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To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

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Discussion Topic

The WPA in "To Kill a Mockingbird"

Summary:

The WPA, or Works Progress Administration, in To Kill a Mockingbird, is a government program established during the Great Depression to provide jobs. It is mentioned to illustrate the economic struggles of the time and highlight the socio-economic backdrop against which the story unfolds, emphasizing themes of poverty and social inequality in Maycomb.

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What does WPA stand for?

The initials WPA stand for "Works Progress Administration."  The WPA was a program started up by Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of his "New Deal" to try to end the Great Depression.

The WPA was meant to do that by providing jobs for unemployed Americans.  The WPA workers were to go out and build various things that would be useful in the long run, like bridges, gymnasiums, libraries, etc.  You can still see the initials engraved on many of the things they built even today.

The government paid these workers and thereby kept them in work and gave them money to spend to help revitalize the US economy.

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What is the WPA in the context of "To Kill a Mockingbird"?

The WPA was an acronym for the Works Progress Administration. It was a product of FDR's New Deal. The organization offered employment to the unemployed, who were prominently men with few specialized skills. They built and repaired roads, as...

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well as public buildings. Members of the WPA also constructed bridges, such as those along Connecticut's Merritt Parkway.

The WPA also brought electrical lines to those in rural communities. Some of these residents had electricity in their homes for the first time because of this WPA project. The WPA also engaged in dozens of other projects. As wartime came, some WPA projects shifted to military ones.

The WPA is referred to twice in To Kill a Mockingbird. Scout notes that Mr. Cunningham could take a job with the WPA to help his family financially, but in doing so would be unable to take care of his land. Later, Scout describes Mr. Ewell as being "the only man [she] ever heard of who was fired from the WPA for laziness" (Chapter 27).

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