Class Structure in To Kill a Mockingbird The rigid class structure and social stratification of Maycomb County had a profound effect on the events of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. The impact of this class structure and underlying prejudice was particularly evident during the trial of Tom Robinson, a black man from Maycomb. Due to Maycomb County's strict class system and the town's extreme prejudice, Tom Robinson was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. The Maycomb County Corporation had a definitive structure containing four classes. The first class, the upper class, consisted of Caucasian white-collar workers who were considered "rich" in the post-Depression years. The characters who fall into this class were Atticus Finch, a wealthy and well-respected lawyer and citizen of the town, and Judge Taylor, Maycomb County judge and presiding judge of the Robinson trial. Other characters belonging to this upper class were Miss Maudie Attkinson, a kind and open-minded woman, and Miss Stephanie Crawford, the famous town gossip. Maycomb County's second class included blue-collar workers, white workers, and primarily farmers who struggled to make ends meet. The Cunninghams, Dolphus Raymond and the mysterious Radley family represented this group. The third class in Maycomb County was “white trash.” The Ewells, who lived at the dump and relied on welfare to survive, were members of this group. It is important to note that the difference between second and third class was not an issue. financial. Both were “poor”. The difference, however, lies in the way they interact in society. The Cunninghams, unlike the Ewells, refused to accept charity and paid their debts with what little they had. The Cunninghams were also different from the Ewells because they did not take advantage of black men. Maycomb's fourth and lowest class was best described as a "caste" because it was impossible to escape. All black people were part of this group. Prejudice ran deep in Maycomb County. Even though multiple social levels existed within the black community, a person of color still belonged to the lowest class in general society. Therefore, blacks lived separate from whites in their own part of town and appeared to have a separate society from whites. The strong prejudices of Maycomb County and the negative effects of its social strata were demonstrated by the trial of Tom Robinson. Tom was a hard-working, warm-hearted black man who went out of his way to be kind and helpful to poor white trash. He helped Miss Mayella because he felt sorry for her. His main flaw was the fact that he was black. Bob Ewell, a white drunk who was an eyesore and a problem to the town, accused Robinson of raping his daughter Mayella. Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson's attorney, made it clear to the jury that Tom was innocent. It was actually Mayella who made sexual advances towards Tom and was therefore beaten by her father for kissing a black man. However, despite the obvious and undeniable facts of the case, the all-white jury found in favor of the Ewells and sentenced Tom Robinson to death. Tom ultimately died when he was shot while trying to escape from prison. Looking at the case, one can see how Maycomb's four classes were involved to varying degrees. The first two classes were represented at the trial by the president of the court, lawyers and numerous jurors. He.