To Kill a Mockingbird and the Merchant of Venice

Stereotypes are a form of prejudice everyone will once experience in their lifetime. Stereotypes are centered around an individual's race, gender, social class, religion, and age. They have been known to be elements people use to make judgments and subjectify people to one key feature. As Gordon Allport states, “ To state the matter technically, a noun abstracts from a concrete reality some one features and assembles different concrete realities only with respect to this one feature”(364). Mr.Allport’s words can be summed up to say stereotypes have been used as key fundamentals to associate one feature or aspect of a person with a group that represents it, typically in an unfavorable way.

The characters of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird are all different in their own way. Sometimes they can seem like the most infuriating people in the world, but then again they can be helpful, loving, and caring. The citizens of Maycomb County are stereotyped a lot throughout the book. They are labeled as many different things, but some of the stereotypes made aren’t entirely correct. A lot of people in To Kill a Mockingbird stereotype others by the way they look or talk based on what society considers normal. Two of the main characters in the book are stereotyped; Scout and Atticus Finch.

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.

Prejudice is one of the world’s greatest struggles. It does not only hold society back, but is harmful to the people who do good .In Harper Lee’s book To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout and Jem live through and witness prejudice and racism in the small town of Maycomb. They see someone wrongly accused of a crime because of his race. Scout and Jem also witness and take part in prejudice against a man no one knows anything about. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee uses characterization to show the negative effects of prejudice and racism.

The question asks us, “Explore the ways in which Jane Austen and Shakespeare present strong feelings in ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘The Merchant of Venice’.

Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, prejudices against gender roles are evident in a multitude of ways. For example, Scout states, “Until it happened I did not realize that Jem was offended by my contradicting him on Hot Steams..” (41). Scout saying this establishes the idea that girls are not to suppose to contradict boys. Dill is embarrassed and ashamed that a girl is not believing him and he takes offense to that. Miss. Maudie Atkinson is faced with the stereotypes of being a woman. Everyone expects her to stay inside and do housework. In fact, Miss. Maudie Atkinson declares, “I hate my house: time spent indoors is time wasted.” (47). Here it is evident that Miss. Atkinson is breaking her gender role. During this time period, women were viewed in a way

One way that prejudice is shown throughout To Kill a Mockingbird is gender. An example of this is that Scout is told that she has to wear a dress on multiple

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

Stereotypes are commonly held generalized beliefs that most or all individuals sharing a given trait also should or do share other attributes assumed to be associated with aspects such as race, religion, and physical attribute. While stereotypes can erroneously shape people’s views of others, they can also influence the stereotyped individuals’ behavior as people often attempt to conform to these flawed images, especially in regards to gender stereotypes. Shakespeare’s great play Othello uses its main characters to embody the characteristics of the stereotypical females and males according to society’s liking. The stereotypical woman is loyal and faithful to her husband, while the male stereotype possesses strength, control, and dominance.

Stereotyping, a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing, plays a big role in “To kill a Mockingbird”, and it’s also a big role in the thirties when everyone was different. In the story there are three different groups of people, the wealthy, the poor, and the black. Each of these group with some exceptions like the Finch family, looks at each other with offset opinions. The stereotyping in this story makes it come true and really plays a big part in character development.

In The Odyssey by Homer, many characters feel prejudiced toward others. Many of these characters have opinions solely based on rumor. Such characters are influenced by many factors,, but all of them lead to improper judgement. In the same context, many characters in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird also possess such prejudiced thoughts. Through her use of the characters within Maycomb, in her novel To Kill A Mockingbird; Harper Lee shows how injustice and prejudice between African American and white people was impossible to beat at this point in history, however some characters attempt to fight it anyways.

From the 1960s Novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird', Scout is forced into the gender stereotypes that

what a bad father he is and why his family have been given a bad name.

Harper Lee demonstrates the gender inequity In to Kill a Mockingbird through the description and words of the female narrator, Scout. The prejudice of Maycomb is shown so clearly, even an innocent child like Scout can see the raging extent of gender prejudice that surrounds her. Scout having traits that are more masculine in quality automatically makes her an outcast and disliked by Maycomb's many conforming ideals. Scouts innocence allows the novel to develop through an unbiased perspective. Women had little to serve in juries and there was the constant expectation all women had to act and dress like a Lady. Aunt Alexandra an evident example of having strong beliefs on how separate genders should behave, constantly scolding Scout for wearing her overalls and behaving too tomboyish." I was not so sure, but Jem told me i was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, thats why other people hated them so, and if i started behaving like one i could just go off and find some to play with. (4.119) Scout is raised to believe boys were better than girls, raised in a bigoted and heavily bias community, scout finds it a difficult and unfair experience trying to understand the unjust perceptions of the adults around her. Having Scout narrate the whole novel allows Harper lee to highlight the gender inequity in Maycomb.

They are victims. A victim is someone or something that is hurt by some unpleasant occurrence.The books To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men both depict several instances where people are victims. Both of these books tell a story in which the characters live through these tough conditions every day, from having no money to being victims of racial discrimination. To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men convey considerable understanding of an unstable era in American history through common events and lifestyles of people that lived through these times.