Examining the Theme of To Kill A Mockingbird A wise man named Martin Luther King Jr.; Baptist minister and an activist, leader in the civil rights movement once said “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, society controlled the lives of the majority of the habitants of the Maycomb community. This story took place in a small Alabamian town in the 1930’s; therefore it is to be implied that everyone did what everyone else was doing. The theme of the story is don't let society tell you how to live your life or let it change the way you think.Two characters challenged society in the book To Kill …show more content…
Scout is one of the characters in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, who challenged the 1930’s society. Scout is a young girl, who is entering the world where society is harsh and manipulative specially in the 1930’s. Scout lost her mother a few years after she was born; therefore she didn't have a “socially acceptable” role model to follow in the eyes of her society. Scout was allowed to wear overalls, although overalls were not correct clothing for her gender. Scout wondered if wearing “boy-clothes” was bad by questioning “It had something to do with my going around in overalls” (Lee 108). She was mortifying herself by having all those thoughts of whether or not she was doing the right thing, even though she had no idea what was really expected of her. Atticus was another character who challenged society by doing what was right; however his social circle didn't think of his
Scout, the protagonist, is a young girl coming of age in a society trying to shove her into a dress and the role of a gilded daughter. For example, when Scout recalls a conversation with her Aunt Alexandra, a figurehead for society and one of the major female figures in her life, she begins to shine her own light on how to brighten her father’s life in a way that is true to herself. On page 108, Scout comes to terms with the fact that she is defying stereotypes, “I could not possibly 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. Aunt Alexandra’s vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born; furthermore, I should be a ray of sunshine in my father’s lonely life. I suggested that one could be a ray of sunshine in pants just as well, but Aunty said that one had to behave like a sunbeam, that I was born good but had grown progressively worse every year. She hurt my feelings and set my teeth permanently on edge,
To conclude, it is proven during numerous instances found in Harper Lee’s award-winning novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, that societal pressures and the rigid rules and boundaries that society sets can overwhelm anyone of any class, race or background. It is unjust to assume anyone’s character by their set status but unfortunately, negative after-effects immediately take place as soon as one tries to step out of their preordained place. As Mayella Ewell, Scout and Jem Finch and Atticus Finch were the examples of this bitter truth, there are many other characters affected by the societal impacts on everyday life in the novel.
“Change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability, but comes through continuous struggle,” says the great Martin Luther King Jr. In the book To Kill a MockingBird by Harper Lee we see similar struggle that Dr. King battled. Atticus Finch is the only one in the small town of Maycomb willing to admit an african american might not actually be to blame. It was Atticus and Tom Roberson against Maycomb. Throughout Atticus’ interaction with the people of Maycomb he shows people the truth about equality and helped with racism. In the end we learn that it takes courage and a hard shell to beat racism, and breaking down a barrier of society can put a lot of struggle and challenge on one person.
To Kill A Mockingbird displays an environment where one must be inhumane to another in order to become socially compatible. Maycomb has established a hierarchy where social compartmentalisation is the way of life. Men with a profession and a career are superior, while the farmers are near the bottom of the social strata and are considered inferior. No matter which remarkable qualities Negroes possess, they are always s...
Most girls that grew up in the time that Scout did would be wearing dresses and acting in a more feminine manner. Some of this can be credited due to Atticus’s hands-off parenting style, he doesn’t push Scout towards stereotypical gender roles. Scout seems to represent a very early and mild form of feminism in the south. When problems arise in the book she often questions or examines them as a personal responsibility and seeks a resolution. This is a key difference because in feminism ethics, men often view something right or wrong instead of seeking a resolution. Scout’s moral development is probably a blend of feminism and Atticus’s ethics of virtue (Solomon, 323-325). As morally developed as she is at such a young age, Scout doesn’t always grasp basic social etiquette (she tells her teacher that one of the students is too poor to pay for lunch). Human behavior can confuse her, this is especially true in the case of race and racism. She is
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
Harper Lee introduces Scout as an insensible tomboy caught in the midst of contrite prejudicial conception. She has not yet discovered what is right and wrong due to various misconceptions that the people of Maycomb influence her with. ?Don?t say nigger, Scout. That?s common? (75). This particular quote is said by Atticus, Scout?s father, while referring to Scout?s racial ignorance towards African Americans. This quote portrays her social standing at the beginning of the novel as she tends to act ignorant by speaking with rude racial terms. ?Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don't pretend to understand? I just hope that Jem and Scout come to me for their answers instead of listening to the town. I hope they trust me enough?? (92). This quote expressed by Atticus describes Scout?s mental and emotional state near the dawning of the novel. Scout is given influential lessons through the form of words on what to think therefore she is misguided by false pretenses. These ?pretenses? may be misleading, consequently Scout is basing her beliefs about prejudice on the conceptions of others instead of what Scout truly believes. Although Scout?s ...
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, many notable themes arise, but the most prevalent theme is undeniably the theme of man’s inhumanity to man. At the beginning of the novel, we are introduced to Scout Finch, who is naive and oblivious to the discrimination that occurs in Maycomb. However, through many events and through meeting many characters, we soon begin to realize that the world may not be so nice after all. Our suspicions are only confirmed once we witness the terrible injustices that occur during the trial.
Society thought that women should always look presentable, and act modest. Before Boo Radley was confined, Boo was in an alleged gang. In court the group of fifteen year-old boys got in trouble for “using abusive and profane language in the presence and hearing of a female...Mr.Conner said they cussed so loud he was sure every lady in Maycomb heard them”(12). Since females were supposed to be modest, Scout had many things she had to fix. For example, Scout started to curse early in the book. Women, including young women like Scout, are expected to become modest, and stay pure , but Scout always denies anyone who trys to change her. This leaves many of the people around her hopeless, realizing that Scout won’t
Scout Finch is not the stereotypical girl from the 1930’s. Agents the wishes of everyone around her, she grows up in overalls instead of dresses. Scout plays in the dirt and sand, instead of in the kitchen. In the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird, by Harper Lee, Scout is the wild spirited narrator, growing up in the small town of Maycomb. As she gets older, she learns mostly from her father Atticus how to interact with people. Scout learns to show dignity and respect to everyone, under any circumstances.
Overall, the reader can connect sexist issues in “To Kill a Mockingbird” to the present day world. Women are still expected to follow rules that society has set for them. Advertisements with unrealistic beauty standards are shown millions of times everyday. Women are still expected to stay at home and cook and clean while men go to work. Scout is a very brave girl who is
Many students believe that Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird displays social issues in early America. In this time standing against common customs was unacceptable, a violation of society. People believe that today courage has overcome adversity that was displayed in early America. Courage is the common subject of To Kill a Mockingbird, which allows Lee’s novel to defy the changing times of humanity. These morals are bound to the “impartiality” and “fairness” taught to people as children, but become unavoidably invisible though selfish actions. The characters in To Kill a Mockingbird express audacity along with resilience in the face of cowardice.
Even though many social forces impact Scout in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, gender impacts Scout the greatest. It affects her in how other people treat her. Unexpectedly, Aunt Alexandra shows up at the Finch household, and Scout asks why she had just shown up. Aunt Alexandra replies, “We decided that it would be good for you to have some feminine influence. It won’t be many years, Jean Louise, before you become interested in clothes and boys” (127). After Alexandra says this, Scout becomes puzzled because she does not think she needs a “feminine influence”. But, as she becomes older she is expected to act more lady like. Since she is a girl, she is expected to act prim and proper. Her being raised around men is acting against these stereotypes. Certainly, it is obvious that boys are more daring than girls. So while Jem and Dill want to get a sneak peak inside of Boo Radley’s house, Scout gets a little apprehensive. Jem shouts out, “Scout I’m telling you for the last time shut your trap or go home. I declare to the lord you’re getting more like a girl every day,” (51-52). After Jem said this, she decides she has no option but to join them. She does...
When the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, was written by Harper Lee, the Southern United States was still clinging tightly to traditional values. Southern societies pressured men to behave as gentlemen, and women were expected to be polite and wear dresses. These stringent gender roles were adhered to in small southern towns because they were isolated from the more progressive attitudes in other areas of the United States. Harper Lee documents the life of one young girl growing up in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. Jean Louise Finch, also known as "Scout," is a young girl searching for her identity. Scout, a young tomboy, is pressured by adults who insist she should conform to the traditional role of a southern lady. Harper Lee establishes and promotes Jean’s masculinity through the use of nicknames, fighting, and masculine clothing, while contrasting her with women that fit the stereotypical female model.
Don’t judge people from their appearance as they have been through certain circumstances, to be nice to other, and not to kill anyone, especially to do it just because if their color. The story is about coming of age, doing the right thing, courage, the fight against social injustices and the importance of understanding others. Scout has a conflict through the story with herself. does not want to grow up to be a young lady. She is raised by Atticus who tries to teach her good moral values, but she goes against his saying to have fun and mischief. Toward the end of the book however, Scout finally begins to become little lady. With the direction of Miss Maudie, Scout joins her Aunt Alexandra in a lady's tea party. She wears her best dress and acts politely, even though she sees how rude and hypocritical the ladies