot because of the way it represents the world where everybody lives in during the 1930’s. Although Maycomb in the 1930’s seems like an insignificant place, the whole story is dependent on it.
The town in the South is unlike anywhere. People do not seem to be pressured by the Great Depression, instead they “[move] slowly” and “[take] their time about everything”. But the deficiency of money and the lack of energy actually reveals the sad setting and situation in Maycomb as well as the world made up of collapsed economy. Delano Roosevelt has once said that “[a country] has nothing to fear but fear itself”, which also alludes to the failures during the great depression. Jobs are scarce, and nothing is improving – nobody is getting rich or trying to advance the situation. A sleepy and inertial town like this sets a historical period that gradually develops into the world that people live in now. Setting greatly affects the plot as well as outcome of the story.
Connection: Later in the story, the plot develops using the setting. More events are being introduced to the audience and the story continues. As the novel progresses, people like Atticus tries to change the culture as well as Scout’s opinions by making him “climb into [other’s] skin and walk around in it”. Later, the readers learn that nothing in Maycomb country changes after the Civil war despite all the effort. This fits into the work because the Civil war has just ended and people’s opinions have to be changed - they have to be open and accept the new era. But before a long time passes, racial discriminations and other problems will still exist. Colored are going to remain segregated because kids learn from their parents and thinks just like their ancestors. The setting also allows the reader to understand that in the South, nobody has or even tries to earn money. People were negatively affected by the Great Depression and everything is in disorder.
Location or Setting of Something or An Event. (2022, May 22). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/the-place-or-type-of-surroundings-where-something-is-positioned-or-where-an-event-takes-place-essay
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