Depending on what is between our legs, we are expected to act a certain way; whether it be submissive, dominant, empathetic, or stoic. On the contrary, personality traits are on a spectrum, and we, as three-dimensional people, can choose which traits we want to reflect. The best way to visualize how people exemplify these decisions and impact one another is through literature. In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee; the book “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker; and the novel “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury, all the characters move about their lives in ways that reflect this balance between rebellion and acceptance. The setting of “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is during the 1930s, a period where women, relegated to the household, …show more content…
Scout, the protagonist, is a young girl coming of age in a society trying to shove her into a dress and the role of a gilded daughter. For example, when Scout recalls a conversation with her Aunt Alexandra, a figurehead for society and one of the major female figures in her life, she begins to shine her own light on how to brighten her father’s life in a way that is true to herself. On page 108, Scout comes to terms with the fact that she is defying stereotypes, “I could not possibly be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn’t supposed to be doing things that required pants. Aunt Alexandra’s vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born; furthermore, I should be a ray of sunshine in my father’s lonely life. I suggested that one could be a ray of sunshine in pants just as well, but Aunty said that one had to behave like a sunbeam, that I was born good but had grown progressively worse every year. She hurt my feelings and set my teeth permanently on edge, …show more content…
It’s insulting to be defined by two very simple, vastly different categories. For example, Amber Rose said, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been called a slut. From the time I was a young girl—even before I was sexually active—it was a label that was placed on me. As soon as I came into the public eye, I was immediately criticized for everything from my behavior to how I chose to dress. It was undoubtedly hurtful, and getting used to the harsh words I hear so often is still something I struggle with. The term ‘slut’ never seemed to go away—in fact, I began to realize that I’d be called a slut whether I behaved according to other people's standards or not” (Rose). No matter what Rose does, society tries to find flaws and this can impact self-esteem. If everything you heard was just tearing you down, how would you feel? Discouraged. Pessimistic. Even suicidal. Moreover, on the other side of the coin is the word “frumpy.” Whether a women dresses this way because she likes to or she feels like she needs to, its unfair to stick anyone in a box. Women in or around the media are often scrutinized for looking too frumpy. However, any women in the science field feel like they cannot dress feminine because it makes them look like they are obsessed with money or less
Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird is based during the era of racism and prejudice. This era is commonly referred to as The Great Depression and is during the mid-late 30’s. The novel is set in a small town and county called Maycomb, Alabama. The novel follows the story of the Finch’s and their struggle before, during, and after a rape trial that is set against an African American by a white woman and her father. To Kill A Mockingbird has many symbols that have a thematic significance. Flowers and “Mockingbird” type characters are the main types of symbols.
Scout Finch, the main character of the book, is a nine-year-old girl who is the narrator of the story. Scout’s Aunt Alexandra stereotypes Scout in the book many times. She says that Scout was born un-ladylike and that she could never be a lady because of the way she dresses. This point is proven when Scout says, "I suggested that one could be a ray of sunshine in pants just as well, but Aunty said […] that I was born good but had grown progressively worse every year" (Lee 81). Also, Scout’s br...
Even though many social forces impact Scout in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, gender impacts Scout the greatest. It affects her in how other people treat her. Unexpectedly, Aunt Alexandra shows up at the Finch household, and Scout asks why she had just shown up. Aunt Alexandra replies, “We decided that it would be good for you to have some feminine influence. It won’t be many years, Jean Louise, before you become interested in clothes and boys” (127). After Alexandra says this, Scout becomes puzzled because she does not think she needs a “feminine influence”. But, as she becomes older she is expected to act more lady like. Since she is a girl, she is expected to act prim and proper. Her being raised around men is acting against these stereotypes. Certainly, it is obvious that boys are more daring than girls. So while Jem and Dill want to get a sneak peak inside of Boo Radley’s house, Scout gets a little apprehensive. Jem shouts out, “Scout I’m telling you for the last time shut your trap or go home. I declare to the lord you’re getting more like a girl every day,” (51-52). After Jem said this, she decides she has no option but to join them. She does...
Scout is a young girl growing up in the south, she is intelligent, thoughtful, and good natured. Her identity is somewhat uncommon during the time she lives in. She is characterized as a tomboy, who doesn’t always act “lady like” or proper by southern standards. Scout most likely became the type of person she is by the care of her father, Atticus. He shapes her mind, while trying to protect her from a dangerous world and preserving her childhood.
While the women in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird come in a variety of personalities and backgrounds, all of their lives are led by one constricting factor; their gender. Scout's upbringing as a young woman greatly contrasts that of her brother Jem. Jem is educated as a young boy growing into a man while Scout’s journey is taken as a woman. The manacle of womanhood is but a concept if one does not consider the harsh faults and inhibiting limits of men or rather the struggle for “masculinity” that men are similarly constrained. Though she is repeatedly told to have ladylike manners and to dress in more feminine way, Scout mostly denies this norm but is still able to become a young
Prior to the feminist movement of the 1960s, women had to follow strict gender roles. Scout is a prime example of a female child struggling to fit these roles placed upon her by not only males in society, but women too. The moment Aunt Alexandra enters Maycomb, she places it upon herself to mould young Scout and Jem into their societal roles. Scout especially suffers a great deal of criticism and pressure from her Aunt to be the stereotypical girl;
When the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, was written by Harper Lee, the Southern United States was still clinging tightly to traditional values. Southern societies pressured men to behave as gentlemen, and women were expected to be polite and wear dresses. These stringent gender roles were adhered to in small southern towns because they were isolated from the more progressive attitudes in other areas of the United States. Harper Lee documents the life of one young girl growing up in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. Jean Louise Finch, also known as "Scout," is a young girl searching for her identity. Scout, a young tomboy, is pressured by adults who insist she should conform to the traditional role of a southern lady. Harper Lee establishes and promotes Jean’s masculinity through the use of nicknames, fighting, and masculine clothing, while contrasting her with women that fit the stereotypical female model.
Scout's narration and the character's dialog prove that Alexandra is characterized by her traditional values while Miss Maudie is characterized as a modern woman. The issues of gender roles are still a large part of society today and it affects a majority of adolescents because they feel the need to conform and ignore their individualism and that is why this novel is still relevant to society today.. The lessoned to be learned here is to be comfortable in one's own skin and don't listen to negative feedback if it is not constructive.
To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in a rural southern town in the 1930s, when racism was commonly accepted. Blacks were
The 1930’s were a time in which blacks faced many hardships. It was a time in which the Ku Klux Klan had its peak. However, most importantly, it was the time when Nelle Harper Lee, the writer of To Kill A Mockingbird, was being raised. She was raised in a world where “niggers'; were the bottom class in one of the most powerful countries in the world. She was also being raised during the Great Depression, a time when the attacks on blacks were intensified, as they were the scapegoats of the immense downfall of the US economy. However, she was only a small, innocent child who believed in equality for all. Thus, Harper Lee expressed her disapproval over the treatment of blacks in her Award-Winning novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, through the eyes of a fictional character called Jean Louise Finch, better known as “Scout';.
As a growing young girl, Scout was learning and experiencing things just like any other child would though growing up. She got older and was able to understand things a lot better as well as being able to apply lessons she had learned in her everyday life. She began to act slightly more grown up in situations such as Aunt Alexandria's dinner party. Scout forgot how much she despised her Aunt and how much she disliked dresses and joined the group of women in their conversations. Despite how she didn't want to "act more like a lady", she played along with her Aunt's "campaign to teach me (Scout) to be a lady" made an exception to please her Aunt and to create some peace between them. Upon hearing the news of Tom's death she concludes "if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I." This shows how Scout was beginning to act more ladylike for her Aunt.
Readers also see countless examples of sexism alongside others. Many of these examples of sexism are seen in Scout and her reactions when others refer to her as a girl or tell her that she must act more ladylike. Whenever Scout’s brother Jem wants her to do something for him or keep her from doing something, he refers to her as Miss Priss (Lee 62), because Jem knows that Scout absolutely despises being represented as a girl or feminine in any way. The main reason why Scout hates being a girl so much is that she wants to be able to do whatever she wants without being confined to what her society believes that a proper woman should be and how they should act. Even many of the women in the story tell Scout that she needs to act according to their standards and Aunt Alexandra is back with another lesson for Scout. “It won’t be many years, Jean Louise, before you become interested in clothes and boys” (Lee 170). It is clear that Alexandra knows that Scout is in no way a lady by her standards, but still has hope for her. Scout however understands exactly what her Aunt is getting at and is very quick to let readers know that she is not on board with Alexandra’s plan. Alexandra represents the general population of women and how they see themselves and how the rest of the world sees
“Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn't supposed to be doing things that required pants. Aunt Alexandra's vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born; furthermore, I should be a ray of sunshine in my father's lonely life” (Harper Lee 108). Scout’s Aunt Alexandra comes to live with her the summer Scout is eight, in order to provide a female influence for her. Scout is opposed to many of Aunt Alexandra’s views on how she should behave, and doesn’t want to become a lady. As Scout learns about her expected role in society, she also learns about other woman’s roles, and how women aren’t allowed to do many of the things that men do. Miss Maudie, one of Scout’s role models, isn’t allowed to be on the jury because of her sex. Scout is appaled when she learns this, just as she is when she discovers the many other injustices of the world she lives in. Maycomb is a small, sleepy town in the 1930’s, with very traditional ideas and values. Sexism effects Scout’s future, the women of Maycomb, and how the town is run.
Aunt Alexandra is a woman of the early 1900s, she believes that girls should be prim and proper and Scout can not talk to the lower class. For example, when she tells Scout,” You can
Women are still expected to follow rules that society has set for them. Advertisements with unrealistic beauty standards are shown millions of times everyday. Women are still expected to stay at home and cook and clean while men go to work. Scout is a very brave girl who is not afraid to break the rules society has set for her. In every chapter, Scout shows the reader that she is not afraid to be herself.