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What privileges do some characters have that others don’t in To Kill A Mockingbird?

Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird explores the notion of privilege (and the lack thereof) at length, and so an answer to this question could easily fill a book. However, I'll choose a couple of specific examples of privilege in the novel to give you an idea of how some characters have privileges that others don't.


Some characters, such as Scout and Jem, have the privilege of having parents who value education, while others, such as Burris Ewell, do not. This fact is exemplified in Chapter 3, when we learn that the Ewells attend the first day of school and play hooky the rest of the year, as Mr. Ewell clearly doesn't care for education and raises his children to be similarly contemptuous of it. 


Additionally, some characters have the privilege of having regular meals, while others don't know when they will eat again. Once again, Jem and Scout are privileged, as they eat regularly. In Chapters 2 and 3, Scout reveals that Walter Cunningham is one such character who is not privileged to receive regular meals, as the Cunningham family is wretchedly poor, too poor, it seems, to send their son to school with lunch. This quality of life is a stark contrast to the Finches, who enjoy a balanced diet.


Thus, through these examples, we can see that the Finches, while apparently poor, are actually quite privileged when compared to many other inhabitants of Maycomb. Scout's realization of this fact is one of the many ways in which she matures and receives education about the adult world. 

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