To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel written by Harper Lee. Harper grew up in Monroeville, Alabama. Harper was a white female surrounded by discrimination, fights between two races, the lack of women´s rights, and The Great Depression. The beautiful novel that she wrote has changed the readers views, morals, and ethics.
THE GREAT DEPRESSION
The Great Depression was an economic slump in North America, Europe, and other industrialized areas of the world that began in 1929 and lasted until around 1939. It was the longest and most severe depression ever experienced by the industrialized Western world. During this time, the unemployment rate reached to 25% and many farmers lost their farms. Many people had very small amounts of food to eat during this time, meaning that areas of the world were starving. The Great Depression has ruined parts of humans and how they embrace love.
WOMEN´S RIGHTS
During the 1940´s women´s roles and expectations in society were changing rapidly. Previously women had very little say in society and were stereotyped to stay at home, make babies, be a good maker, and be a good wife. The 1940´s were different, life for women was expanding, because the men were out fighting for our country. Because of the men being absent, women had to step in their roles and ultimately in our country. (http://americanhistory1940-50.blogspot.com/p/role-of-women-during-1940s.html)
THE MURDER OF EMMETT TILL
Fourteen-year-old Emmett Till was visiting relatives in Money, Mississippi, on August 24, 1955, when he was accused of whistling at Carolyn Bryant, a white woman who was a cashier at a grocery store. Four days later, Bryant's husband Roy and his half brother J.W. Milam kidnapped Till, beat him and shot him in the head. The men were tried for murder, but an all-white, male jury acquitted them. Till's murder and open casket funeral galvanized the emerging Civil Rights Movement.
RACISM
Racism by definition is defined as ¨prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior.¨ When Americans think of the word racism, we often think of the separation of white people and black people since the beginning of time. White men and most white women believed that they were/are superior to those with different color of skin then themselves. Because they thought they were superior to black individuals, this led to slavery, violence, and lots and lots of our country hurting. Racism is still going on today, even though it is not as severe as it once was in terms of separation and unequal circumstances.
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