This quote, spoken by Bob Ewell in the novel To
Kill a Mockingbird, is quite ironic in many
ways.
First, Ewell claims that having black people in the
neighborhood would "devalue his property". The fact is that the Ewells are the most
notorious villagers in Macomb, and this notoriety comes for being the lowest of the
lowest in terms of social class. This has nothing to do with their level of poverty,
which is quite bad, but with their overall way of
living.
They are known to be untidy, sickly (due to their
poor hygiene), loud, obnoxious, antisocial, and vulgar. Their place of living is
completely isolated from Macomb because they do not even possess any social skills to
blend in with the rest of the community. In other words, the Ewells devalue the entire
town of Macomb themselves only by being there: They add no value to the
community,whatsoever.
Moreover, it takes a lot of nerve for
someone like Bob Ewell to dare to mention the flaws of others. This is a man who
probably fondles his own daughter, is racist, violent, and a social outcast. The fact
that he is oblivious to the chaos in his own life shows how dysfunctional, sad, and
sorry is the life of the Ewell family, as a
whole.
Therefore, the comment is an irony in its
entirety.
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