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The role of women in killing a mockingbird
The role of women in killing a mockingbird
Gender Roles and Feminism in killing a mockingbird
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Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird revolved around the central idea of the Tom Robinson case. Mayella, the daughter of Mr. Bob Ewell, was represented as a minor character even though the “Tom Robinson” case revolved around her. The novel focused on the issue between Mayella’s supposed rape by Robinson planned by her father. However, she was shown to be a puppet to the court and was brushed away. Females in To Kill a Mockingbird, such as Helen Robinson and Jean Louise, were deemed as weak and incapable of maintaining their credibility as a true member of a male-dominating society. Sexism had an active role throughout the book, in Jean Louise’s perspective, teaching women the false belief that femininity and gender-oriented traditions were hostile …show more content…
crimes. To Kill a Mockingbird is the story of a young girl living in a small secluded town.
Jean Louise went by the name “Scout”, which was an early depiction of the girl’s rebellious attitude towards gender roles in 1930’s Alabama. She had undergone a journey of criticism from elder women in her home because of her lack of femininity since Scout developed the idea that it showed weakness. For instance, Ms. Caroline and Aunt Alexandra both judged Scout for not conforming to the clean-cut and fragile image of a woman. Neither woman allowed a young girl to have an opinion of her own because of their past experiences of not being given that right. Not only did they attempt to help sculpt her beliefs, but her older brother Jem also set out the tone for Scout along the way by making small comments on her not being feminine enough. Sometimes, he even mentions that she “acts so much like a girl it’s mortifying’, ” (Lee 50). This gave the audience a compact idea of the townspeople’s mindset between the …show more content…
sexes. Another character of the novel showing the conflict of having to put up with discrimination from being a women is Helen Robinson, Tom Robinson’s wife. In the novel, Helen becomes a widow fearing for her safety following the case. she became the center of pity by Mr. Link since he was Tom Robinson’s employer. Mr. Link had developed a much deeper, sympathetic association towards the Robinsons by protecting Helen from the Ewells on her way to work. Helen is used in the novel solely to make Tom’s character more reliable, causing the audience to feeling empathy for the Robinsons. However, this makes a connection with Bob Ewell causing him to want to intimidate her on her way to work. He exclaims that he “ain’t about to go with no n—!” (Lee 334) to Link Deas because he sees her as a thing that is unworthy of his time. In relation to Mr.
Ewell, his daughter Mayella is forced to tell the court that Tom Robinson had harassed her in her home. During their first appearance, Scout describes Mayella as fragile and Robinson as powerful. These descriptions already show how differently people view the two different genders, even coming from a little girl’s words. Bob Ewell gives Mayella commands of what to say to Atticus leading to her not trusting men and believing they are a threat. When Atticus and Judge Taylor refer to her as “ma’am” or “Miss”, she becomes defensive by saying she “don’t haft take [Atticus’s] sass,” (Lee 243) because she feels that they are making fun of her since she is not used to the respect. This reflects on Tom Robinson because he says that even he feels sorry for Mayella. At this time, black men were seen as lesser members of society, but in despite of their race, women are still below their
level. In To Kill a Mockingbird, females are expected to act a certain way in order to conform to social norms. Jean Louise, Mayella Ewell, and Helen Robinson are examples of characters being put down because of their sex in the book. All three of these ladies have been discriminated against through sexism
Mayella Ewell is a woman in the 1930’s and yes, women back then were not treated as citizens. As Atticus is delivering his closing argument on how the person who beat Mayella with his left, Tom cannot use his left due to a job accident. By contrasting the difference in race and gender, in the 1930’s these were a big thing, To examine the results of race, gender are way different. Mayella may be white, but in her role as a female, it just goes downhill from that. Although it is different from Tom Robinson point of view. As Atticus is delivering his closing argument after proving that Bob Ewell is left-handed and Tom Robinson is not able to use his left hand. ‘“...What did her father do? We don’t know, but there is circumstantial evidence to indicate that Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left…’”. Tom Robinson is unable to use his left hand due to a job accident. Mayella took advantage of Tom, she knew he would help her because he is a nice man. Mayella was not taught respect while growing up, Tom on the other hand was amiable. Mayella is anxious of her father and what he does to her. Some readers might be anxious too, but might confess up to what their father is doing to them. Since she was not taught respect from her father, she would not know much about it. “Won’t answer a word you say long as you keep on mockin’ me,’Mayella said.
Mayella (white), goes to court against Tom Robinson (African American), where Mayella is accusing Tom Robinson of rape. When Atticus asks Mayella questions, Atticus mishears Mayella. An example of Mayella’s lack of power is when Atticus closes his argument by describing Mayella’s injuries during the court case. “Mayella Ewell was beaten savagely by someone who led almost exclusively with his left.”
There 's a point in everyone 's life when people are forced to wear a mask to hide their true selves. People want to fit into what they think is normal. Most of the time, the individual behind the mask is very different from what they are being perceived as. They can be evil and wicked, or they can be smart, loving, and caring. Characters in the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee live through the Great Depression and Segregation. They all have qualities that make them unique in their own ways. In the town of Maycomb, Alabama, citizens are put under stereotypes all throughout the novel. Characters get assigned labels that aren 't entirely correct. Dolphus Raymond, Mayella Ewell, and Boo Radley are all products of what it looks
While the women in Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird come in a variety of personalities and backgrounds, all of their lives are led by one constricting factor; their gender. Scout's upbringing as a young woman greatly contrasts that of her brother Jem. Jem is educated as a young boy growing into a man while Scout’s journey is taken as a woman. The manacle of womanhood is but a concept if one does not consider the harsh faults and inhibiting limits of men or rather the struggle for “masculinity” that men are similarly constrained. Though she is repeatedly told to have ladylike manners and to dress in more feminine way, Scout mostly denies this norm but is still able to become a young
To Kill a Mockingbird is a story about a black man named Tom Robinson who is imprisoned and on trial for raping a white woman. Throughout the novel Harper Lee explores the theme of imprisonment in many forms such as restriction because of age and/or gender, because of one’s past, and because of social circumstances such as racism. The novel’s main character Scout, feels frustrated by the restrictions placed on her because of her age and her gender and finds ways to express herself in spite of these restrictions. In contrast, Arthur Radley (Boo) allows his past to imprison him inside his house both physically and mentally. Finally, Mayella Ewell is restricted by her society’s expectations that white women are not allowed to be attracted to black men. Ironically even though Tom is the one in jail, Mayella is also imprisoned by the rules of segregation and has to claim she was raped instead of admitting she was attracted to him. She is beaten and shamed for her desires and urges to be with Tom. To summarize, these four characters show the many ways we can be
How would you like it if someone walked up to you and berated you based on the color of your skin? A characteristic like that isn’t even something you can control, so an insult of that nature can leave one furious and oppressed. Discrimination is inevitable in any culture, throughout history, in modern times, and even in ancient times. For example, the oppression and murder of 6 million Jewish people during the Holocaust, the African Slave Trade which occurred for multiple centuries, and more recently, the “ethnic cleansing” of Rohingya people in Myanmar, brought on by the government of the Asian nation, all of which are tragedies doomed to happen when history repeats itself and people do not learn
Readers also see countless examples of sexism alongside others. Many of these examples of sexism are seen in Scout and her reactions when others refer to her as a girl or tell her that she must act more ladylike. Whenever Scout’s brother Jem wants her to do something for him or keep her from doing something, he refers to her as Miss Priss (Lee 62), because Jem knows that Scout absolutely despises being represented as a girl or feminine in any way. The main reason why Scout hates being a girl so much is that she wants to be able to do whatever she wants without being confined to what her society believes that a proper woman should be and how they should act. Even many of the women in the story tell Scout that she needs to act according to their standards and Aunt Alexandra is back with another lesson for Scout. “It won’t be many years, Jean Louise, before you become interested in clothes and boys” (Lee 170). It is clear that Alexandra knows that Scout is in no way a lady by her standards, but still has hope for her. Scout however understands exactly what her Aunt is getting at and is very quick to let readers know that she is not on board with Alexandra’s plan. Alexandra represents the general population of women and how they see themselves and how the rest of the world sees
One way Harper Lee develops gender inequity through stereotypes is through Scout’s experiences with the women in Maycomb. Scout is laughed at for wearing pants under her dress. Scout prefers pants over dresses because she’s a tomboy and can be more active in “britches.” On Sunday, Scout dressed up, but still had pants under her dress. When Scout is at the gathering with the women, Miss Maudie says, “‘You’re mighty dressed up, Miss Jean Louise,’ she said. ‘Where are your britches today?’ ‘Under my dress.’ I hadn’t meant to be funny, but the ladies laughed. My cheeks grew hot as I realized my mistake” (Lee 307). Because Scout is laughed at for wearing pants and not for something she thought was funny, she feels singled out and degraded. The ladies of Maycomb laughed at her because she had done something “wrong” in their eyes. She wore pants
Mayella Ewell is white and therefore her claims against a black man are automatically believed. The vast majority of the people in the town feel that the incident occurred and harass Atticus for his legal support of Tom. “Francis looked at me carefully, concluded that I had been sufficiently subdued, and crooned softly, “Nigger-lover . . .”(Lee 84). This statement came from Francis Hancock when he first realized Atticus was Tom’s lawyer. Atticus would not have to go through all of this harassment if he refused to accept this role, but he wanted to help Tom Robinson. This is a clear case of discriminatory language, as Francis was showing his hatred for African Americans by using such a derogatory term. Atticus can control his emotions very well in response to these scenarios, unlike Scout. The things people are saying do not affect him one bit. “According to Miss Stephanie Crawford, however, Atticus was leaving the post office when Mr. Ewell approached him, cursed him, spat on him, and threatened to kill him” (Lee 217). Bob Ewell is Mayella Ewell’s father and he wanted to see Tom Robinson convicted. Atticus was able to walk away from this provocation without reacting in a negative manner. He was strong enough to ignore this negativity. During the trial, the jury and the judge also displayed a prejudicial belief system. The unfair attitudes and ideas of the townspeople towards were
To Kill a Mockingbird’s relevancy to today’s society In To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee uses characters to explore the different stereotypes in the Southern United States of the 1930s. Through the eyes of Scout Finch you learn how these stereotypes are so absurd and fabricated they really are. The novel also portrays numerous examples of racism, sexism, in creative ways. The stereotypes and themes portrayed in this novel are exactly what makes it so relevant to today’s society. An important reason why To Kill a Mockingbird is relevant today is the ever-growing resurgence of racism throughout the country.
Unban the Truth What does killing a mockingbird mean? To many who have not had the pleasure of reading Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, that is just a bird. To many more who have, killing a mockingbird means preying on the helpless and the good. No great story was ever without provocative topics.
In Maycomb, men have the rigorous, and back-breaking jobs that women “can not” perform. When Atticus said "I doubt if we'd ever get a complete case tried—the ladies'd be interrupting to ask questions" (296) it shows ignorance. Atticus demonstrates basic sexism by assuming ladies cannot keep their comments to themselves in a courtroom. Atticus’s comments confirm Scout’s thoughts that girls are weak and not as good as boys. Overall, the reader can connect sexist issues in “To Kill a Mockingbird” to the present day world.
In The Catcher in the Rye, the main character, Holden Caufield, shows signs of him being sexist towards women, he depicts it directly and indirectly. The author J.D Salinger wrote this book at the era of the women’s movement, but he decided that Holden keeps his views traditionally. J.D Salinger depicts sexism through Holden in scenes such as where he judges a girl at Ernie’s place, the Lavender room scene and seeing women as sex objects. Throughout the novel sexism doesn’t quiet seem like a major event that’s because Holden doesn’t ever think that he is being sexiest.
Harper Lee provides the reader with several examples of typical Maycomb females. She establishes Scout's masculinity with fighting and explains her demeanor by contrasting it with the typical female adults of the novel. The author also allows Jean Louise to wear masculine clothing and gives her a manly nickname. Therefore, the author favors Scout's unique personality and implies women do not have to act in a stereotypical manner. The book might inspire young girls to become independent and create their own unique personalities. To Kill a Mockingbird emerges as an important novel that contradicts female society and suggests that girls should not feel pressure to act in scripted "womanly" roles.
When Scout (in a tire) rolled in front of Boo Radley’s house and did not bring the tire out with her Jem got mad at her and scowled “‘I swear, Scout, sometimes you act so much like a girl it’s mortifyin’’” (Lee 50). Jem’s tone implies that he views girls as being scared. Hence, he thinks her getting too scared to get the tire, in front of the house of the most feared man to children in Maycomb, is her acting like a girl and he condones her for it. Also at the tea party, Miss. Maudie asks Scout, “‘Where are your britches today?’ ‘Under my dress.’ I hadn’t meant to be funny, but the ladies laughed” (Lee 307). By the ladies laughing at Scout, the author reveals how Scout finding comfort in her tomboy ways is frowned and laughed upon by society. Afterwards Miss. Stephanie, a town gossip at the tea party, proceeds to tell Scout “‘you won’t get very far until you start wearing dresses more often’” (Lee 308). The purpose of Miss. Stephanie telling Scout this is to demonstrate to Scout that in Maycomb without acting ladylike she will not get anywhere in their society because if was a tomboy all her life she would be considered