Dialectical Study of Class Division in Harper Lee’s to Kill a Mockingbird

Abstract

This study employs Marxist analysis to the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, focusing on the portrayal of class divide within the story. The examination of social stratification is a prominent subject in Marxism, and Marx himself asserts in the Communist Manifesto that the progression of all societies throughout history is characterized by conflicts between different social classes (Marx & Engels, 1969). Marxism is a prominent literary criticism theory that examines issues such as injustice, exploitation, class separation, and alienation. Marxism posits that the primary purpose of literature is to foster class consciousness and incite a revolution among the working class (Beteillie, 2007). The study is characterized by its qualitative nature and employs an interpretive methodology. The story is analyzed using a dialectical approach, revealing that class separation serves as the fundamental source of injustice, social discrimination, and exploitation. The study demonstrates that American society was fragmented based on both social class and race. In America, race not only served as a means of categorization but also contributed to the split between the privileged upper class and the economically disadvantaged and marginalized class.