Stereotypes In To Kill A Mockingbird

Many aspects of the environments around children as they grow up integrate into their values and personalities, causing many to follow their elders’ examples and share their beliefs. As these children begin to mature, they often tend to question what they were brought up hearing, leading them on their journeys to adulthood as they discover their own truths and values. In Harper Lee’s classic bildungsroman novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Jean-Louise Finch, known as Scout, begins to identify the masks of rumors and stereotypes in society, understanding how they can stifle the true personalities of those who are deemed different by society. Scout and her brother, Jem, were raised in the town of Maycomb, Alabama during the Great Depression, surrounded

by the rumors and stereotypes of their hometown. Throughout her journey, Scout gradually understands how to differentiate the fact from the fiction, setting in place the basis for morals. Of these were her realizations of the true personalities of Walter Cunningham Jr., Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley as defined by themselves instead of by society. Though she is indirectly taught to judge people based on how society portrays them, Scout learns that people are defined by their own actions and personalities, developing her own opinions of people: she reconstructs her view of Walter Cunningham Jr. based on his personality, instead of his social class; she forms an opinion of Tom Robinson based on her own unbiased opinions of him rather than the racist views of others; and she reinterprets Boo Radley’s isolation, using her own experience instead of childhood rumors to comprehend his character and actions.
To the residents of the town of Maycomb, the Cunninghams are known as the family of poor farmers, with no need for further explanation.

Beginning on the first day of first grade, young Scout displays her tendency to accept rumors and stereotypes as truth with Walter Cunningham Jr., the youngest son of Walter Cunningham Sr., stereotyping him as nothing more than the child of a poor farmer. When Jem and Scout invite Walter over for dinner after reconciling with him over a misunderstanding at school, Scout places less value on Walter than she would with other guests, disrespecting him at the table by questioning his eating habits and apparent greediness. The Finches’ assistant Calpurnia scolds her disrespect towards him, to which she replies that “‘he ain’t company… he’s just a Cunningham’” (27), implying that the Cunningham family is not considered on the same level as their usual company and therefore does not need to be treated with respect. However, she later realizes that Walter is not defined by his financial status, creating her own view of him and his family based on their determination to improve their situation and unwillingness to break their promises, later becoming mutual friends with him. Later on, Aunt Alexandra is discussing the social classes in Maycomb when Scout brings up the topic of playing with Walter. Aunt Alexandra reacts in a horrified and shocked manner and is unwilling to let Scout associate herself with Walter, offering a view at what the general opinion of Maycomb is regarding the Cunninghams by claiming that “[Walter]—is—trash… [which is] why [Scout] can’t play with him”(256). Scout becomes angry at this statement, as she has already developed a new view on the Cunninghams and Walter; she has realized through spending time with him that his family should not be defined by their social class, and is willing to argue and defend her new

friend.
Scout displays and improvement in her ability to form her own opinions based on the actions and personalities of people in the trial of Tom Robinson, an African-American man who is wrongfully accused and on trial for raping a white woman named Mayella Ewell, who is defended in court by Atticus. When Scout first hears of Tom Robinson’s trial, she is confused at why her father, a respectable white lawyer, would defend a black man against a white family in court, as the stereotypes placed on African-Americans at that time in Maycomb had been integrated into her thinking. This stereotype in seen when Francis, Scout’s cousin, confronts her and makes fun of her father Atticus Finch for defending Tom by saying that his defense of Tom Robinson makes him “‘nothin’ but a n*****-lover’”(96). In response, she retorts furiously in contradiction, even though she doesn’t understand the full meaning of the phrase. Her reaction was reflective of the stereotype on African-Americans, as she assumed that the phrase was the insult and reacted in anger on that assumption. However, as she hears the details of the trial and understands the truth of the case and the racism behind it, she develops her own opinion, stepping away from the ways of the society she was raised in. During and following the trial, she understands the truth of the case and is able to see past the racism to Tom’s innocence and good heart. She understands and agrees with Mr. Underwood’s comparison of Tom to a mockingbird, as both are “senseless slaughters”(275) of innocent beings who brought only good, Tom by helping Mayella with chores and mockingbirds by singing beautiful songs. Consequently, she develops her own morals and beliefs on the subject of race, finding Tom respectable despite his social status and no longer considering it an insult to respect negroes as her father does. By understanding that race does not define a person, Scout learns to treat people based on their actions and personalities, not their race.
Scout and Jem grew up to speculations of Arthur Radley, known to the children as Boo, a mysterious neighbor who was very rarely seen. Arthur Radley, known to the children as Boo, fell victim to the rumors of Maycomb, as he was rumored to to be a gruesome and terrifying phantom. As children, Scout and Jem willingly accepted this as truth; Boo was the idol of their childhood, with many of their games and activities relating to him and his family. Yet as Jem matures, he understands the sadness and cruelty of Boo’s situation, as he is kept in his own house and secluded from society. Following in Jem’s footsteps in her path to maturation, Scout realizes that Boo is in fact a person, with feelings and a personality. This realization is solidified when a man saves her and Jem from an attack from Bob Ewell, who is aimed at killing the children as they walk back from the Halloween festival in the dark. When they return home, she realizes that the man was Boo Radley, but does not react abruptly and risk scaring her childhood icon on accident, instead responding gently to his timid smile. To protect Boo from being in the spotlight, Atticus says to Scout, “‘Mr. Ewell fell on his knife. Can you possibly understand?’”(317), to which she responds by going along in an attempt to protect Boo. Scout also compares Boo to a mockingbird in saying that “‘it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird”(317), since putting Boo in the spotlight would be forcing an innocent being into an unfamiliar and unwanted place. Her understanding of his desire to stay out of the spotlight is a result of her realizations of Boo’s character, as she knows that he is nowhere near the monster he was made out to be by rumors.
Throughout her journey of maturation in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout discovers that society can often be far from the truth in its portrayal of people, and that the only way to understand a person is to get to know them and examine their personality and actions. She evaluates the steps she takes in judging people, rethinking her views of Walter Cunningham after uncovering his personality and understanding his actions, developing a new racially unbiased opinion on Tom Robinson after understanding the truth of his situation, and reconsiders her childhood idea of who Boo Radley is.