Heredity In To Kill A Mockingbird

As Scout gets a little older, she soon realizes that she will have to start acting like a lady. She begins to understand why Aunt Alexandra wants her to act the way that she does. She comes to understand her Aunt and believes there is something interesting in learning how to be a lady. She most realizes this when Jem and Dill go swimming and she couldn't go because they are swimming nude. Aunt Alexandra decides to invite the missionary Ladies for a tea party to discuss the current events in the town of Maycomb (their hometown). Aunt Alexandra dresses Scout up in a dress

When Alexandra called Scout into the parlor, she was disappointed by how dirty she was and how she was dressed (Lee 149). She did not fit into Jem and Scout’s life like she fits into Maycomb (Lee 149). Aunt Alexandra believes that Calpurnia is a bad mother figure and wants to have her fired (Lee 155). She wants to take over Calpurnia’s role because she believes that because she is black that she is not a good enough role model for a Finch lady (Lee 155). She is undermining the entire family, one fundamental at a time.

In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, Aunt Alexandra changes throughout her stay at the Finch’s house, and Scout shows growth by becoming a mature person. During chapter 24, Aunt Alexandra hosts the tea party and invites people from Maycomb to join. She allows Scout to sit in and join the gathering because she thought Scout would get bored on her own. Towards the beginning of the trial, Aunt Alexandra gets furious at Atticus for choosing a case that defends a black person because it is contrary everything they believe in and “disgrace the family.”

Instead she follows the social expectations which is hanging out with people of your own social status. A lady would never be with a person like Walter and that was the message Aunt Alexandra was trying to get across. Even though their relationship has been damaged by this incident, Scout still grows closer to being socially expected by the people of Maycomb

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).

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

She first proves her personality traits by trying to change Scout into more of what she thinks is a lady. Although Scout explains that she will not change her tom-boyish ways, Alexandra goes as far as moving in with the Finches hoping to have a feminine influence on Scout. Alexandra then learns of the trial and convicts Atticus of “turning out a nigger lover”. Further regarding Alexandra’s prejudice ways, she disregards the fact that Calpurnia was not important the Finches, nor does she play an essential role in Scout’s life due to her

Alexandra maintains the stereotypical concept of what is the white southern feministic racist. All of the attributes sort of melt together and perpetuate one another. She retains her feministic way by getting Calpurnia, the black helper, to do all of her physical labor for her. An example of this behavior is present in the scene in which Alexandra arrives at the Finches’ house and commands Calpurnia to take her suitcase and her belongings upstairs so she can retain the feministic southern air about her. The prejudice attitude she has is also being passed down through the family. In one scene Scout beats up her annoying cousin for calling Atticus a “nigger-lover”. The only thing Alexandra does is getting on to scout for fighting and telling her it is unladylike to fight (Richards).

The Maycomb ladies provide an excellent example of racial prejudice, and a failure to see what it is like in someone else’s skin. They believe they are doing well by making money for missions, failing to see the hardship on their own doorsteps. Aunt Alexandra is very important to the novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ as she is a representative of these viewpoints, disapproving of Calpurnia and disassociating herself from the black community entirely. Miss Maudie however is the counterpoint to Aunt Alexandra. Maudie offers Scout a female role model, whereas Aunt Alexandra tries to make Scout more ladylike, to fit in with her position in life. Aunt Alexandra plays the greatest role in reinforcing class distinctions

But, specifically for women and girls. They didn’t get many rights and freedom as they do today. Also, it was a big deal for a woman or girl to not match society’s standards because it wasn’t common. That leads into how Scout’s representation of a girl is viewed in various ways by others. Back to the day when Alexandra first comes, she starts hammering on Scout, starting with what she said first: “We decided it would be best for you to have some feminine influence. It won’t be many years, Jean Louise, before you become interested in clothes and boys-” (Lee 170). Scout doesn’t like what she said because she simply isn’t interested in what Alexander says she should be. Again, it seems that Alexandra doesn’t like how Scout isn’t fitting into society’s standard for girls. Scout is also convicted of being different from Jem. Jem’s view on Scout is the complete opposite of Alexandra’s, meaning he isn’t used to or wants Scout acting ‘girly’. Jem started to notice change in her when Scout refuses to sneak into the Radley’s property to see inside of the house. “Jem, please-” Jem replies,"Scout, I’m tellin‘ you for the last time, shut your trap or go home—I declare to the Lord you’re gettin’ more like a girl every day!" (Lee 69). Scout isn’t intending to act differently than she has used to, but she is saying no because she knows it isn’t a smart decision to begin with. Later on after the trial, Jem is

Family and Society affects one’s identity. One’s perspective of the world changes based on the impact of one’s family and society. Scout, a young girl who is curious about everything, starts to express her understanding to Atticus: "Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it" (Lee 370)?

Scout evaluates people based on their actions; therefore people who did the best they could with the tools they were given Scout considers good, respectable people. Aunt Alexandra, on the other hand, assesses people based on their family history. The longer a family has stuck to their roots and the longer they have held their plot of land the more highly she thinks of that family. This shows a lot about Aunt Alexandra and Scout’s values and

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.

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

Alexandria announces that she and Atticus had decided that a "feminine influence" was necessary in his children 's lives (in spite of Calpurnia 's presence), and that she will be staying with them for a number of years. Atticus affirms this, and Alexandria immediately settles herself within Maycomb 's community, and she hypocritically assesses all other families as being inferior to her own. Scout goes on to explain that the fixation of heredity is justified by the light caste system of Maycomb, which is due to the nature of the county 's foundation. After some time, it becomes apparent that Jem and Scout have little knowledge of their family, and Jem quickly extinguishes Alexandria 's pride in one of their cousins. Atticus tells the siblings that they need to behave like proper Finches, and that Alexandria is willing to move them if necessary. His harshness and unfamiliarity soon pushes Scout break to tears, and his demeanor soon reverts; he tells them to disregard what he 'd just said and not to worry.