In ancient Rome the citizens were split into two groups: the Plebeians and Patricians. The group a Roman was placed into was decided entirely off of wealth. Aristocrats and other prosperous individuals were deemed Patricians, while everybody else wore the title of Plebeian. This division was one of the defining characteristics of Rome that altered its course through history. However, classical Rome is not the only setting where a monetary based caste system plays an important role. Harper Lee incorporates many aspects of economic class in her novel To Kill a Mockingbird that are crucial to the story.
To start with, Scout’s assumptions of Walter Cunningham are based off the fact that his family is poorer than the Finches . This becomes apparent when Walter is eating dinner with the Finch family on the first day of school. After she is berated for calling out Walter’s unrefined table manners, Scout defends herself by arguing that “he’s just a Cunningham” (Lee 33). Her quote shows that she puts herself above him just because her family is more well-off than his. Even more, Scout fails to realize throughout the entire book that both of them are poor in the grand scheme of things. …show more content…
From her first phrases in the book to the last page, Alexandra mentally forces the citizens of Maycomb County into boxes stacked into a pyramid, with herself lounging on top of them all. Scout inevitably has her aunt’s prejudices forced upon her when she asks to play with Walter and Alexandra denies the request. Her only reasoning is that he is “not our kind of folks” (Lee 247). Here, Aunt Alexandra only forbids Scout to play with a friend because he is too poor and thus “he is trash” (Lee
To start with, Scout’s assumptions of Walter Cunningham are based off the fact that his family is poorer than the Finches . This becomes apparent when Walter is eating dinner with the Finch family on the first day of school. After she is berated for calling out Walter’s unrefined table manners, Scout defends herself by arguing that “he’s just a Cunningham” (Lee 33). Her quote shows that she puts herself above him just because her family is more well-off than his. Even more, Scout fails to realize throughout the entire book that both of them are poor in the grand scheme of things. …show more content…
From her first phrases in the book to the last page, Alexandra mentally forces the citizens of Maycomb County into boxes stacked into a pyramid, with herself lounging on top of them all. Scout inevitably has her aunt’s prejudices forced upon her when she asks to play with Walter and Alexandra denies the request. Her only reasoning is that he is “not our kind of folks” (Lee 247). Here, Aunt Alexandra only forbids Scout to play with a friend because he is too poor and thus “he is trash” (Lee