Stigmas and Stereotypes in "To Kill a Mockingbird"

In society, there are few things worse than a social stigma or stereotype. Such things are unfair, to everyone involved in it. Stereotypes and Social Stigmas, however, are not a recent trend. These have been present in America and everyday life for a very long time. While these do have a very large effect on society and influence people for many generations, the practice of adopting these stereotypes and stigmas has decreased significantly during recent times (Tatum 29). Until the practice began to be phased out however, these stereotypes could easily be seen in southern life, and no novel captures these stereotypes and stigmas better than To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.

In the novel, many important lessons are explored and taught. Of those many lessons, perhaps one of the most important ones deals with the stereotypes and social stigmas faced in everyday life in Maycomb County. To Kill a Mockingbird provides a remarkable description of a self-defeating culture frozen in its own stereotypes and prejudice. Maycomb was a "tired old town" precisely because it was dominated by stereotypes and prejudice formed in its early slavery days (Walk Mile). However, of all the stereotypes and stigmas present, the stereotype of "family" assumes the biggest role in society. The family "name" takes on a stereotypical meaning in Maycomb county and influences society's view of the characters. In dealing with this stereotype, there are three main facets apparent: heredity, or what one's ancestors have done society or where certain families stand, and how that influences and affects them, and another, equally important part of the family stereotypes of Maycomb County is how these family and heredity stereotypes affect life.