Gender Roles Of Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

The act of prejudice is one that everyone experiences. Whether it be, a person who is distributing hate, or a person who is receiving hate, everyone has contact with it. Although it is present all over the globe, it is prominent in the United States. Both in the present and the past, endless acts of discrimination have taken place and left a monumental impact on the country. The effect that it leaves can be seen in the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. In this story, sexism, racism, and isolation, are demonstrated in the small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930’s. As the story progresses, Lee compares these concepts to one another and uses them to make a statement about the problematic nature in America.

By using characterization in To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee shows how people try to drive others to follow their gender role and makes us wonder, why do people want this? In an argument with Aunt Alexandra Scout says, “I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could not do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn’t supposed to be doing things that required pants.” (108). We can clearly understand that Aunt Alexandra is trying to make Scout stop wearing overalls and instead wear girl clothes, in doing so, she is restricting Scout from doing the activities she enjoys like playing and running. Not only does Aunt Alexandra want Scout to stop wearing overalls which are for boys but also wants to make Scout a lady, she wants her to learn a woman's role, which helps prove my claim. In my theses I mention that people try to change others and in this case Aunt Alexandra is trying to change Scout into someone she is not, as can be seen this is not the only time people try to change the way Scout behaves. During Christmas at Finch's Landing Uncle Jack is correcting Scouts behavior, “Scout, you will get in trouble if you go around saying things like that. You want to grow up to be a lady, don’t you? (105). The reason for Scout getting in trouble is a result of her unladylike language, her uncle warns her that she is not to use that sort of language. As the book advances Scout becomes develops into a girl who is learning new skills and expressions every day, but because some aren’t appropriate for her, a woman, she is prohibited from doing so, or she will face ramifications. If Scout doesn’t want to face the consequences, she will behave and act like a lady, which is the last thing she wants to do, she will become one of several who had to adjust their lives in order to be a member of the society they live in.

Throughout the book, you can often see sexist beliefs. Written in the 1950s, based in the 1930s, Harper Lee wrote To Kill A Mockingbird to challenge and expose many injustices occurring in society in those time periods. One of those injustices is Sexism. Sexism is the discrimination of someone based on their gender. In the 1930s, the sexism was usually towards women. Sexism often promote discrimination in jobs, discrimination from men to women through comments, and discrimination from every one through actions.

When you first think of the law legal system here you think justice. But in Maycomb County’s legal system many innocent lives are taken because of close-minded judges and racist juries.In this award-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, we learn a lot about this poor town. In this novel, a very smart white lawyer named Atticus defends an innocent black man but unfortunately, he got wrongly accused. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, The legal system is very unjust because it takes away innocent lives this is strongly demonstrated in the Tom Robinson’s trial.

The criticism brought on by social roles negatively impacts one’s views on themselves and their actions. Maycomb’s strict social roles have lowered somes self esteem and has trapped people in a certain personality or financial stance. These social roles can get in a person’s head and change their views and actions in result. An example of this is shown at the school where Scout explains to Miss Caroline about the Ewells, ” He’s one of the Ewell’s...They come the first day every year and then they leave… You’re supposed to mark ‘em absent the rest of the year”(27). The Ewells have always left the first day of school because that’s who they are and who they will always be, but how are the children supposed to better themselves if this social role has been placed on them since birth. This normal behavior of the Ewells restricts the

As J.R.R. Tolkien once wrote in his book The Return Of The King, “All your words are but to say: you are a woman, and your part is in the house. But when the men have died in battle and honour, you have leave to be burned in the house, for the men will need it no more.” For thousands of years within stories and real life the job of the woman has been to stay within the house, do jobs like cooking, cleaning and taking care of and raising the children. The men on the other hand hunt for food, fight in the military, and complete the impossible and aspire to do more, such as changing the earth on a molecular level and create towering structures to reach the stars and above. It has only been in the past one hundred years that women have had

They were to wear dresses that they made and were never supposed to resort to violence. Grammar was considered important in the role of being a women. They had to watch what they said or they would be corrected for saying and doing things differently. In the book Scout is constantly being told how to act and what to wear. An example of this is when Scout says “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire.

“Men are taught to apologize for the weaknesses, women for their strengths.” (Lois Wyse) Gender roles are apart of life whether we like it or not, but in the 30s they were extremely prominent. Women were meant to look pretty and proper while men strong and masculine. In To Kill a Mockingbird Harper Lee writes from the perspective of an eight year old girl, Scout, about her life in Maycomb Alabama. She lives with her brother, Jem, and her father, Atticus. Atticus is assigned a case to represent a black man, named Tom Robinson, against a rape charge which angers a lot of people. Many of the chapters consist of the trial and in the end Tom is killed. Alongside dealing with the trial, Lee writes about

Roger Elbert (1942-2013), a critic, once said, “Teaching prejudice to a child is itself a form of bullying. You've got to be taught to hate.” Harper Lee shows in the award winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird how Tom Robinson a black male, experiences other characters acts of prejudice against him, such as a false accusions of rape by the family of the Ewells. This whole situation occurs in a Town called Maycomb, Alabama, Tom Robinson’s defence attorney, Atticus Finch, who has children named Scout (Jean Louise) and Jem, as well as a friend of Scout’s and Jem’s who comes around during the story named Dill. During this time, in the 1930s, prejudice and racist people exist all over the place putting African Americans at a disadvantage. During

​In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout Finch, and her brother Jem, learn the importance of seeing things through other people's eyes. At the beginning of the story, the people living in Maycomb County, can be considered "mockingbirds" because they are innocent. Their father, Atticus, leads as a strong example while defending Tom Robinson, a black man convicted for rape. The residents of Maycomb (besides the Finches) fail to see situations through other people's eyes. For example, when the trial takes place, most people do not have empathy toward Tom Robinson, resulting in some of those "mockingbirds" becoming killed. Trying to see situations through other people's eyes can keep someone from hurting somebody who is innocent.

Our current oversexualised society demonstrates the relevance of this theme as these same ridiculous gender roles are still apparent. Indeed, an article that appeared on Sportnet exemplifies current gender stereotypes and expectations pertaining to the over-sexualisation of females for ‘entertainment,’ “An increased focus has been placed on the physical attributes of female athletes” (Borrie, 2000). This statement demonstrates how sports women are being forced to wear next to nothing to be considered worthy of media coverage. This absurd notion clearly demonstrates the belief in our society that the worth of a woman is based on her sex appeal. Indeed, the lesson Atticus Finch teaches his daughter about being herself is so vitally important.

The 1930’s, the era of the Great Depression, is a time where the distinct separation of gender roles in society sees the beginnings of unraveling. In the south, Southern Tradition dictated the ways women and men behaved and what their respective responsibilities were to their family and their community. Black women were expected to take care of their own families and then also raise the white children of the families of their employ. White women were to keep opinions and issues of the day to themselves, as they play hostess to their other female neighbors and their community. Women were praised by society on keeping a proper house, which meant keeping a clean home, providing family meals, and the family being properly attired. However,

In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the author captures the image of prejudice in three separate ways. Lee identifies, through sexism, racism, and social status the terrible, assumptions people make based on prejudice views. Lee reveals how no matter the time period, or the community, prejudice always has been and always will be a factor in society. Lee ultimately reveals the truth of prejudice.

Scout knows that she is a girl that She should not play boys games, get into fights, and wear outfits that it is considered for males. Also, she knows that she should dress as a lady and only play with girly toys. However, she is genuine and she feels secure of her female gender, yet she does not feel conform with the fact that women in her society have limitations and there is existing prejudice by males to females, for example, when Jem told her “Scout, I’m telling you for the last time, shut your trap or go home-I declare to the Lord your r getting more like a girl every day!” (53, chapter 6) Jem told her that as a critique of her behavior and not for the fact that she is a female. Furthermore, Scout feels aversion against being pressured

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, is an ideal display of feminism that takes place during the period of depression in the south. It portrayed the two kinds of women found in the south during this time, the women who were pro the feminist movement, and the average Southern women. Sadly some women mistakenly rebelled against the ideals of society, by just being themselves. Men and women were to conduct themselves as ladies and gentlemen, were men were expected to dress in suit and ties and women were expected to wear dresses and be courteous. Since southern towns were so sheltered from the liberal views of the rest of the world they had no chose but to abide by these gender roles.