To Kill A Mockingbird Discrimination Analysis

Aunt Alexandra disapproves of Scout because she doesn’t dress or act lady-like. For example, instead of wearing necklaces and dresses, Scout wears overalls and pants.

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 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

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

Mrs.Dubose yells at Scout for having on overalls instead of a dress. She addresses this in the worst way possible. “What are you doing with those overalls? You should be in a dress and camisole, young lady!”(Lee 135) She is stereotyping women, saying that all women should wear a dress and camisole. Overalls cannot be for women? Scout starts to learn what a girl “should” act like after Jem yelled at her to grow up acting like a girl. “She [Calpurnia] seemed glad to see me when I appeared in the kitchen, and by watching her I began to think that there was some skill involved in being a girl”(Lee, 154). Calpurnia is slowly showing Scout what she is supposed to live up to. Aunt Alexandra stays with the Finch’s to push Scout to be a lady! “We [Aunt Alexandra and Atticus] decided it was 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). Aunt Alexandra is trying too hard to change Scout’s life by making her wear dresses and stereotyping her to be a “little lady” instead of taking it one day at a time. “When I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I wasn’t supposed to be doing anything that required pants” (Lee 108). Aunt Alexandra wishes Scout would play with “ small stoves” and “tea sets” because that is how little ladies are supposed to act. Scout does not care what Aunt

In the book ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ we have seen only sides of Aunt Alexandra that are cruel and hateful. The first time we went Aunt Alexandra in the book we heard about her scrutiny towards Scout when she left her all alone at the kid table, but let all the other kids sit at the adult table. This was only the beginning of what happened that Thanksgiving Day. Jem, Scout’s older brother was to old to play, so Scout had to amuse Francis. This is when things got messy. When Scout was outside with Francis he started talking trash about Atticus. He told Scout Atticus was ruining the family name, that he was a nigger lover. At the start of

(Lee 81) Aunt Alexandra was supposed to influence Scout and Jem and teach them as a mother would. However, it did not go well when she came to stay with them. " Jem and I exchanged looks." (Lee 127)

As they were walking past Mrs. Dubose’s house, she accused them of making trouble and disapproved of Scout’s wardrobe by bellowing and saying“...‘And you—’ she pointed an arthritic finger at [her]—’what are you doing in those overalls? You should be in a dress and camisole, young lady!’ ” (Lee, 135). As far as the reader is aware of, Scout’s usual wardrobe consists of overalls and she is not a big fan of dresses, another indicator that she despises acting ladylike. Like Mrs. Dubose, Aunt Alexandra disapproves of Scout’s attire and is constantly telling her to change the way she dresses and acts, so she can act more like a girl and less like a boy. This is another situation from the book where a character is treated unequally from the others, simply because of their gender and because of the way they carry themselves. In attempts to convince Scout to dress more like a girl, Aunt Alexandra feeds her lies by telling her that dressing up in dresses would allow her “to be a ray of sunshine in [her] father’s lonely life” (Lee, page

is a African American man who was wrongly accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell- who happens to be defended by Scout’s father (Atticus Finch). Scout is exposed to the racial discrimination that is obviously deeply rooted in the town, when it is passed down to and displayed by Cecil who says, “My folks said your daddy was a disgrace”. The aim to make Scout feel bad all because her father is defending a man who belongs to a certain race shows how racial discrimination continues to be passed along to Maycomb residents. Not only are the children showing it, but adults as well. Mrs. Dubose goes as far as telling Scout that her “father’s no better than the…

First of all, Scout is more a tomboy than a girl. Boys tend to live by the phrase, “Boys rule. Girls drool.” Scout expresses,” I was not so sure, but Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that’s why people hated them so, and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find some to play with.” (45). This quote implies that Scout thinks girl things are bad and boy things are good. She has constantly been taught this. Scout believes she can avoid being a girl by not acting like one. Being a girl to Scout is more about what she does than what she is born with. Another example of Scout being more of a boy is how she reacts to the situation with Walter Cunningham and Miss. Caroline. In the text, Scout states, “Ah-Miss. Caroline? Miss. Caroline, he’s a Cunningham.” (22). The gender role of a girl would usually to sit back and watch everything go down. In Scout’s case, she is outspoken and has no filter. She has to tell Miss. Caroline what everyone else is thinking. It is in this sense and others that Scout challenges the traditional gender roles throughout the

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee addresses racial discrimination and injustice through the events that occur in the town, its characters, and symbolism. Racial discrimination is seen during Tom’s case and afterwards. For instance, after Tom was sent to prison, his death was pretty much predicted, so Scout said, “To Maycomb, Tom’s death was typical. Typical of a nigger to cut and run. Typical of a nigger’s mentality to have no plan, no thought for the future, just run blind first chance he saw,” (Lee 322). In other words, the town treated Tom’s death as something they could have bet big bucks on when tried. It was a well-known fact by the town that Tom stood absolutely no chance to becoming a free man. If it were really no surprise to a young girl that a colored man who was pronounced guilty in a court against a white woman

The impact that racism has on To Kill A Mockingbird creates several complications throughout the novel. Many of the characters experience being racially profiled, their self-esteem being lowered publically and having stereotypes put on them. The combination of these acts against the African Americans in this novel allows Scout and Jem to realize the effects of discrimination and allows them both to learn lessons. The morals that are taught from witnessing the opposing race being treated as less than human helps guide people in the right direction in the future using the knowledge gained from past experiences. Most of the characters witness unfairness throughout the novel, which contributes to them making brave decisions.

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

Discrimination is prevalent in the story “To Kill a Mockingbird”, the most obvious being the excessive amount of racism (Lee). Racism is the easiest to see but there are more forms of discrimination (Lee). Boo Radley is ostracized from the community when truly nobody really knows him (Lee). People discriminate Scout for being a tomboy not a lady (Lee). The last one that no one ever thinks about is how reverse racism is seen when people threaten Atticus for defending Tom Robinson in court (Lee). Discrimination in any form is a controversial topic but everyone knows that it is not right to discriminate against people.

One person who has a very different opinion from Scout's is aunt Alexandra, who says a woman should be prim and proper. In the text it says “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.”(262) Scout is so used to her tomboyish ways of dressing/acting that it is very foreign to her when she has to act like Alexandra’s vision of a lady. Aunt Alexandra was always persistent about Scout being a certain type of lady with a bunch of strict rules, but Scout was not going down without a fight. Also when Jem says, “You know she's not used to girls," said Jem, "leastways, not girls like you. She's trying to make you a lady. Can't you take up sewin' or somethin'?”(232) This hits Scout harder than when Alexander tells her to be a lady because Scout had always been Jem’s little sidekick. The kids were close, but when he pushed her away like this it hurt Scout emotionally. Being called a girl was considered an insult, but now that’s what Jem wants Scout to be now. Finally Scout learns that sometimes it is commendable to be a lady, such as when her father told her and the other women that Tom had died. Scout pulled it together like the rest of the women and made it so that no one in the missionary society ever knew anything was ever wrong. Jem still