Scout Finch Femininity

In the fictional life of Scout Finch, a six-year-old girl living in 1930’s Maycomb, Alabama, life is changing and her perceptions of her beloved town and family is evolving. In the book, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” we are invited to enter Scout’s mind, years later, and recount a time in her life where she was forced to grow and change as challenges came her way. Scout recalls a time where Atticus Finch, Scout’s father, is appointed to represent an African American man who has been accused of raping and assaulting a Caucasian woman. Scout is confronted by criticism, for who her father is and what he stands for, a concept that is difficult for a young person to comprehend and process. To Scout, Atticus is a symbol of respect, integrity, and, more
My frustration grew during the course of the narrative and reached its pinnacle during the trial. However, one common source of frustration was brought upon by the societal views expressed towards Scout on the state of her femininity. Countless times throughout the book, Scout is chastised by the women in her community and especially by her Aunt Alexandra for her unladylike behavior. In one particularly problematic episode, she is told to wear dresses instead of pants, to play with kitchen toys in place of Jem and Dill, and is informed by her Aunt the she should be a “ray of sunshine in my father’s lonely life.” This is a burden for a young child to have to deal with; when their only worries should be the imaginary monsters beneath their beds and the games they play with their friends. Once again, it introduces the differences between life today and life in the 1930’s, where girls were expected to always be “ladies” by attending afternoon tea with the neighborhood women and learning how to cook and clean. Conversely, Lee cleverly explores gender roles on a much deeper level. Boys are never portrayed in as fragile a light as girls. Jem and Dill are supposed to play outside in the dirt, go to school and learn what it is to be a “man.” There is no instance in the story where Jem or Dill are reprimanded for their actions and behaviors, especially since the things the children do
Scout, as the narrator of the story, was at the forefront of all information and events that we learned about. This made it extremely easy to understand and decipher her emotions and the impact of each instance on the young child. I felt sympathy for her, as she was confronted by tough situations, but did not have the experience or knowledge that an older individual would use to make sense of the problem. Such a situation occurs when Scout is confronted by Cecil Jacobs in the schoolyard, who announced that Scout’s father was defending an African American man. Scout was upset, but she managed to control her aggression and withhold from fighting Cecil. She managed to control these feelings because she believed she would let Atticus down if she fought him, and instead talked to Atticus about what was said at the school. Scout didn’t understand why the kids were so interested in this man and why this case made everyone so upset with her father. This is one of the first examples of the maturing that Scout goes through in the course of the