Q Write an analysis of the Great Depression in America in 1930s with reference to the novel To
Kill A Mockingbird
The novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in Maycomb ,Alabama in the 1930s during
the time of The Great Depression. The effects of The Great Depression are dealt in the book as
experienced by Scout , through whom we are told the story in the novel. This essay aims to
argue that the The Great Depression serves as a backdrop in the story of the novel and affects
the life and decisions of the characters on the story.
Farmers were the most affected by the depression and many of them had to rwort to barter due
to the unavailability of money. This is seen in the novel when Cunningahams are not able to pay
Attlicuss legal amd resort to pay him in firewood. This is also wvident by seeing Walters meagre
lunch and his stealing of Scouts lunch money.
While the Finch family were not among the poor in Maycomb, they also faced hardships. Scout
notices in chapter seventeen tha the Atticus Suit once crisp as folded money, now hung limply
from his lean frame
The Ewells who are the white poor in Maycomb also suffer from the hardships due the
Depression . This is evident when Bob Ewell steals in the thirteenth chapter. Also they are
shown to be dependent on welfare and hunting out of season for food .
Collectively , all of this serves as a reminder that no section of society was immune to the
effects of the great depression in the 1930s.
Kill A Mockingbird
The novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in Maycomb ,Alabama in the 1930s during
the time of The Great Depression. The effects of The Great Depression are dealt in the book as
experienced by Scout , through whom we are told the story in the novel. This essay aims to
argue that the The Great Depression serves as a backdrop in the story of the novel and affects
the life and decisions of the characters on the story.
Farmers were the most affected by the depression and many of them had to rwort to barter due
to the unavailability of money. This is seen in the novel when Cunningahams are not able to pay
Attlicuss legal amd resort to pay him in firewood. This is also wvident by seeing Walters meagre
lunch and his stealing of Scouts lunch money.
While the Finch family were not among the poor in Maycomb, they also faced hardships. Scout
notices in chapter seventeen tha the Atticus Suit once crisp as folded money, now hung limply
from his lean frame
The Ewells who are the white poor in Maycomb also suffer from the hardships due the
Depression . This is evident when Bob Ewell steals in the thirteenth chapter. Also they are
shown to be dependent on welfare and hunting out of season for food .
Collectively , all of this serves as a reminder that no section of society was immune to the
effects of the great depression in the 1930s.