In the early nineteenth century, women were measured as second-class citizens whose existence was narrowed down to the interior life of the home and the care of them children. After marriage, they did not have any rights to own property, maintain their wages, or sign a contract, and were unable to vote. It was expected that women be dutiful wives, never to hold a thought or opinion independent of their husbands. It was also considered inappropriate for women to travel alone or to speak in public. Women were also taught to cease from pursuing any serious education. Silently floating in their cages, they were seen as merely objects of beauty, and were looked upon as intellectually and physically substandard to men. However, among these simple housekeepers are social reformers, wonderful mothers, and powerful women of faith who changed the world by changing their own.
In To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee, little Scout is nurtured throughout her whole life by her only parent, her father. Without a mother by her side to teach her the manners, Scout, instead of wearing dresses and learning to behave like a lady at her age, wears overalls, fights, and learns to use foul language. The most significant role a woman must carry is the responsibility of being a mother. A traditional mother is often defined as a loving woman, giving her child tender caresses, guiding it throughout the early years of its upbringing and teaching it right from wrong. Mothers living today, who are creating their mark, make a difference in the world everyday.
As we highlight the role of the mother, this is not to say that the father is not important or is less important. In To Kill a Mocking Bird, Scout’s father, Atticus nurtures her and her brother alone as a single parent. Atticus Finch, a lawyer and devoted father, is an intelligent man whose knowledge, consistency, and ability to see past the ill in people are what make him respected by everyone. He is a good role model and proper guide towards his children and is devoted to bringing them up right despite criticism from his family and neighbors saying that they lack discipline and proper guidance. But as the story goes on, it is shown that this isn’t true at all. Scout and Jem seem to learn more about socially succeeding and being a good person in general from Atticus than anywhere else.
In the story To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, we are introduced to the character Atticus. He is a hard working single parent of two who is kindhearted and does what he believes is right and treats everyone equally. Being such a hard worker, his mind is often on work, even at home, which means less time spent with his children. While Atticus may make some mistakes as a parent, overall he is an admirable father. Some may believe that my opinion is wrong and believe that Atticus failed as a father.
Atticus was by that definition a very good father. Whenever Scout was mislead by anything, like the legend of Boo Radley or about how grown ups are, or why certain people feel prejudiced about certain people, Atticus was always right there to guide her. Atticus was also a good father because he knew right from wrong. He was different then most of the men in that town, as hard to find as a needle in a haystack. He saw people as people, not black or white. He defended Tom Robinson without caring that everyone in Maycomb was a calling him a “nigger lover'; and many other racial slurs. All Atticus did was shrug them off. When Bob Ewell spit in Atticus’s face, Atticus still did not retaliate. Instead, he wiped the spit off of his face and kept walking minding his own business. This showed Scout and Jem that there was no reason to worry themselves with other peoples opinion’s. When Mrs. Dubose called Atticus a nigger lover to Jem, Jem got angry and went home and asked Atticus if he really was a nigger lover. Atticus said straight out with no thought, “I certainly am. I do my best to love everyone…I’m hard to put, sometimes-baby, its never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is , it doesn’t hurt you. So don’t let Mrs. Dubose get you down.'; This qoatation shows exactly how Atticus in influencing Scout and Jem to be good people. He gave his, what may be called lessons on life, so fluently that it seemed less like a lecture then it really was. He tried his best to teach his children that some people can only feel good about themselves when they attempt to make someone else feel bad.
Women, like black slaves, were treated unequally from the male before the nineteenth century. The role of the women played the part of their description, physically and emotionally weak, which during this time period all women did was took care of their household and husband, and followed their orders. Women were classified as the “weaker sex” or below the standards of men in the early part of the century. Soon after the decades unfolded, women gradually surfaced to breathe the air of freedom and self determination, when they were given specific freedoms such as the opportunity for an education, their voting rights, ownership of property, and being employed.
“The key to being a good dad...well, sometimes things work out just the way you want. Sometimes they don't. But you gotta hang in there. Because when all is said and done, 90% of being a dad is just showing up” ( Modern Family). Fathers aren’t perfect, but they can be the best role models to their children by simply being there for them like Atticus. He shows how to be a great father in the book “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. While Atticus makes mistakes as a parent, he educates his children with wisdom they’ll use throughout their lives. Atticus teaches his children how to see from different point of views, violence is never the answer, and what real courage means.
Atticus is a good father. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus tries to be a good father as much as possible to Scout and Jem. Atticus finch is as good of a father as he is a lawyer. He is a loving and caring father and teaches Scout and Jem the difference between right and wrong as well as equality for all.
A father is one who raises and nourishes his children. Kind, understanding, strict but fair, Atticus Finch is everything a father should be. Atticus is a great father to both of his children, Scout and Jem. A father's behavior influences a child's character. Scout and Jem show the tolerance and respect that Atticus has situated in them. They become curious, polite, intelligent, and giving. Atticus is a wise and intelligent man who teaches his children about life, and plays a principle role in affecting his children's futures. Atticus' role as a father is similar to one of a teacher. His children learn more things from him than anyone else in their lives. Atticus believes that it is more effective to teach his kids through example, first hand. Atticus, whom is the teacher of life to his children, emphasizes on teaching his children the importance of education, doing what is right according to one's self,with justice and equality.
Women spent majority of their day ironing, washing clothes, baking, sewing clothes and raising their children (page 17). Religion also added to women’s lesser status (page 18). Religion was at the core life of Americans, female submission was decreed to be part of God’s order (page 18). Lucretia Mott soon pointed out that many scriptures celebrated female strength and independence (page 18). As a young girl Elizabeth Cady Stanton learned about laws that limited rights of wives and as an adult found ways to reform marriage and divorce laws (page 23). Things were looking up for women, by 1850 female wage workers made up nearly a quarter of the manufacturing labor work force (page 30). Women were still excluded from occupations such as the military, ministry, law, medicine and jobs felt inappropriate for women (page 32). During this antebellum period women were starting to rise up and realize they deserved to have the same rights and privileges men received. This gave women hope that things could change. By the second quarter of the 19th century few positive changes for women pushed Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Susan B Anthony, Lucy Stone and others to challenge injustices and reform efforts (page
Women were confronted by many social obligation in the late nineteenth century. Women were living lives that reflected their social rank. They were expected to be economically dependent and legally inferior. No matter what class women were in, men were seen as the ones who go to work and make the money. That way, the women would have to be dependent since they were not able to go to work and make a good salary. No matter what class a woman was in, she could own property in her own name. When a woman became married she " lost control of any property she owned, inherited, or earned" ( Kagan et al. 569). A woman's legal identity was given to her husband.
“I simply want to tell you that there are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your fathers one of them.” (Lee 288). This quote proves that Atticus is a great father in the book To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, because he respects them, He cares about what they have to say, and Atticus wants them to be happy.
Some may question the parenting style of others and that is just how humans work. They doubt the way others do things because it is not how they themselves would do it. Atticus Finch is a good father because he taught his children bravery through his self-control, he is determined to teach Jem and Scout the value of respecting people, no matter who they are, and he teaches his children that life involves making difficult decisions sometimes. Atticus is one of those people that everybody should look up to and want to be more like him because despite all the racism that happened and disrespect he got, he stood with his head held high and made sure his children did too.
Before the Women’s Rights Movement women were viewed less than men in every aspect. Pre- Civil War women were viewed as the source of life but viewed less than men intellectually . In the 19th century the ideal women was submissive, her job was to be an obedient, loving wife . There were two important thing that ruled the way that women were treated. One of these was the most important out of the two during this time period this was the Cult of Domesticity, which basically said that women were supposed to do all of the domestic work in a household 3.
As a child grows, many people influence their development as a person. Some people impact more than others, and a select few really leave their mark. In Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,” several characters play this role. Among them, Miss Maudie Atkinson, a woman who proves herself a strong character, prevails as the one who has the greatest impact on Scout Finch, the protagonist of this novel. As Scout matures and grows up, her views on the world around her change. Through subtle yet effective ways, Miss Maudie teaches Scout many life lessons about being humble, judging, and attitude, all of which ultimately have a great effect on the kind of person Scout develops into and her outlook on the world.
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Atticus Finch’s parenting skills were often questioned throughout the novel. Although there were people that didn’t believe he was a good father, I think that he was. There are many different reasons provided throughout the novel that prove he is a good father. Atticus may let his children get away with a little more than the average parent would, but he has a good head on his shoulders. He is open to giving his kids more freedoms and there’s nothing wrong with that. Atticus approaches life with a devotion to fairness and exposes his children, Jem and Scout, to real life. Overall, he makes a pretty good father.
During the 19th century middle to upper class women were faced with dichotomous roles. On one hand they were expected to be idle, fragile, not engaged in intellectual activities outside of the home. On the opposite hand these same women were expected to withstand the vagaries that were common during the 19th century such as the death of their husband or a reversal of their financial situation(i). This contradiction of roles bore heavily on women who often lacked power or control over their own lives(ii).
The feeling of not being heard or not being allowed to do what you want is placed upon women in the 1930s. Harper Lee’s depiction of women, in her novel To Kill A Mockingbird, is they should be able to have an important voice in society, make changes they feel are important, and do certain actions without conforming to gender normalities.