The feeling of not being heard or not being allowed to do what you want is placed upon women in the 1930s. Harper Lee’s depiction of women, in her novel To Kill A Mockingbird, is they should be able to have an important voice in society, make changes they feel are important, and do certain actions without conforming to gender normalities.
Women should be able to make the changes that are important to them without men’s approval. For example, at the tea party held by Aunt Alexandra, Mrs. Merriweather wants to help the children in Africa because of their poor living conditions and poverty. Though when she talks to J. Grimes Everett, the man involved with the Mrunas, he depreciates her by saying “‘you have no conception, no conception of what we are fighting
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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
She likes to play with her brother and friend suggesting, “Let’s roll in the tire”(49). Girls who are tomboy often like to do such things because it is fun for them. Moreover, Scout is rarely seen in anything else besides her usual clothing; she would rather be in her overalls than be more like a lady. This is known by her Aunt Alexandra, the main person who pushes Scout to wear dresses; she brings Scout her overalls when her and Jem come home after Mr. Ewell, a townfolk, attacked them. Tomboys do not like to do girly things including wearing certain types of clothing, “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”(108). Scout prefers pants over dresses, showing that she is tomboy. Possessing this trait causes Aunt Alexandra to attempt to teach her niece to be more of a lady, which Scout did learn to do; resulting with her maturing a little bit
Harper Lee is an author that most people know of due to her writing controversial novels and her novels also being classified as classics. It seems like most middle school and high school book lists consist of Lee’s most famous novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, which is about a single father with two children, the Finches, who fights for the rights and lives of black Americans. When the novel was published, it was considered very controversial because it dealt with white Americans fighting for black Americans, which was not the norm at the time the book was published in 1960. Her novel To Kill a Mockingbird was not her only controversial novel though; she released a second novel titled Go Set a Watchman in 2015 which is also about the Finches, just when the children are adults, and with a twist that the beloved audience of Lee’s first novel do not approve of ever so slightly. Although the books are very different with the aging of characters and opposing views from the characters in the first novel, there is one theme that is very prominent in both novels. The common theme between the novels is gender equality. Harper Lee uses gender inequality in both novels to show her readers
The year was 1960 when Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird was published. It was an immediate success even winning the Pulitzer Prize. The novel was the first published piece for Lee who was not widely known. The story itself was set in the American South during the Great Depression, which Lee was from and lived during that time. The story examined the angst of childhood, morals of society, racism, and the concept of perception.
How would you feel if you were a Woman that lived in the HARSH 1930’s? Women back then worked for ages and didn’t even get payed a dollar. A women’s life was very hard and some people wanted it to change. Women in the Novel “to kill a Mockingbird” were treated like this every day. Women were expected to come home and do everything like cleaning and making dinner and if they had children take care of them after they finished working. They had to make sure that dinner was made for the whole family. They had to make sure that the house was clean. Women had many responsibilities at home and when they were working. Women were expected to be a housewife and after work. Women believed they were betting treated unfairly in many different ways from how much they get payed to what they can do in the “Real
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
Reading minds isn’t something that humans are normally able to do, but is it impossible? Each person has their own mind and their own lives, everyone is their own. Many people have their own points of views that don’t always add up to what others may see. Though, books have great ways of showing this; in books, when a situation is happening or a character is thinking, outsiders are often unaware of the thoughts that aren’t their own. Where She Went and To Kill a Mockingbird show many examples of this, through internal conflicts, being someone no one else knows and is different on the outside than the inside. In both novels, characters go through the universal theme, things aren’t always what they seem.
Many characters have to deal with and struggle with their own moral development and are brought to make many decisions that determine who they are; and one of the major element that influences this is their perception between their left and right. A perfect example of such development taking action in a positive way is through Scout and Jem Finch. According to Kathryn Lee Seidel, the “most influential in her development is her father, Atticus, who counters southern dicta for southern children with a philosophy of calm courage and rational strength” (Seidel 78). Atticus is clear in using his “left” in his decision making and his moral consciousness. Not only does Atticus show this in his actions, but in his directions. During the scene in which a rabid dog comes and terrorizes the town, Atticus is told that his shot at the dog was, “a little to the right” (Lee
Everyone’s gender is socially constructed. From the time we’re born until the time we die, there are influences come from society that assemble our gender. Gender is basically a creation of what is considered to be masculine or feminine. There are different ways we show gender, we determine gender through gender assignment, gender identity, gender expression, gender ranking, and gender acquisition. Gender assignment is given at birth from the physical body type. Gender identity is the gender one feels a part of. Gender expression is how one performs gender according to those around him or her. Gender ranking is valuing on gender over another gender. Gender acquisition is how one learns gender.
We can see her struggle to feel equal to her male counterparts through her brother’s presences in the novel. Scout’s brother, Jem, desires to get a look at the mysterious Boo Radley, the boy who was never seen again for fifteen years; Scout fears Jem might get hurt and pleads Jem not to go, and Jem states, “Scout, I’m tellin’ you…shut your trap or go home-I declare to the Lord you’re getting’ more like a girl everyday” (Lee 42). Jem’s quote undoubtedly expresses that acting like a girl portrays that Scout is being weak. The quotes help highlight the insufficiency of strength women can truly possess in a situation, however many wish to disregard this strength, thus leading to the shortage of civil rights to
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.
“The problem with gender is that it prescribes how we should be rather than recognizing how we are. Imagine how much happier we would be, how much freer to be our true individual selves, if we didn’t have the weight of gender expectations” (Adichie 34). Gender roles were not as flexible in the 1930s compared to the present, but there were many inspiring and appreciated women in the 1930s just like there are currently. Some of these female characters are good strong role models for the main character, Scout, and are very similar to the women role models we have today.
In the analysis of the issue in question, I have considered Mary Wollstonecraft’s Text, Vindication of the Rights of Woman. As an equivocal for liberties for humanity, Wollstonecraft was a feminist who championed for women rights of her time. Having witnessed devastating results or men’s improvidence, Wollstonecraft embraced an independent life, educated herself, and ultimately earned a living as a writer, teacher, and governess. In her book, “A Vindication of the Rights of Woman,” she created a scandal perhaps to her unconventional lifestyle. The book is a manifesto of women rights arguing passionately for educating women. Sensualist and tyrants appear right in their endeavor to hold women in darkness to serve as slaves and their plaything. Anyone with a keen interest in women rights movement will surely welcome her inexpensive edition, a landmark documen...
They go often play outside and do a lot of “not lady like” things. Jem and Scout’s aunt, Aunt Alexandria, does not like how Scout acts and expects her to behave like a lady. Scout expresses annoyed, "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. 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” (Lee 108). This is one of many examples of the expectations put on Scout, as a female, to act quite, feminine, and not do too crazy. The author explains how there were many standards for Southern white women expecting them to be idle, well-mannered, and skilled in the way of hospitality regardless of their social standings. (“Overview: To Kill a Mockingbird”). On a different note they describe how a women was to be viewed in public. They note, “Still, the impression persisted that white Southern ladies had no interest or place in the sullying men’s world of politics. Many people continued to feel that church clubs were the venue best suited to women's activities outside of the household” (“Overview: To Kill a Mockingbird”). In conclusion, the gender roles and discrimination during the 1930’s-1960’s is clearly
Women have always had certain social standards and high expectations on how they carry themselves that they are expected to meet. In multiple circumstances Scout doesn’t understand why being called a girl by Jem is a bad thing, but it must be. ¨I was not so sure, but Jem told me I was being a girl,
In “To Kill a Mockingbird” Harper Lee shows the reader how all women are expected to act lady-like and be proper through the actions of Mrs. Dubose, Jem, and Atticus. In Maycomb, there are social norms that girls are expected to follow. Atticus grinned, "I doubt if we'd ever get a complete case tried—the ladies'd be interrupting to ask questions" (296). Jem and Scout react to Atticus’s answer by laughing.