Chaos In To Kill A Mockingbird Analysis

In Harper Lee’s book “To Kill a Mockingbird” Jem , Scout , and Dill live in Maycomb , Alabama around the time of the 1930’s they all were struggling through racism and poor family’s trying to get by. Harper Lee’s first and only novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” was published during the civil right movements. In this book Jem, Scout, and Dill tend to have courage and loyalty through life and in their relationship toward one another . Jem and Scout are brother and sister, Dill is a friend of the family but they accept him as a brother. Although, Jem and Dill have the most exceptional relationship out of them all. “ To Kill A Mockingbird” the impact racism had on society shows through the setting , characters , and town of Maycomb , Alabama .

Racism is witnessed many times throughout Scout's life, but not many times through her family as Atticus believes all people are equal. The only times she really sees it in her household is when Aunt Alexandra gets there. Jem and Scout talk to each other about what Aunt Alexandra says to Atticus and it shows her views. “She won’t let him alone about Tom Robinson. She almost said Atticus was disgracin’ the family. Scout… I’m scared.’ ‘Scared’a what?’ ‘Scared about Atticus. Somebody might hurt him”(167). Not only does this quote show her views about a different race, it also shows her directing her thoughts towards Atticus. She is trying to guilt Atticus into changing his mind and to keep the Finch family legacy going strong. This method of persuasion obviously does not work on Atticus, as he continues with the trial, despite Aunt Alexandra’s perspective on the

On the other hand, Aunt Alexandra faced a different but common obstacle, prejudice. Since prejudice was ubiquitous, Aunt Alexandra demonstrated maturity when she became more accepting of others especially Calpurnia, Boo and Scout. Aunt Alexandra, Scout and Jem’s caretaker, had some difficulties interacting and talking around people who were a different race or a lower social or economic class. When Aunt Alexandra first met Calpurnia, the African-American maid who worked in the Finch’s house, she despised her and all of her actions. No matter what Calpurnia did or what she said, she could not please Aunt Alexandra. However, later on in the novel, Aunt Alexandra developed a more accepting attitude towards Calpurnia. She allowed Calpurnia to serve the children dinner. This shows how much Aunt Alexandra has grown to be more accepting of other races and not be prejudice. Not only does Aunt Alexandra accept Calpurnia for who she is, but she also learns to accept Scout. “She brought me something to put on, and had I thought about it then, I would have never let her forget it: in her distraction, Aunty brought me my overalls” (Pg.264).

Even the seemingly insignificant characters in To Kill a Mockingbird can inflict the most difference. Scout, Dill, and Jem affect the society of Maycomb in a positive way. In the novel, they express their views through their thoughts and actions. By fighting Maycomb’s views on racism, justice, and social class, Scout, Dill, and Jem instill change in the Maycomb community.

The novel To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee is about a young girl named Scout and her brother, Jem, growing up in the small, southern town of Maycomb, Alabama. Scout and Jem live with their older father, Atticus, and spend their summers playing with their friend, Dill. They have many neighbors, and one is an older woman named Mrs. Dubose. As the siblings grow older, they begin to drift apart and new disagreements begin. Yet, as Jem begins change, he starts to think more maturely about feuds with his sister and opinions towards his neighbors. For example, in the tire incident, Jem realizes that Scout is in trouble and tries to help her. In addition, in the flower incident with Mrs. Dubose,

Scout was particularly affected by gender discrimination as she was a girl. She was told she acted too much like a boy when she should be acting like a girl. Scout described Aunt Alexandra as “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 pant” (108). Aunt Alexandra discriminated Scout for not wearing lady like attire and told her that if she continued to dress that way then she could not be a lady. Aunt Alexandra soon became determined to put an end to Scout’s non-feminine behavior. Atticus tried to explain to Scout that "She asked me to tell you must try to behave like the little lady and gentleman that you are. She wants to talk to you about the family and what it's meant to Maycomb County through the years, so you'll have some idea of who you are, so you might be moved to behave accordingly"(178). Atticus decided to take his sister’s word and told his children what they should act like despite him not approving of this. Scout’s behavior is what leads her Aunt Alexandra to discriminating her and telling her she will never be a lady if she continues to not dress

Unfortunately, her father is in a lot deeper than she thought he was, unable to make him understand what he was thinking. “You neglected to tell me that we were naturally better than then the Negroes, bless their kinky heads, that they were able to go so far but so far only, you neglected to tell me what Mr. O’Hanlon told me yesterday.” (Lee 247). To Scout it’s a shock and one she never expected to come from her father. Atticus was the only person Scout trusted since she was little. With Jem no longer around, Atticus was the real connection the past and her youth. For this to happen, it does not sit well with Scout in any way, and she wants to fight it, not accept that it’s true. “I’ll never forgive you for what you did to me. You cheated me, you’ve driven me out of my home and now I’m in no-man’s-land but good-there’s no place for me any more in Maycomb, and I’ll never be entirely at home anywhere else.” (Lee 248). Scout, now thrown off her center due to what she believes and can’t even call the town where she grew up home. Atticus sent Scout to college in Alabama, and that too seemed against her will on what she wanted to do. Calling Maycomb no longer home is another huge change because she no longer feels welcome, something she felt when she first arrived in town. “Aunty, you may have issue a communique to the effect that I am going so far away from Maycomb

Halfway through the novel, Scout encounters complications when she visits her relatives at Christmas and becomes entangled in a fistfight with her cousin over Atticus defending Tom Robinson. This is where Scout gets the first inklings of the idea that she, Atticus and Jem, do not belong with the social standards that the rest of the family follows. Further obstacles arise when Aunt Alexandra starts living with the Finch’s. Aunt Alexandra, more of a hassle than a help to Scout, attempts to bring her up to be a ‘proper young lady’, much to Scout’s displeasure. Scout does not feel as though she belongs to the societal standard of growing up to become a lady. The Finch’s family life is then juxtaposed with the life of the black population of the town. The black community has a lower social class than the white

Scout is a very strong and independent character who believes in who she is. She does not allow anyone to push her around even if that means she has to settle an argument in an immature way such as fist fights. Scout is unlike many girls in her town. She likes to play outside,wear pants and she doesn’t like to play with teasets or dolls. This appalls many adults who are not understanding of why Scout is different from the other girls. Many neighbors and relatives put the blame on Atticus for “not raising her right”. Atticus is often criticized because he took a different role in life than his siblings and left the Finch landing. The Finch Landing is a huge farm run by workers paid slim to none. Atticus’s siblings, Alexandra and Jack stayed at the farm and took in the money and watched the workers work. Generations and generations of Finches had done this with the exception of Atticus. Instead he felt there was more to life and decided to go to school and become a lawyer. He is now raising Scout and Jem. With Scout’s mom dead, many people feel they need to intervene with Atticus’s parenting to play a mother figure. Alexandra plays a big part in this and sits Scout down to chat. Alexandra tells Scout that she

Aunt Alexandra doesn’t believe that Scout is feminine enough and disapproves of her tomboyish looks. She hates the way Scout dresses, can't believe that Atticus allows her to curse, and disapproves of her friends.

In any form of environment, social inequality and status always comes through as human nature. Throughout the novel, Scout’s prejudice against Walter Cunningham changes. In the beginning she judges and disrespects Walter, by the way he eats ravenously at dinner with Scout’s family; he does so due to poverty. Towards the end of the novel she comes to a mutual understanding of the Cunninghams ways and reasons. Scout tries to convince Aunt Alexandra if Walter can come over for dinner once again. But, Aunt Alexandra refuses, ‘“[t]he thing is that you can scrub Walter Cunningham till he shines, you can put him in shoes and a new suit, but he’ll never be like Jem. [b]esides, there is a drinking streak in that family a mile wide. Finch women aren’t interested in that sort of people’” (300). Even though Scout evolves out of prejudice of the Cunningham lifestyle, Aunt Alexandra is not able to change her perspective; she believes that interacting with the Cunningham will affect the behaviour

Also, class and family history is an important part of tradition to many of the people in Maycomb. When Aunt Alexandra comes to visit, she feels it her duty to put upon Scout the importance of her roots. Aunt Alexandra forces Atticus to explain to Scout that she is "not from run-of-the-mill people, but the product of several generations' gentle breeding". Aunt Alexandra feels that people are born into a certain class, and should, therefore, behave accordingly. If you are born into a high class, you will always be considered high class, and if you are born into a low class, there is no use to strive for anything higher.

Another life lesson that Jem and Scout learn about throughout the story is of the categorization of people in Maycomb, which ties in with the prejudice. They notice that most of the people in Maycomb value their ancestry and background very much, especially to see who settled down in the area first and had more distinguished and important ancestors. They also notice how the people of Maycomb are always judging one another and saying that a person acts a certain way because of his background, ancestry, or race. On pg. 226 Jem says, “There's four kinds of folks in the world. There's the ordinary folks like us and the neighbors, there's the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes.”The quote above is the way Jem believes that people are divided in Maycomb County. This shows how the environment around Jem and Scout is affecting them and how they are starting to see and understand people and their actions.

Class and family history is an important part of tradition to many of the people in Maycomb. When Aunt Alexandra comes to visit, she feels it her duty to impress upon Scout the importance of her roots. Aunt Alexandra forces Atticus to explain to Scout that she is "not from run-of-the-mill people, [but] the product of several generations' gentle breeding"(p.133). Aunt Alexandra feels that people are born into a certain class, and should, therefore, behave accordingly. If you are born into a high class, you will always be considered high class, and if you are born into a low class, there is no use to strive for anything higher. The result is that families are repeated in each generation with similar attitudes and character shadings. The objective is obviously to refine the classes and keep them pure. Aunt Alexandra and many other men and women in Maycomb praise the distinction of class. To them, having high blood is seen as sacred and there

One thing they are is a happy family. This is all that matters in life, to be happy because it can be taken from you with the snap of the fingers. The Finch’s, in Aunt Alexandra’s book, are not a fine family. Someone would say that Atticus, letting Scout run around with the boys , and wear overalls and such is dishonorable. Yes, at one point we all need to grow up, but they are kids. Happiness only comes around once in awhile and they should grab while they can. Scout is different, but isn’t everyone. These are the things that makes us unique. This goes to show that Aunt Alexandra gets what she wants no matter the consequences. This doesn’t make her a good influence on Scout or Jem because they need to look up to someone who cares about others and what’s going on around them. Atticus does this by taking the Tom Robinson case. He cares about what influence he has on his kids. He knew it wouldn't be right to just let this man die for a crime he mostly likely didn’t commit. Even though this case isn’t an easy one and will most likely lose he takes it. Something people might also say is that back in the old days a women would get nowhere without acting like a part of society. Scout’s life would be much easier if she put on a dress and acted how a girl should back then, but she doesn’t and because of that a difference is being made. Society evolves because of change without it we would be no where. Scout is just the start of people going against all the feminism. She can wear overalls and still be treated with respect. She’s a good person and deserves to dress and act like she wants to. Aunt Alexandra doesn’t understand that change can be good. That you don’t have to act like someone you're not. Family name and importance is not as important as making your family happy. Aunt Alexandra isn’t a good influence because she doesn’t care about what Jem and Scout