9/16/13
Rossiter
In
chapters two and three, we learn about different examples of poverty in Maycomb.
We learn about the different kinds of poor in Scout’s town and the way these
people are treated because of the amount of money they have. We learn it, but the teacher can’t see
it or comprehend it. While Scout
is at school, her teacher, Ms. Caroline asks everyone to put their lunch on the
table, and all but one person, Walter Cunningham, has their lunch. The teacher asked, “Did you forget your
lunch this morning?” (25) Walter mumbles back, “Yeb’m,” Ms. Caroline offered
Walter a quarter to buy a lunch but he refused to accept for he would not be
able to pay her back. This is the
first kind of poor introduced to us, “Cunningham poor.” The Cunninghams are
unable to pay people so they pay people in things like “stovewood” or “holly.” Then there is “Ewell poor”. The Ewells are poorer than the
Cunninghams. Burris Ewell looks about as dirty as you
can be. The Ewells don’t have
clean clothing and don’t attend school after the first day. The Ewells are not
well mannered people like the Cunninghams. Finally, there is “Finch” poor. The Finches are very poor compared to the rest of the
country, but in their own town of Maycomb, they are more well off. Mr. Finch is a lawyer, highly educated,
and considerate of everyone. Atticus
does not judge people by their class.
The Finches have enough money to pay Calpurnia, who is also educated.
Harpor
Lee wrote the story like this to show that people were treated differently depending
on how much money they had. Things
weren’t as fair back in 1933 and certain classes of people got treated
differently. For instance, Ms.
Caroline said to Burris Ewell, “Well Burris, I think we’d better excuse you for
the rest of the afternoon. I want
you to go home and wash your hair.” (35) In the time we live in now, a comment like
that would never be made by a teacher.
The teacher is from a different part of the world and Harpor Lee uses
her to symbolize how people in the world view lower classes and poverty. The Finches represent a higher class
but also represent a higher moral class, that doesn’t judge people based on
their economic status.
Ironically,
Scout knows more than the teacher. What is Harper Lee saying about the
education system? Do you think it
is ok for the Ewells to break rules and laws considering their social class? What do you learn about Scout’s
character through her actions at school?
What Harper Lee is trying to get across is that because Scout can read and write, which a person in Maycomb is expected to learn in the third grade, Ms. Caroline doesn't want Scout to learn what she is supposed to know, until she has been taught it. However I don't see why the teacher, Ms. Caroline is trying to discourage Scout from furthermore improving her reading and righting skills. I also don't see why Ms. Caroline would hit her with a ruler on the hand for explaining somebody's social class to Ms. Caroline. So all in all, I believe that Ms. Caroline is trying to stop Scout from reading because she doesn't want her job to be done for her, by Atticus and Calpurnia.
ReplyDeleteTo add the the question Ezra answered, I think that that "Finch Poor" is a good place to be in this town, during the great depression. "Finch Poor" isn't that poor because they have enough money to hire Calpurnia, they are more middle class. "Cunningham poor" is being dirt poor, but the Cunninghams try to get out of it, and have more money. They do this by working and sending their son to school. Also they don't take when they can't give back, meaning they don't want to get into debt, because they want to get out of poverty. "Ewell poor" is just giving up on life, and doing only what you must do to live, like getting food. The Ewells don't have personal hygiene, and don't go to school. They also fail to respect their "teacher" on their only day in school. In conclusion Finch poor is a little bit more than just getting by, Cunningham poor is trying to get out of poverty, and finally Ewell poor is giving up and just accepting that you are dirt poor.
ReplyDeleteIn reply to Max's comment: I think that Ms. Caroline doesn't want Atticus to teach Scout to read because she thinks he is doing it incorrectly.
Do you think that Ms. Caroline should just let Atticus help in teaching Scout?
"Finch Poor" was very common in the 1930's and shows a lot about how the society accepted them. It also shows how Maycomb thought of the Finches and Ewell's differently. Harper Lee shows this message when Jem constantly points out how different Walter eats his food and how he "drowns" his vegetables in syrup. When Calpurina points out this bad behavior, it shows how Harper Lee disagrees with the way people treat others when one acts differently. I think that the society of Maycomb will enforce the laws differently on the lower class, like the Ewells. I do not think it's okay for the Ewells to break the laws set. It shouldn't be acceptable for the Finches or Cunnighams to disobey the law set etiher. The law should be enforced the same way for each class.
ReplyDeleteWhich class do you think is "normal" to be associated with in for Maycomb? Do you think it is the same way here?
To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the 1930's, which was during the great depression so it is hard to compare the characters in the story's wealth to the amount of money circulating now. In To Kill a Mockingbird "Finch Poor" is average because Scout asks Atticus why the Ewell's can break the laws but she can't and he answers "You, Miss Scout Finch, are of the common folk. You must obey the law." Which shows us that they are wealthy enough to not have to play the system to be able to get food. "Cunningham Poor" is not average because in the classroom Miss Caroline asked "Everyone who brings his lunch put it on top of his desk" and they all have good lunches except Cunningham. The entire class can afford something he can't.
DeleteHow did money affect people in this time and how is affecting social criteria in the story? Do you think Scout think's she's superior because she has more money?
Harper Lee is trying to show how the Ewells are so poor that they act like animals, and have a community of their own. The entire family is filthy, and they do not follow the towns rules or customs. The kids of the family only show up to the first day of school. After that they just do their own thing. As Ezra mentioned Burris was filthy himself but didn't add that the entire family was like Burris. Burris was also too poor to have or even know about the things that Ms. Caroline told Burris to do to his hair. It makes you even wonder if the Ewells have a bath. This really helps create a sense of who the character is,and what type of place they come from. From how the author does this we can tell who the character is without Scout telling us.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that Burris or the rest of the Ewell family will come in later in affect later in this story? If so how do you think this will hapen?
I think the Ewells will definitely come back into play later in the novel. On the very first page, Harper Lee writes, "I maintain that the Ewells started it all." This quote suggests that the Ewells in some way caused Jem's broken arm. Because the broken arm is the accident that the whole novel leads up to, I suspect that the Ewells will have a very significant role in the plot and the accident. The Ewells are unclean, and are shown early on in the book as a family that live somewhat outside the law and don't follow rules. This could be foreshadowing an event caused by the Ewells that avoids punishment because many of Maycomb's norms and laws don't seem to apply to them.
ReplyDeleteWhat role do you think the Ewells play in Scout's life? Why do you think Harper Lee introduced us to the Ewell family through a young child?
I my opinion, the Ewell's may affect Atticus more than they affect Scout. Atticus is shown through Scout's eyes as a respectable man who is not prejudice. This is shown by Scout when he talks to her about how Calpurnia is a great person who is like a mother figure to Jem and Scout. What you dont really notice is that Atticus is prejudice towards the Ewells and saying that they are all filthy and disrespectful. As the reader we dont know a lot about the Ewells except what we can get from others words and actions, for all we know one or two of the Ewells might be good people in the shadow of the name Ewell. Harper Lee does a great job of convincing you through Scout's unreliable narrating, forcing you to think more about characters throughout the story.
ReplyDeleteDo you agree with the idea that Atticus might be a bad person? Why or why not? Also, what other people in Maycomb might be stereotyped as "bad"?
To me it seems that Harper Lee is using Ms. Caroline to further propel the argument that there are two main parties in Maycomb, the insiders and the outsiders. There are multiple occasions on Scout's first day of school where we can see that Ms. Caroline is very clueless as to the norms in Maycomb. It is for that reason that Scout's response to the teachers interrogation of Walter and his missing lunch is misconstrued as attitude. This comes as a shock to all the children in the room because to them this knowledge is almost second nature. Along with the Boo Radley incident, this reinforces the fact that if one is not familiar with the way things work they are considered outsider, and outsiders are not welcome in Maycomb.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that Miss Caroline should be pitied or resented? Why or Why not? Did Scout do the right thing in explaining how things work in Maycomb or was she acting out of line?