To Kill A Mocking Bird Gender Roles

Harper Lee is well known for her great contributions towards modern society through her astounding book, To Kill a Mockingbird. The novel is read world-wide, in high schools and colleges because of its in-depth look at the social classes in the south during the 1930's. The book was influenced by society, in particular the social order of the south during her childhood. Lee grew up during this time of controversy which is why she writes so passionately about the topic. Lee wrote the novel to make a point about race while basing much of the plot off a trial from her young age, her own father, and the society she grew up in.

Born into the era of the Great Depression, Harper Lee was brought up during the majority of the economic crisis and spent most of her childhood within the state of Alabama, which is one of the poorest states in America. The novel, also set just after the end of the Great Depression, gives an insight into how the financial instability was treated within then South states. The Great Depression was frightening period and was also a time of political instability, and this led to unfair money distribution, seen within the other families in Maycomb. The main family was the Ewells who lived off the land and hunted off season. The head of the family lived off pay checks from the government and was consequently perceived by the town as the lowest calibre

Just like the recent recession of 2008, the Great Depression brought fear upon our country like no other force in our nation’s history. Throughout the Great Depression, racism was at an all time high and money was at an all time low. Prices skyrocketed as inflation took hold of the economy. But these occurrences were not left undocumented. Steinbeck accurately portrays historical and cultural elements of the 1930’s, such as poverty and racism throughout his novella, Of Mice and Men.

The Great Depression affected many Americans throughout the 1930s. Many people had no source of income and had no other choice but to travel and find new jobs. In John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, George Milton and Lennie Small wander through California in search of a new job that would help them make enough money to live their American dream on “the fatta the lan’”(Steinbeck 14). George and Lennie’s hard work and determination is not enough for them to live their dream. Lennie has a mental disability that slows the two friends down from living their dream; they have to run from job to job because of Lennie’s unintentional actions.

In addition, to Walker Evans’ imagine, during the depression of 1930 people became emptiness The kids are frowning, each boy is sitting differently and exhausted.

The Great Depression affected everyone in a disastrous way despite gender, race, and social class. This is emphasized strongly in the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. The characters in Steinbeck’s novella, which takes place on a ranch in California during the 1930s, are searching for their hopes and dreams. However, they struggle and fail to overcome poverty, social stigma, and their own sadness. Through the characterization of Curley’s wife, Crooks, and George, Steinbeck portrays that the American dream was not achievable during the Great Depression.

The 1930s were quite different for women. During this time period it was hard for women to get a job since most businesses preferred men to work for them. During The Great Depression the economy struggled immensely. Not only was it hard for women to get a job but it was also hard trying to search for a stable job during that time. Also, the mindset during this time was that women should stay home and take care of their children while their husbands went to work and made money. For example 36% of women were housewives and 20% of women work in factories. Harper Lee expressed political statements of social attitudes and social codes.

The Great Depression broke down security and belief in American society during the early 20th century and brought out hidden prejudices. The once optimistic mood during the Roaring 20’s turned to pain. The dire economic situation caused Americans to return to past social stigmas where certain groups of people were seen as inferior; as a result, the American Dream, where everyone could seek their ideal of success, was reduced to merely a dream. John Steinbeck observed these changes in social behavior and witnessed the plight of many Americans during the Great Depression. Like in his later work, The Grapes of Wrath, he was inspired by his environment to expose the lives of people during the Great Depression using Of Mice and Men. Steinbeck observed these changes in social behavior and witnessed the plight of many Americans during the Great Depression. Steinbeck demonstrates in Of Mice and Men through the characters that the American Dream was naturally discriminatory towards certain groups of people because of common perceptions held during that period.

The number one thing that society is best at is tearing one’s life apart for the most ludicrous reasons. In this great novel that Harper Lee had written, To Kill A Mockingbird, she had made it pretty clear that the story took place during the Great Depression in the 1930’s. It was clear that it had taken place during this time because of how she had explained the setup of things. Nobody in the town she lived in had a lot of money, and as she had explained, she just grew up in a small, poor town. Of course, the Great Depression had played a major role in this factor, though. As Lee had explained in the beginning of the book, ‘“Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I first knew it… There was no hurry,

The Southern part of America clung tightly to the construction and expectations of traditional gender roles and traits that children were expected to inherit. This meant that men and women had certain expectations on how to behave, what type of jobs were available and how to dress. These conclusions strung to many small cities, particularly focused on Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. While Jean Louise Scout Finch is discovering her identity in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee indicates and promotes that gender roles are deconstructed with regards to Scout’s clothing, behavior and education.

Navigating Traditional Female Gender Roles in To Kill a Mockingbird In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee explores how forcing traditional gender roles onto young children can cause rebellion, while not forcing those roles gives them the freedom to choose to follow traditional gender roles when they wish to. Through the characterization of Scout’s relationships with three important adults in her life--Aunt Alexandra, Atticus and Boo Radley--we see how a young girl responds to the pressures of traditional gender roles. Aunt Alexandra insists that Scout follows traditional female gender roles, which causes her to rebel. Aunt Alexandra is a very traditional middle aged women who feels Scout needs some guidance, especially about Scout’s appearance and what she wears.

The Great Depression was a difficult time for all Americans. The economy was terrible, no one was making any money, and people were forced to live on the streets or work for food. That is the same thing that the characters in “To Kill a Mockingbird” go through. Set during the Depression, “To Kill a Mockingbird” reviews high-minded themes such as racism, violence, and poverty. Harper Lee's Novel “To KIll a Mockingbird” is associated with many things, but one thing that influenced harper lee was the great depression.

Why do people want to change the way we live our life? I don’t fit in, so what? In the book “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Lee uses characterization and tone in order to convey the idea that in society every gender has to follow their code of conduct, consequently it restricts people from being themselves in order to fit in.

The novels ‘Of Mice and Men’ by John Steinbeck and ‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’ by Harper Lee display how different characters go through various hardships including racial discrimination, innocence, disabilities, loneliness, and inequality because of gender or social status. Both novels take place in 1930’s in America during the Great Depression, when American people suffered from financial difficulties. Either author Steinbeck and Lee creates characters that try to achieve their American Dreams and goals. However, with characters’ unachievable dream and unchangeable life, the authors try to bring out the reader’s sympathetic heart towards the character.

Gender and the ways gender is portrayed in society varies from culture to culture. Gender roles have changed drastically, especially during the 20th century and continue to evolve to this day. For years now there have been preconceived notions about genders and the roles each one should play in society, home, workplace, etc. Most times gender roles are associated with stereotypes and previous gender roles. Gender role plays different parts in religion, culture, society, time periods, countries, etc. Women rights and power varies in time and location and it is very interesting to look at the events, cultures, and customs that were taking place in that particular time period to get a better idea of the gender role concept.