To Kill a Mockingbird: Context (Cambridge (CIE) IGCSE English Literature)

Context 

Demonstrating an understanding of the relationship between To Kill a Mockingbird and its historical and social context is crucial. However, it is very important that you do not include lots of historical information about Harper Lee and the time in which the novel was written, just to show you know it. Instead, contextual information should always be used to enhance your personal response by enriching your interpretation and strengthening your argument.

This section will explore these contexts, which will help inform your reading of the text: 

• Segregation and racism

• The Civil Rights Movement  

• The Southern States

• The Great Depression

• Gender

Segregation and racism

• In the century preceding To Kill a Mockingbird, events unfolded that resulted in profound discrimination against African-American people:

  •  Slavery was not abolished in America until 1865:

    • After emancipation, most formerly enslaved people did not have money or property

    • Black people faced economic hardship and experienced much lower standards of living than white people

  • From around 1880–1900, many American states established Jim Crow Laws which enforced racial segregation:

    • It meant black and white people had separate schools, restaurants and public spaces

  • Although black people fought in both World Wars, segregation in the US army was not ended until 1948

  • The unemployment rate was higher for black people; in 1933 it was double the rate of unemployment for white people

  • During this period, citizens were required to pay poll taxes to be able to vote, yet the majority of African-American people could not afford to do this:

    • This allowed some racist politicians to remain in power

  • Standards in schools for black children were lower in general than in schools for white children:

    • In many cases, they lacked basic facilities and resources, and employed teachers with lower qualifications and salaries compared to those schools for white students

    • Calpurnia's church serves as a community hub where children learn basic literacy and numeracy skills

    • It highlights the lack of educational opportunities available to African-American children

• Churches became a source of support for the African-American community:

  • Calpurnia's church signifies a place where people could find solace and solidarity in the face of injustice

The Civil Rights Movement

• The Civil Rights Movement was a social and political movement from the 1940s to the end of 1960s and aimed to secure equal rights for African-American people

• From 1950, there were several organisations dedicated to furthering African American rights, such as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP):

  • In 1954, the NAACP were able to win a court case, Brown vs Board of Education, which led to the integration of schools, meaning that black children and white children could be taught together:

    • Although this case mandated integration in schools, it did not happen in practice until at least 1965

• Before the publication of To Kill a Mockingbird, the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum:

  • In 1955, Martin Luther King led the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which raised awareness of discrimination and led to greater support for equal rights

  • In 1957, in Little Rock (in the American south) nine black students were prevented from entering a school by the Governor of Arkansas:

    • The scenes of violence and intimidation were broadcast on television, highlighting the challenges faced by African-American people 

    • However, the black community had yet to obtain many rights in practice; for example, there were still barriers to voting into the 1960s

• The issue of racial discrimination is of central importance in To Kill a Mockingbird:

  • It critiques the injustice of treating people differently on the basis of the colour of their skin

  • Through Atticus’s promotion of fairness, empathy and kindness, Lee suggests how society should change for the better

 The Southern States

• The traditional values in the Southern States of America were typically more socially conservative than in the north:

  • This can be evidenced by the fact that the Civil Rights Act of 1957 was not enforced in the south 

• By 1965, the President and Congress had passed a civil rights act and a voting rights act, both of which aimed to end segregation and voter suppression:

  • Many politicians from the south vehemently tried to stop these acts from passing:

    • Harper Lee chooses to set the novel in the fictional southern town of Maycomb, not far from Alabama

• Shocking misconceptions emerged; for example, that black people were more capable of harsh crimes, such as rape:

  • This was a reason for numerous lynchings in the 1930s 

• Black people were excluded from being on juries until 1935; however, in practice they were not allowed on juries in the Southern States:

  • In the Scottsboro trails of 1931 (held in Alabama), nine African-American teenagers were convicted of raping two white women by an all-white jury

  • This case is often cited as an example of injustice, as there was little evidence and eight of them were sentenced to death:

    • Tom Robinson’s wrongful conviction for rape mirrors this case and therefore can be seen as a criticism of its injustice

• The use of guns was widespread in the Southern States in the 1930s:

  • For many, it signified masculinity, violence and individualism

  • When Atticus Finch reluctantly shoots a rabid dog, it turns out that he is a good marksman

  • The fact that Atticus eschews guns demonstrates that he rejects violence and individualistic values:

    • Harper Lee attacks the idea that violence is inherent in courage and heroism

    • Atticus’s restraint and tenacity are often more courageous traits 

• Generally, the Southern States had more traditional and puritanical attitudes towards sex, violence, race, religion and community:

  • For example, Bob Ewell is appalled by his daughter's association with an African-American man 

• The Southern States were less attractive to immigrants and communities were often very tight-knit:

  • This perpetuated conservative attitudes and the tendency for some to be less hospitable to minority groups

• The Klu Klux Klan (KKK) originated in the Southern States and comprised a racist terror group of white people:

  • They stopped black people from voting or having interracial marriages through the threat of violence

  • The Klu Klux Klan became prominent from 1910 and had grown by the 1930s, the period during which To Kill a Mockingbird is set

The Great Depression

• The Great Depression began in 1929 after the New York stock market crash:

  • It was a huge economic downturn, during which people lost jobs and money, and poverty became pervasive

  • Some groups, such as farmers, black people and women, suffered the impact of the failing economy more than other groups

  • Farmers began to lose money, which led to government interventions as part of the New Deal:

    • This poverty is represented through the Cunninghams’ hardship

• The economic challenges of the Great Depression further entrenched racial segregation and inequity:

  • Maycomb is characterised by the fact that “there is nothing to buy and no money to buy it with”:

    • Through the economic setting, Lee suggests poverty fosters heightened competition, animosity and suspicion

• Many black people were relegated to low-wage, unskilled positions and encountered discrimination in housing:

  • New Deal initiatives frequently marginalised their needs:

    • This is reflected in the character of Calpurnia who says that the African-American community should not have brought gifts to Atticus because “times are too hard”

• The Great Depression widened economic disparities and had the largest impact on the working class:

  • Lee explores social class through the Cunningham family’s inability to pay for legal services and school lunch

  • Also through her portrayal of the Ewells who live at the dump

• President Roosevelt created the New Deal programs, which tried to increase employment in 1934:

  • These initiatives are referenced when Mr Cunningham does not want WPA work, as there is no one to look after his farm 

Gender

• During this period, there was a reversion to traditional gender roles in the United States after World War I:

  • Most New Deal programs did not allow women to join as men were considered the main earners

  • Many women had to marry in order to have financial security:

    • Scout and Dill’s plans to marry suggests that they understand it is a social norm

• Many believed that a woman’s role was in the domestic sphere:

  • Calpurnia is responsible for the household chores, and Aunt Alexandra moves in with Atticus and the children to help care of the family:

    • However, Aunt Alexandra is shown to uphold traditional values of gender far more than Atticus, who lets Scout play with the boys and wear overalls

• A traditional view of femininity was commonplace during the 1930s in terms of how women should dress and behave:

  • Lee presents Scout Finch as subverting these expectations in a town where most women are described as “like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum”

• The view that women should not engage in politics or have a voice in important matters was commonplace:

  • Although American women could vote from 1920, they remained under-represented in government

  • In most states, women were unable to sit on juries until the 1960s:

    • In teaching Scout and Jem to read, and educating them about values and morals, Atticus demonstrates the equal treatment of his children, regardless of their gender

• In the years following World War II, there was a notable emphasis on feminism as many women sought equality:

  • Lee was writing during the second-wave feminist movement, which emerged in the late 1950s and early 1960s and advocated for gender equality:

    • Her depiction of Scout as the protagonist defies gender stereotypes

    • It promotes the idea that girls possess the same adventurous spirit and capabilities as boys

Sources: 

Lee, H. (2010). To Kill a Mockingbird. Arrow Books.