Final answer:
The setting of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' is Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s, serving as a backdrop that underscores the novel's themes of racial injustice and the loss of innocence.
Step-by-step explanation:
The setting of “To Kill a Mockingbird” is the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. Maycomb is depicted as a small, old town filled with traditions and distinct social classes. This setting is critical for establishing the mood of the novel and for framing the social issues, including racial injustice and the loss of innocence, which are central to the plot. The time period, the Great Depression, further accentuates these themes by highlighting the economic struggles and biases of the era. The social/cultural context of Maycomb becomes a lens through which the characters are developed, and it serves as a backdrop to the moral growth of the protagonist, Scout Finch.