Skip to main content

How would you rank Atticus, the Robinsons, Miss Maudie, the Radleys, the Ewells, Reverend Sykes, the Littles, the Cunninghams, Dill Harris, and the...

According to this list of characters, I would rank Judge Taylor and his family as the community members with the highest ranking socioeconomic status. Judge Taylor is the highest ranking member of the Maycomb judicial system, and appoints Atticus to defend Tom Robinson. As a judge, Taylor presides over every case in Maycomb, which is a very prestigious and important occupation.


Next on the list is Atticus Finch, who is a highly respected lawyer and politician. He is continually re-elected to represent Maycomb in the Alabama state legislature and runs unopposed. His sister, Alexandra, also occupies the upper-class of Maycomb. She is the quintessential Southern Belle, who participates in social events and runs the missionary circle. Miss Maudie may not occupy the upper-class, but certainly would be considered upper-middle-class. She is the Finches neighbor who also participates in Alexandra's missionary circle which indicates that she is accepted by the upper-class Maycomb citizens. Dill Harris is Miss Rachel Haverford's nephew. Dill's aunt lives next door to the Finches, and Dill becomes close friends with Jem and Scout. The fact that Miss Rachel Haverford is the Finch's neighbor indicates that she is middle-class. Dill is ranked below Miss Maudie because his aunt is a Haverford, which is "a name synonymous with jackass" throughout Maycomb. The Radleys would be next on the list. The Radleys live three houses down from the Finches on the same street. They would be considered lower-middle-class because their house is rather despicable and they are not openly accepted throughout the community.


Both the Little and Cunningham families would be considered lower-class. They are both farming families who have suffered greatly from the economic depression. Their country dialect, attire, disposition towards education, and the fact that they live outside of town indicates their socioeconomic status. The Ewells are also considered lower-class, but are ranked lower than the Littles and Cunninghams because Bob Ewell is a useless alcoholic who doesn't not have a job.


Although Reverend Sykes is a respected member of the black community, he is ranked lower than any white member on the list because he is black. In 1930s Alabama, Jim Crow laws segregated society based on color and Reverend Sykes actually sits with the children in the "colored" balcony during Tom's trial. The Robinsons occupy the lowest socioeconomic class in Maycomb. Not only are they black, but Tom is convicted of raping and assaulting a white woman. His wife, Helen, has a hard time finding a job simply because she is associated with Tom.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

etymology - Origin of the greeting "Sweet dreams".

Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are the similarities between the relationships of the characters in The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet?

At first glance, it might appear as if the characters in  The Outsiders  by S. E. Hinton and  Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare do not have much in common; however, when one isolates the core of the conflicts, it becomes clear that the relationships in both stories are rooted in rivalry and secrecy.  In both  The Outsiders  and  Romeo and Juliet , an overarching theme is rivalry. While   socioeconomic status separates the greasers from the Socs in The Outsiders , last names separates the Montagues from the Capulets, who appear to be relatively equal in terms of socioeconomic status. Due to these rivalries, there are instances of deadly interactions in both stories. In  The Outsiders , Johnny kills Bob (whether his actions were justified or not is debatable). In  Romeo and Juliet , Romeo kills Tybalt and Paris, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. These deaths have profound effects on the main characters. In Ponyboy's case, the Johnny's death and other events in the novel inspire h...
Post a Comment
Read more