Character Analysis Of Aunt Alexandra In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Narcissists, perhaps some of the most hated people today. Except, it was not always like that. They were once some of the most influential and well-liked people. Harper Lee’s book, To Kill a Mockingbird, is about a girl named Scout, and her life in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama

Discrimination, it has been part of human nature for a long time, especially relevant subject in literature such as To Kill a Mockingbird. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the main character of Scout Finch was exposed to different types of discrimination as she grows up. Discrimination affected the

“Atticus said one time the reason Aunty’s so hipped on the family is because we’ve got’s background and not a dime to our names” (Lee 302) Aunt Alexandra compares her family, the Finches, as the best family. The reason why is “because we’ve got’s background and not a dime to our names.” (Lee 302) “Aunty brought me my overalls. “Put these on, darling,” she said, handing me the garments she most despised,” (Lee 354) Once Aunt Alexandra put herself in Scout’s shoes, she knew that giving her her overalls were going to comfort her after Bob Ewell tried to kill her. By doing so, she was able to comfort Scout and make her feel better. Though there is a huge reputation with family, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it is true because everyone is

By treating her family lineage as unimportant, Scout was thought of by many as bringing shame to the Finch name, thus creating chaos within Maycomb. At the time of their Aunt Alexandra’s visit, Atticus said, “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” (Lee 178). After Atticus finished this dialogue, Scout began to cry due to the opposition toward Aunt Alexandra’s ideals about lineage being important in one’s everyday life. The reason for her emotional response was that Aunt Alexandra had turned to heredity to explain behavior and justify actions since her arrival. However, Scout had never been exposed to an environment where her history could be so valued. Aunt Alexandra’s order was disrupted with chaos when she saw how little Scout cared about lineage and believed that Scout’s unruly behavior was a result of her neglect to bring respect to the Finch name. When

The character Aunt Alexandra reminds me of a close friend, my mom had a while back. She raised three boys who grew up to do nothing with their lives. When the lady would babysit me on the weekends she would make me do housework, for her. I questioned her, asking why her boys couldn’t do it, her response was that they were boys and that because I was a girl I was expected to take on the job of taking care of the house. Everytime I read a section where Aunt Alexandra was present it made me feel bad, Aunt Alexandra was forcing Scout dress in formal clothing rather than letting her express her individuality because it would be viewed as unlady like.

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

She continually and publicly disapproved of Atticus’s parenting style, specifically with Scout. Scout’s behavior bothered Alexandra so much that she came to live with them, which made me wary of her character. Alexandra was raised a lady, and she valued the domestic roles expected of women. Her (and everyone elses) narrow-mindedness led her to believe that the only thing girls could and should do, was be a lady. “Aunt Alexandra was 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 pants.” At this point, I completely hated Alexandra’s character. Scout just wanted to be a kid and play with the boys. I understand Alexandra’s viewpoint, though; why she acted the way she did, and said the things she said. Her expectations of Scout, I felt, were a bit unrealistic for Scout’s age and circumstance. However, Scout was not the only girl to fall victim to these expectations; all women of this time were pressured to be something that they were not (Lee 85-86).

Building Blocks of Growth and Maturity In To Kill a Mockingbird Throughout the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, many characters develop and mature in unique ways. Boo, who fears talking to others, Aunt Alexandra, who is against people of other

This novel is full of interesting and richly painted characters,Aunt Alexandra was one of my favorite throughout the book. Reading To Kill A Mockingbird you can precisely see her transform into someone extremely courageous. When Harper Lee introduces Alexandra it seemed as if she was a very grouchy woman with a lot of dignity, and very prejudice. Scout and Alexandra encounter many struggles.While

1. Scout admires Miss Maudie for many reasons. Miss Maudie shows respect towards Scout and her brother. She isn’t condescending and makes Scout feel comfortable. Scout admires Maudie's "crisp" speech and her sense of humor. But most of all, Scout knows she can trust Maudie and knows Maudie is her friend. 2. Atticus

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the characterization of Aunt Alexandra helps to reveal the theme of how reputation contradicts identity the theme is presented throughout the plotline of To Kill a Mockingbird. The way Aunt Alexandra shows this theme vocally is when she expresses her opinion to others of how family reputation should be followed by each family member. An example of this is when Scout is talking to her cousin Francis after they have eaten at the Finch's landing. As they were talking Francis brought up the subject of her dad and his case. After hearing what Francis says she gets mad at him and he replies that was what their Aunt Alexandra had said. Scout's cousin Francis says, "Grandma say it's bad enough he lets you all

In to Kill Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout dislikes Aunt Alexandra who tries to make scout more ladylike which results in Scout following the social expectations of Maycomb county.

4. Aunt Alexandra disapproves of Scout because she doesn’t act or dress like a lady should. She thinks that Scout should wear a dress and have tea parties.

The first example of this is when she is at her family's Christmas celebration, when her Aunt Alexandra comments on what she is wearing. Scout thinks to herself, “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches…”(Lee 108). Scout does not listen to her aunt and believes that girls should be able to dress however they want. She thinks that there is no evident definition of an “average girl”, and concludes that society should not view a woman just by her apparel. Another example is when Scout is with her family celebrating Christmas and her cousin Francis is there. Francis makes a vile comment about how Atticus, Scout's father, loves African-Americans, which is a mean thing to say at this time in history. Francis only says this considering that Atticus is a lawyer and is defending Tom Robinson, an African-American, in court. Scout gets really fanatic and starts beating up Francis. When Scout was describing the incident she states, “Francis called Atticus somethin’, an’ I wasn’t about to take it off him” (114). Scout believes that it is essential to stand up to people that are going against the people one might love. Also, she affirms that it is important to stand up against racism, no matter what situation a person might be in. Even though Scout gets in trouble often, she always speaks her mind and does not worry about others thoughts and