Socioeconomic Criticism in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird

Malaysia, ID LLCE2016-225;        This study aims to investigate the predominant issues of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird (1960) with focus on racial prejudices and inequalities negatively triggered by socioeconomic class distinctions, and explore the interactions and conflicts among different socioeconomic classes. To Kill A Mockingbird puts emphasis on the critical period in the American history correlated with The Great Depression from 1929 to 1933. In To Kill A Mockingbird, Lee portrayed a fictional "old tired town" labeled as Maycomb, Alabama, in which the community was divided into two major classes: the rich and the poor represented by the characterization of Finches, Cunningham and Tom Robinson, respectively. Through this study, we can reach a sound conclusion that Atticus Finch is the quintessence of the morality and social justice upholder.

Key words: Marxism; Racial Prejudice; Social-Class Hierarchy; Morality