Suggestions to improve my introduction paragraph (i need to condense it quite a lot)?

The context of a text reflects the values, ideas, intention and audience understanding of a text. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, was published in 1960, just as the civil rights movement was taking shape, and racism was being strongly resisted and challenged. It is set in the 1930s, south of America, a typical small town called Maycomb, which is hit hard by economic depression after the American civil war, and is immersed in the values of the old south. Prejudice in the forms of gender, race and cl discrimination was rife and the atmosphere was volatile, thick with racial tension. Slavery had been abolished, but the traditional and racist values of the old south remain resolutely just beneath the surface, institutionalized into society. These old fashioned values manifest themselves through the social issues examined within the text. The inherent bigotry of the time is portrayed through the racial segregation and the court case, where an all white jury convict Tom Robinson despite lack of evidence, Aunt Alexandra’s attitude towards Scouts tomboyish behaviour and the complex cl structure of Maycomb. A whole new dimension is added to the exploration of these themes by the point of view in which we see and interpret this issues and events, as the story is narrated by Scout, an intelligent 6 year old girl at the start of the novel. Her naivety and childlike innocence perspective develops, juxtaposing with the voice of an adult, as she is confronted with evil, open and ugly racism and intolerance, and is baffled by it. Her concepts on these social issues reflect a deeper understanding, and a charming and often humorous honesty and clarity which only children seem to possess. Through Scout’s unique point of view, the reader is presented the irrationality and destructive power of prejudice.