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Examples Of Atticus Finch's Social Hierarchy In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Imagine living in a society where you do not have the right to defend yourself because of your ethnicity and social status.
Having this kind of system in your society can massively affect your family life, lively hood, and it can also affect your mental and physical health. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Maycomb’s social hierarchy is based on a person’s ethnic and social background which is portrayed in the characters Bob Ewell, Tom Robinson, and Atticus Finch.

Maycomb's citizens are segregated into a social hierarchy that is ranked from "wealthy whites", "poor whites", “white trash”, "black people", and "mixed people". In the city of Maycomb, Alabama, being white was a major advantage for people in Maycomb, because they were more superior …show more content…

Atticus Finch is the father of Jem and Scout Finch. He is a civilized lawyer, meaning that he treats every person fairly without considering their social status or ethnicity. He was Tom Robinson's lawyer; he fought for him even though he knew that the jury will end up deciding that Tom Robinson is guilty of allegedly raping Mayella Ewell, even if Tom Robinson was innocent. He is a respected man in Maycomb, considering that he respects people who have a different ethnicity and social class than him. Atticus Finch is one of the Mockingbirds in the novel because he is fighting injustice in the world and teaches his children to become respectful of everyone no matter who they are. Some people in the higher class think low of him because Atticus Finch respects black people. A person who was in the white trash social hierarchy is Bob Ewell. Bob Ewell was an unemployed and uneducated citizen in Maycomb. He is the father of Mayella Ewell and seven other children. He was a disgrace in Maycomb for three generations, which tells us that he could not change his ways despite the opportunities that were given to him throughout his lifetime. He hated Atticus Finch and his family for defending Tom Robinson, to the point where he tried to kill Jem and Scout in chapter twenty-eight (page three hundred

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