“Cry about the simple hell people give other people- without even thinking. Cry about the hell white people give coloured folks, without even stopping to think that they’re people too.” This quote, from Dolphus Raymond in Harper Lee’s novel “To kill a Mockingbird” is a perfect example of the difference between innocent children and the adults they become. Maycomb, the setting of the book, is highly prejudiced. It is a fictional town in Alabama in the 1930’s, a time in which the Great Depression was taking place, Jim Crow Laws were prohibiting progress in Black Civil Rights, and a woman’s role was still considered to be the housewife. Harper Lee was one of the few that knew this prejudice was immoral. I will be exploring how Harper Lee uses setting in “To Kill a Mockingbird” to reinforce the idea that prejudice in children is a result of their environment. Prejudice is not present at birth.

A setting in “To Kill A Mockingbird” that exposes the Finch children to racism is the courthouse. There were no more seats in the “white” floor so Reverend Sykes took them upstairs. “Four Negroes rose and gave us their front row seats”. This is a demonstration of the Jim Crow Laws present in Southern America at the time. These Laws enforced racial segregation, , prevented black people from voting, and banned interracial marriage. This was the reason for 4 black adults to give up their seats to the Reverend and 3 white children. We can also observe that there are no signs of surprise or protest from the children, indicating that this was common for them. Harper Lee used this situation within the setting of the courthouse to show that even though the children are morally adverse to the racism sending an innocent black man to prison, more casual racism such as this is a common and learned behavior. In the novel, Lee paints the Finch children to be extraordinary because of their lack of prejudice comparatively to other children. “I shut my eyes. Judge Taylor was polling the jury. “Guilty… guilty… guilty… guilty… ” I peeked at Jem: his hands were white from gripping the balcony rail, and his shoulders jerked as if each “guilty” was a separate stab between them” The Finch children have a strong reaction to the verdict because they know it is wrong. Racist. In the same way that prejudice in children is a result of their environment, the settings that the Finches are exposed to in “To Kill A Mockingbird” ensure they understand that all life has equal value. Throughout the book, Scout and Jem are exposed to people, situations, and experiences that educate them beyond the usual prejudicial ways of the town. This occurs in the “coloured” church. Calpurnia, the Finch children’s maid/ motherly influence in the story, takes them to her church “The First Purchase” one Sunday. After the service, Scout is forced to reevaluate her perspective of Calpurnia’s role in society. “The idea that she had a separate existence outside our household was a novel one”. Lee uses the setting of the church to enlighten the children to the lives of black people outside of their usual perspective. This is when Scout first acknowledges that Calpurnia has life and meaning outside of serving the Finches. Most children in Maycomb will grow up in pre- prejudiced families and as a result will have limited interaction with black people beyond observing the way they are treated by white people, therefore drawing the only possible conclusion that they are inferior. Harper Lee uses the coloured church to provide the Finch children an environment in which they could draw their own conclusions on the lives of black people they interact with without the presence of prejudicial adults.

Classism is a form of prejudice mainly resulting from The Great Depression. A setting in which classism was taught to Scout was in her own home. “”But I want to play with Walter, Aunty, why can’t I?” She took off her glasses and stared at me. “I’ll tell you why” she said. “Because-he-is-trash, that’s why you can’t play with him””. Aunt Alexandra is teaching Scout that she shouldn’t socialise with those from a lower social class because they are lesser than her. The setting of the Finch household is important to recognise because this is where she has grown up and has learnt most of the things she knew to be true at that time. Scout did not develop this opinion herself. She had interactions with Walter earlier in the Novel including sticking up for him on the first day of school by explaining why he couldn’t repay the teacher. she knew he couldn’t afford to take her money. “Walter Cunningham was sitting there lying his head off. He didn’t forget his lunch, he didn’t have any. He had none today, nor would he have any tomorrow, or the next day. He had probably never seen three quarters together at the same time in his life” Scout was aware of the Cunningham’s monetary deficit but wanted to invite Walter over anyway because of the positive opinion she had formed about that family based off of social interaction. Here, the Finch household is representative of what other families of the same social class would be teaching their children. Harper Lee used this to further develop the idea that in a small town in the South, classist ideas would be passed down for generations due to the environment the children were put in. This environment is preventing them from forming their own opinions of people because they don’t interact. The Great Depression started in 1929. It began with a crash of the stock market resulting in mass unemployment and distinct separation of the social classes. Those who were rich only became more wealthy, and those of the working class or lower became very poor. This separation still occurs in today’s society. In fact, I would consider this scenario to be the most relevant in 2020. Harper Lee used Aunt Alexandra, a character pre-determined to be a villain in the story, to really drive home the message that this kind of prejudice is uncalled for and is the outdated opinion of adults, not naturally developed by children. This message is extremely important to remember, especially now in 2020 because currently no one knows what is going to happen with the global economy and “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” -George Santayana

The setting of Maycomb, and even wider Southern America was perfect to demonstrate the sexist reality of life at the time. A specific setting in the Novel is the courthouse. The Jury is only men. “”For one thing, Miss Maudie can’t serve on a Jury because she is a woman-” “You mean women in Alabama can’t?” I was indignant. “I do. I guess it’s to protect our frail ladies from sordid cases like Tom’s. Besides,” Atticus grinned, “I doubt if we’d ever get a complete case tried- the ladies’d be interrupting to ask questions.”” Harper Lee chose to use the example of the courthouse setting to make her point because throughout the story it is a symbol of justice and “in our courts all men are created equal”. It is clear that Scout is new to the idea that women were “unfit” to serve in a Jury and Atticus -using a joke enforcing stereotype- wasted no time before teaching her that it is because women are the inferior gender. Throughout the novel Scout is constantly learning from the people, situations, and settings around her that she is not fulfilling her role as a lady and that she is incapable of achieving her dreams and doing what she wants in life because of her sex. Harper Lee uses Scout to speak her own mind on the prejudice against women. She used their shared setting, Alabama, to show that this situation and expectations are not just the struggle of a fictional character but directly translates to life for females in reality. Lee’s full name is Nelle Harper Lee but she dropped her first name because she would be more respected if she was portrayed as less feminine. Are we supposed to believe that “Nelle” was born knowing that she would struggle to be successful because her first name let potential readers know she was female? No. Her environment taught her as a child that women were inferior. Just like the same setting, Alabama, in the book does to Scout.

Prejudice is learned. Passed down through generations. No child is born with the opinion that they are superior because they are a white rich boy. Harper Lee uses her novel to express this by using the settings of The Courthouse, The First Purchase, The Finch Household, Maycomb, and Alabama. Within these settings were examples of experiences, conversations, and interactions which tried to teach Scout that she should evaluate people’s worth before she meets them. Prejudice in children is a result of their environment.