The Setting of TKAM Flashcards
Where is Maycomb?
It is a fictional town in Alabama
What does Scout say that relates to the Great Depression in the opening chapters of TKAM?
“There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with”
What affect does the Great Depression have on the townspeople of Maycomb and how they act?
People rely on simple pleasures in hard times. Also, with little disposable income to spend on activities, the townspeople resort to gossiping
What was the role of women around the time of the novel TKAM?
○Expected to be ‘traditional southern Bells’
○Should wear dresses, act ladylike, be good homemakers and mind the children
○Scout does not fit in with societal expectations- wears overalls and beats up boys
What was the role of men around the time of the novel TKAM?
○Men work
○Read paper and teach son’s to shoot and play football
What was the place of religion around the time of the novel TKAM?
○Religion seems to be an important part of society
○However there is a lot of religious hypocrisy in Maycomb; Women gather in missionary circles yet all they do is gossip about the people of their community; Mr. Radley is a very devout man yet he effectivelt keeps his own son prisoner
What was the position of class/wealth around the time of the novel TKAM?
○Noticeable division between classes in Maycomb
○Narrow-minded townspeople look down on people like the Cunninghams, Ewells, Dolphus Raymond and the black people of the community
○A real social hierarchy exists in Maycomb; you have the poor farmers like the Cunninghams, Ewells living by a dump, and then the Finch family ‘landing’ and children who are educated
○Race determines where you live, go to church, go to school and how you are viewed by the law
When was the Wall Street Crash and what affect had it on America?
The Wall Street Crash, 1929 sent America into the Great Depression. 25% of Americans were left unemployed and 100,000s were left homeless
What were the Jim Crow Laws?
Laws enforcing and promoting racial segregation in southern USA (around the time of TKAM) in force in America up until the 1960s.
What affect did the Jim Crow Laws have on the black people of America?
They were excluded from society. Black and white people attended different schools, sat at different areas of the bus, ate at different restaurants, used different toilets and even drank water from different fountains
What was the Scottsboro Boys Trial?
A group of black teenagers/men were wrongly accused of the rape of two white women
What were lynch mobs?
Unlawful killings or executions. They were a big threat for black people around the time of TKAM
Through what can we see the influence of the Great Depression in TKAM?
The poverty of people like the Ewells
