Stereotypes In To Kill A Mockingbird

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In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, a young girl, Scout, and her brother, must thrive in a small southern town during the great depression. As the story progresses we see Scout and Jem begin to be molded into a lady and a gentleman. The gender roles and progression of characters in To Kill a Mockingbird show that Maycomb County forces people into gender stereotypes that were typical in 1930, much like many other southern communities during the Great Depression.

Scout’s father, Atticus, is a lawyer. During a trial on accusation of rape, the ladies and children are asked to leave, which puzzles Scout. Afterwards, she asks her father why she was supposed to leave, he replies with “I guess it’s to protect our frail ladies from sordid cases …show more content…

Although Lee denies it, some say that To Kill a Mockingbird is actually an autobiography of Lee’s early life. Lee grew up in a town that is similar to Maycomb based on the way it is described. Her father was a lawyer and she was a tomboy. Her book parallels her life in many ways including the stereotypes that she and Scout both faced as young …show more content…

Heavily influenced by her father and brother, she finds nothing but nonsense in the ways of ladies. Jem often uses Scouts femininity as an insult, which causes Scout to fly into outrage. It is not until Jem matures that he sees the social importance of the gender roles. “‘It’s time you started bein’ a girl and acting right!’” Jem yells at Scout after a petty fight. Scout is confused and runs to Calpurnia who explains that Jem is growing up. As Jem becomes a “mister” and learns the place he must fill in society, he believes that Scout should come a lady and grow up too. A little while later, Aunt Alexandra visits to provide Scout with some female influence. Scout feels the pressure to become the young lady society expects her to be. Scout overhears a conversation between her father and her aunt, and is devastated; “‘I felt the starched walls of a pink cotton penitentiary closing in on me, and for the second time in my life I thought of running away. Immediately.’” Scout is completely terrified of the idea of growing up because it means she will have to be ladylike and therefore cannot complete the activities she

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