In chapter 13 Scout says "There was indeed a caste system in Maycomb" (175). A caste system is a social class that you are given too at birth. In Maycomb your family name puts you into that category. When Scout says "...were utterly predictable to one another: they took for granted attitudes, character shadings, even gestures, as having been repeated in each generation refined by time" (175). Scout is explaining how everyone sees others. That everything gets passed down over generation to generation. For example the Ewells have a reputation of only going to school on the first day and never going back. This is what they're known for and the next generation will be known for the same.
Do you think it's right for the citizens of Maycomb county to stereotype people by their family names?
If you were a Ewell, and you wanted to actually get an education would you break the reputation that you've created for yourself.
I think that it is wrong to stereotype people in Macomb, but people have done it for so long that it is alright. If I was a Ewell, I probably would not get an education even if I wanted to because my dad would need me to work the fields. Provided I had the right position (did not have to work) and I wanted to get an education, I would break the reputation my family has worked so hard to get.
ReplyDeleteI think it is ok to stereotype people like the Ewells in Maycomb county. It is okay to do this because people like the Ewells don't even try to change other people's opinions of them. In fact they do exactly what their stereotype says they do. They only go to school on the first day each year and are trashy and mean. If I were an Ewell and wanted an education I wouldn't even try to break the reputation my family had created because I know it would be impossible to change everyone in the town of Maycombs opinion of me.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Gavin in the sense that if you wand to change yourself, you should just do it, and not wait to not be stereotyped. The Ewells don't want to change, but they could if they wanted to. I think that them trying to get an education is a bad idea because they will never put it to use. They are farmers, and as Ben said, they will just go to work in the fields.
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