To Kill a Mockingbird Novel Study
Previewing Novel Themes
To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the south in the 1930’s. Read the following article about southern life during the Great Depression and answer the questions that follow.
The Effect of the Great Depression on Southern America
During the depression of the 1930’s, both black and white people experienced many hardships. The south saw the majority of the problems because of its extremely low economic status. Since the North has spent the previous century buildings its manufacturing and textile industries, there were still some jobs available for the common man to do. The South had been depending solely on its agricultural power, fueled by slavery, and the destruction of this slave society sent the farming industry into a tailspin. Since there were no factory jobs really to speak of, except in the larger cities of Charleston and Birmingham, finding a job was next to impossible. The South’s lack of industrial advancement and its deficiency in an experienced waged-labor force prevented any possibility of earning a decent living.
However, the depression on top of horrible race relations made the suffering of African Americans much worse. Because of the economic disasters created by the Great Depression, “most of the former slaves were destitute and dependent upon the aid of family, white people, or government officials.” The Southern Blacks felt the worst of this economic despair, as seen by the grand migration of blacks to the north and west. Some said the life they lived currently was worse than the life of slavery that they used to live; some said their life now was easier than the life of slavery and some yet said it did not make a difference free or enslaved.
One problem seemed to show itself quite often amongst African-Americans and that was a complaint of extreme hunger. “As the former slaves were questioned about their lives ‘in the old time days,’ they talked about the hunger they were feeling as they spoke.”6 Many ex-slaves commented on how much better and more they had to eat prior to the emancipation. Because much of black population was suffering from malnutrition and starvation, it was very hard for them to enjoy this newfound freedom. A perfect quote is one made by Andrew Boone who said “It’s all hard, slavery and freedom, both bad when you can’t eat.” 7
Another common complaint was the lack of housing. Some slaves did have living quarters and residences, but many suffered in leaky homes and decrepit barns. Some of the older blacks who worked inside the homes of their masters were able to stay there as wage workers, but those that were strictly farm hands, the vast majority of the slaves, had no place to go except inhumane and unsanitary shacks.
Deficiency: having a lack of something considered necessary
Malnutrition: not having the proper nutrients require to live healthy lives
Emancipation: a term used to described giving freedom to those who were not previously free
- Why did the Great Depression make life especially difficult in the South?
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- What was life like for African Americans in the South?
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- How can you connect what you read in this article to what you’ve read so far in To Kill a Mockingbird?
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- Use the word “deficiency” in a sentence below.
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