What does To Kill a Mockingbird teach us about how people cope with issues of race and class?

This novel shows us that
most affluent white people are unwilling to consider the experiences and feelings of those who
are of a different race or class than them. Aside from , most of the white people in town are
quite ready to believe that Tom Robinson is guilty of rape, despite all of the evidence to
suggest that Mayella Ewell is lying during his trial. In fact, many are willing to take the law
into their own hands and lynch Tom even before he is tried. However, despite his position as
Tom's lawyer, Atticus is still capable of feeling compassion for Mayella. It is no surprise that
Atticus does not buy into the belief that people of color or of low social and financial status
are worth less than others.

Mayella also clearly feels that she won't be
believed because of her low status in town, and she calls all the men on the jury cowards if
they refuse to prosecute Tom. In the end, it becomes clear that a person's class status is of
less importance than their race: Tom is convicted because he is black, not because he is guilty;
Mayella is vindicated because she is white, despite her low status, not because she is
honest.