The use of events in historical novels is not uncommon. Harper Lee does this in her historical fiction novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. The setting of the book is the 1930s, because this was an important decade of change for America. Harper Lee used cultural parallels between important historical events and ideas in To Kill A Mockingbird to show the hardships of the 1930s that affected the corruption of the human mentality. One of the largest and most crippling events of the 1930s was the Great Depression. Preceded by a decade of wealth and a carefree attitude, the collapse of the economy came as a shock to all involved. In the article “Standards Focus: Historical Context, the Great Depression,” the author points out that “life savings suddenly disappeared and, as a result, people could not afford to make house payments or buy food, clothing or else." need". (Secondary solutions). This shows how powerless families were and how impossible it was to oppose corrupt ideas. This idea of ​​poverty is also used by Harper Lee when she describes that the Cunninghams are a family in terrible conditions. At school, Scout tries to defend Walter Cunningham, a son of the Cunningham family, and explains that “Walter Cunningham was sitting there upside down. He didn't forget lunch, he didn't have any. He didn't have any today nor would he have any tomorrow or the day after. He had probably never seen three-quarters of them together at the same time in his life. (Law 26). The Cunningham family is a dramatic example of the daily struggle of everyone in the city to live a dignified life. Harper Lee used this idea in her writings because it shows that the common person has little to no influence on the events that were occurring in America... middle of paper... in her novel because these corrupt ideas and events were common in the 1930s, and although many people in the city thought it was wrong, no one was able to oppose it due to widespread poverty. These notions were popular throughout the decade and continued into history. The parallels between To Kill A Mockingbird and important historical ideas and events in America were used by Harper Lee to show how the corruption of the human mentality was affected by the hardships of the 1930s. The decade in which the book was placed was an important time of change for America. The work of historical fiction, To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee is a popular book because it relates the events of the plot to the events of the story. The use of cultural parallels provides the audience with a strong connection to the characters and makes the novel more enjoyable overall.