Society's Role In To Kill A Mockingbird

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 .

Anthony Storr says that, “Originality implies being bold enough to go beyond accepted norms “ Social norms imply that everyone is the same or does something the same way, to break that you need to go out of your comfort zone and be bold enough to break those norms. Although it is very common for there to be social norms in society, when someone breaks one it can be the very first step to making the world a better place.

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

Atticus asked Aunt Alexandra to come for a visit unexpectedly. Aunt Alexandra says, “Jem’s growing up now and you are too, we decided that it would be best for you to have some feminine influence.” (Lee 169-170). It is unfair of Atticus to suddenly want Scout to change her personality just because she is getting older. This could lead to Scout thinking that she is not good enough for Atticus the way she is. That utter disrespect for Scout’s feelings shows Atticus’s ignorance, because if he was an understanding father, he would love her the way she is and not want her to change. Furthermore, Atticus is ignorant because he does not show interest in the activities his children enjoy. Jem and scout had received air rifles for Christmas, from their Uncle Jack. When it came time for them to learn how to shoot, Atticus said that he was not interested in guns. One day a rabid dog was wandering around their neighborhood, Scout explains, “Atticus’s hand yanked a ball-tipped lever as he brought the gun to his shoulder. The rifle

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

When Aunt Alexandra came to town more than once Scout struggled with her. One time Scout asked Atticus if she could go to church with Calpurnia to which Aunt Alexandra replied no. Scout threw a fit and was scolded by Atticus. Scout later followed Jem upstairs and scolded her too: “Scout, try not to antagonize Aunty, hear?’ … My feathers rose again. ‘You tryin’ to tell me what to do?’” (137). Jem feels that he is doing the right thing by telling Scout to leave Aunt Alexandra alone, but that’s not how Scout sees it. Scout thinks that he has no right to tell her what to do.

Everyone in the world has their own identity; have you ever thought about what your identity is? Identity plays a big role in the world especially in America where not all identities are good. People might identify a wealthy person as “snotty rich” or a poor person as “defective” or maybe someone calls a man a woman when they're really a man. Or maybe you call someone a terrorist just because they are middle eastern. The list goes on and on and thats why social forces influence identities and can become dangerous. Gender, race, and social class are all forms of social forces.

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. Atticus a loving and caring father, tells her children about Aunt Alexandra’s mission. He tells them about how they are Finches and are different from other people. “Your aunt has asked me to try and impress upon you and Jean Louise that you are not from run-of-the-mill people, that you are the product of several generations’ gentle breeding-.”

1. Scout admires Miss Maudie because she is nice to all of the children and treats them with respect, even though they are just kids. 2. Atticus says that the main reason he defends Tom Robinson is because he wouldn’t be representing the country in legislature.

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

Scout lacks a female influence in her life since her mother died when she was two and Jem and Atticus are the only two she can look up to. Since she lacks the influence in her life, Scout is more of a tomboy rather than a lady. She associates being ladylike with frilly dresses, gossip, and a lack of fun. Since her aunt is staying for a while, Scout realizes she must follow her rules, to her dismay. In TKAM, Scout states, “I felt the starched walls of a pink cotton penitentiary closing in on me, and for the second time in my life I thought of running away.

In (To Kill a Mockingbird), by Harper Lee, the conflict that often exists between societal expectations and personal responsibilities is explored. The commentary on several parts of this “Timeless Classic” shows the issues that are explored. It is explored when Mayella accuses Tom because of her social expectations. This conflict also appears when the jury convicts Tom. It’s also shown in Mr. Raymond, he has to act drunk to be socially acceptable.

Society has made an impact on so many people as well as children. The world is changing around us, you all have different points of views and different reactions. In the novel “To Kill A Mockingbird”, at the age of six Scout has learned that people can be harsh and that there is always ‘good and evil in people’ according to Atticus. A child’s development can be understood as when everything around the child changes them, from the parents to friends. Therefore, in “To Kill A Mockingbird” it’s shown that society can change people, but an individual can benefit from this change when they see a situation not from one point of view but instead multiple.

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird Bird by Harper Lee, there is a character named Scout who is a very lively, young girl. She does anything that a boy does, and will do it twice as well. Scout rarely ever cared what other people thought of her, so she did whatever she pleased. On the other hand, a character gets introduced later in the story who is Scout’s aunt. Her name is Aunt Alexandra, and her views on how a woman should behave are very different from Scout’s. When she first comes to live with the Finch family, she always tries to correct Scout. This leads to a lot of fighting as well as frustration. Aunt Alexandra wants Scout to be more lady-like and be a Southern Belle; she wants to teach, and show an example of what being a proper lady is like to Scout.

People treat Scout poorly because she wants to act more like a boy than a girl. Atticus was talking to Aunt Alexandra about the children and started to criticize Scout. Scout narrates that Aunt Alexandra thinks, “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 wasnt suppose to do things that require dresses” (Lee 108).