How would the plot change if the setting was different in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird?

Harper chose the small town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s as the setting for her novel To Kill a Mockingbirdfor specific reasons. The main plot of the story involves a morally upright lawyer defending a black man in front of a prejudiced community. In the 1930s, Jim Crow laws were enforced throughout Southern states which included Alabama. These laws segregated black and white individuals in public places and forbade black people from accessing...

Harper chose the small town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s as the setting for her novel To Kill a Mockingbird for specific reasons. The main plot of the story involves a morally upright lawyer defending a black man in front of a prejudiced community. In the 1930s, Jim Crow laws were enforced throughout Southern states which included Alabama. These laws segregated black and white individuals in public places and forbade black people from accessing white public facilities. Racial prejudiced was prevalent during this era, and racial injustice was commonplace. The plot of To Kill a Mockingbird would drastically change if the setting were in another state, in particular, a northern state, or during a different time period.

During the 1930s, northern states did not enforce Jim Crow laws, and white citizens were generally more tolerant towards black people. Tom Robinson might have had a fair trial if Maycomb was located in a northern state during the 1930s. Also, the time period Harper Lee chose was significant because the 1930s was a critical period following Reconstruction and just before WWII ended. It was an era when attitudes towards racial discrimination began to evolve, eventually leading up to the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. If the novel took place later, during the Civil Rights movement, Tom's trial would have possibly received national attention, and Atticus would have become famous. The historical context and setting are essential to preserve the plot and significance of Atticus' defense in the prejudiced town of Maycomb. To alter the setting would be to diminish Atticus' courage, Tom's plight, and the community's reaction. There are numerous possibilities and scenarios that would have affected the plot of the novel, had the setting been changed. However, Harper Lee's genius captured the perfect location and time period to tell the story of Scout Finch witnessing her father defend Tom Robinson.