In To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the idea of masculine versus feminine behavior is often present as these views are dependent on society and upbringing within it. Set in the 1930’s, gender roles were quite prominent throughout this time, leading to prejudice and gaps between the male and female genders, similar to today. At this point of the story, there have been several incidents with Scout acting in a way that is seen as improper. For example, the way Scout dresses, which is in trousers instead of frilly dresses, and how she plays with the boys, is seen as unladylike. Several orthodox people in the town demonstrate frustration with these actions, like Jem. Jem shows his vexation with Scout by reprimanding her when saying, “It's time
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...
Most girls that grew up in the time that Scout did would be wearing dresses and acting in a more feminine manner. Some of this can be credited to Atticus’s hands-off parenting style, which doesn’t push Scout towards stereotypical gender roles. Scout seems to represent a very early and mild form of feminism in the south. When problems arise in the book, she often questions or examines them as a personal responsibility and seeks a resolution. This is a key difference because in feminist ethics, men often view something right or wrong instead of seeking a resolution.
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
This was introduced to them in the form of Aunt Alexandra. The Scout was crushed when Aunt Alexandra sent Atticus to talk to the Scout and Jem. "You are not run-of-the-mill people, that you are the product of several generations gentle breeding.try to behave like the little lady and gentleman that you are' " (Lee 133). Scout was upset because he was essentially telling her not to be herself. Aunt Alexandra wanted to change Scout's personality to conform to society's ideas of what was right for a girl in those times. It seemed like Atticus had almost encouraged them to find their own way, despite the disapproval of many in town; overalls were allowed for Scout, a female, and they had free run of the surrounding few houses during the day.
Society thought that women should always look presentable, and act modest. Before Boo Radley was confined, Boo was in an alleged gang. In court the group of fifteen year-old boys got in trouble for “using abusive and profane language in the presence and hearing of a female...Mr.Conner said they cussed so loud he was sure every lady in Maycomb heard them”(12). Since females were supposed to be modest, Scout had many things she had to fix. For example, Scout started to curse early in the book. Women, including young women like Scout, are expected to become modest, and stay pure , but Scout always denies anyone who trys to change her. This leaves many of the people around her hopeless, realizing that Scout won’t
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.
In the 1930s, it was expected to have certain male and female roles. Stereotypically speaking, women were expected to take care of children, wear ladylike clothes, and stay at home and maintain the house. Scout wears clothes that are closely related to those of young boys. “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 anything that required pants” (Lee 81). Instead of following a woman’s attire, Scout decides to be a woman that wears pants, and makes her own decisions. She chooses to show courage to stand up against social standards by not wearing a dress all the time, and by displaying a very boy like personality. Likewise, Scout defends her older brother Jem as an unknown man attacks them. Women are usually expected to be helpless in such a situation, yet scout uses courage and breaks stereotypes. “He yanked Jem nearly off his feet. ‘ Don’t you touch him!’ I kicked the man swiftly” (Lee 152). Scout is not afraid to attack someone that towers over her, and uses courage to break stereotypes about women. Scout uses her tough personality to prove that girls are more than just characters that stay helpless in a delicate dress, but individuals that are capable of great things. Moreover, Calpurnia, Scout’s respectable cook, sets a good example for Scout and uses courage to show her this. Scout
The Gender roles in society have greatly changed throughout the years of America from puritan women who thought that showing skin was undoubtedly a sin from the flapper era in american history that welcomed the idea of women showing more of their sexuality. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird which depict the events that occur when a white man who defends an african american man during the era of the great depression and what results from the story. Gender roles are a prevalent theme in the story. Through the characters dialogue and Scout's narration, Miss Maudie is characterized as a modern women while aunt Alexandra is characterized by her adherence to tradition.
One way Harper Lee develops gender inequity through stereotypes is through Scout’s experiences with the women in Maycomb. Scout is laughed at for wearing pants under her dress. Scout prefers pants over dresses because she’s a tomboy and can be more active in “britches.” On Sunday, Scout dressed up, but still had pants under her dress. When Scout is at the gathering with the women, Miss Maudie says, “‘You’re mighty dressed up, Miss Jean Louise,’ she said. ‘Where are your britches today?’ ‘Under my dress.’ I hadn’t meant to be funny, but the ladies laughed. My cheeks grew hot as I realized my mistake” (Lee 307). Because Scout is laughed at for wearing pants and not for something she thought was funny, she feels singled out and degraded. The ladies of Maycomb laughed at her because she had done something “wrong” in their eyes. She wore pants
Sexism is not as common a topic in comparison to racism, but does play a role in the development of the novel. This type of discrimination is expressed towards women from men and women alike. Men feel compelled to protect women from unsightly things, (Lee 221), and the women in Maycomb have the mind set that, to be a lady, they must conform to society's expectations of them. They believe they must dress, act, and speak a certain way to appease the community. Aunt Alexandra is a big believer in acting the way society expects her to and attempts to impose these values on her niece, Scout, who becomes mortified, as she has always been a tomboy and prefers spending time in the dirt. “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my [Scout's] attire. She said 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 ...
Gender roles are evident in To Kill a Mockingbird. It starts in chapter four when Jem pushes Scout in a tire. Scout states, “I did not realize that Jem was offended by my contradicting him on Hot Steams, and that he was patiently awaiting an opportunity to reward me. He did, by pushing the tire down the sidewalk with all the force in his body”(Lee 41-42). Scout ended up crashing right in front of the Radley steps.
Overall, the reader can connect sexist issues in “To Kill a Mockingbird” to the present day world. 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
Take a moment to think, what would you do if you didn’t have your parents/guardians? How would you be acting? Where would you be? Adults have a big part in a child’s life not only because they are there to support them but being role models to show them how they should be acting and maturing over time. The novel “To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee” takes place in a small town named Maycomb and it has a great deal to do with children maturing over time and how adults come into place as role models. The 3 main role models in this story are: The father Atticus Finch, The house keeper Calpurnia, And the neighbour across the street Miss Maudie. In this essay you will be reading about how the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” illustrates how adult role-models directly influence the maturation of children.
scout fought with him that she was acting like a boy in manner and any lady at that time should take the insult without paying any attention to the boy because she was considered lower than boys .Another example for gender role when scout was playing a game with her brother jem and her cousin dill that she imitated the actions of boo radely. Jem and dill warned her for imitating these dangerous actions because these actions were not fit for girls.