Gender Roles In To Kill A Mockingbird

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. The first problem here is that no boy has the right to treat a girl the way Jem did by shoving the tire that she was in as hard a he could. In today’s society, it is not acceptable to show physical aggression towards women. Following the incident, Jem yells to Scout. Scout says, “Dizzy and nauseated, I lay on the cement and shook my head still, pounded my ears to silence, and heard Jem’s voice: ‘Scout, get away from there, come on!’”(Lee 42). I think that it is crazy that Jem and Dill didn’t rush to Scouts side to see if she was okay. She could have been badly injured, but they were so wrapped up in their own fear of the Radleys. No matter who the

As shown in the paragraph above, the incident following was the result of that contradiction. If Dill would have contradicted Jem, I think that Jem would have just shrugged him off. The fact that Jem bottled up anger and took it out on Scout shows that Jem has had little experience with a girl challenging him. Another example is in chapter five when Scout tried to join in on Dill and Jem’s conversation. Replying to their rejection, Scout states, “‘Will not. This yard’s as much mine as it is yours, Jem Finch. I got just as much right to play in it as you have.’ Dill and Jem emerged from a brief huddle: ‘If you stay you’ve got to do what we tell you,’ Dill warned”(Lee 51). Scout challenged the boys, but she did not win in my opinion. Even though she got permission to be near them, she had to do exactly what she was