Another way the novel shows small town life to be is highly segregated by class. Jem’s realisation that everyone in Maycomb hates each other sparks questioning in his mind. As we know, the Finch family were born into a higher class, being literate and not struggling with everyday tasks. This was not ordinary around that time in rural areas because of the impact of the great depression.

From the wall street crash the Cunnignhams and farmers were ‘hit the hardest’. By this they unable to pay with money and often needed to do so in different ways such as with produce instead. Many citizens in Maycomb are displayed as prime examples of people that do not agree that the classes should mix. Contrary to today, where the classes do not necessarily exist as they used to and people can easily escape from on to another as they are judged not by what they were born as but what they have achieved or the material they have to offer. the quote ‘you can polish Walter until he shines but he will never be like Jem’ demonstrates what the people around the time thought about the matter.