Social Criticism In To Kill A Mockingbird

Social criticism can be described as a modern phenomenon in literature. It is the idea in which stories in a text are portraying a reflection and or replication of the “outside world”; using “corrective information about sexist, racist, and dominant political power” (Williams, 2015). One example of social criticism in To kill a Mockingbird, is the central location and setting of the town itself. The book begins with an introduction of the small town located in Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. From this information alone readers can already get a sense of the racial ethnically, and how the environment is portrayed due to our own understands of the late 1900s in the south. Another aspect in social criticism is the different schemas that …show more content…
Our views on adults strive from different characteristics, such as wisdom, matureness, and self of identity. Atticus Finch portrays wisdom and matureness fitting into the schema of a father figure. By giving his children a well role model. While Tom Robinson has the schema of being mean, rude due to his race alone. However in the book we can get a sense for Robinson’s true characteristics as decent human being, while the rest of the characters just him based on schemas. Schemas can also be negative aspects, such as Tom Robinson being viewed as a “bad person” because of his race. Schema’s come from our unconscious, making us characterize people, and or events without thinking. Schemas can also cause us to ignore important information about an individual or event. Leaving an individual with the wrong impression and or disbelief. Overall literate displays many different emotions, memories, which can describe and or fit into our daily lives. However one important aspect to remember while reading is the certain social criticism and schemas the author may attribute to. I believe that each and every detail in the book has a reason, making the reader connect and or engage more in the