When Aunt Alexandra moved in with the finches, "[She] fitted into… Maycomb like a hand into a glove, but never into the world of Jem and [Scout]" (Lee 216 Chpt. 13). Alexandra is the epitome of the south. She has hatred towards African-Americans, and she believes that girls should learn to cook and clean and never run around and play with her friends. As for Jem and Scout, they believe that girls can have fun and roughhouse, and think that African-Americans are equal to white people such as themselves. Because Scout believes that her Aunt has the opposite ideas from what Atticus believes, Scout is prejudice against her own family member. This quote helps define the thematic subject of prejudice or understanding people who are different. Scout…
Stereotypes are generalized traits that people assume about a group of people. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird stereotypes are used frequently with how different families act, and also how different races appear to others. In the book stereotypes are important when Harper Lee makes the Ewells portray the stereotype for “white trash”. During the trial for the raping of Mayella Ewell this becomes very clear when she writes, “ No truant officers could keep their numerous offspring in school; no public health officer could free them from congenital defects, various worms, and the diseases indigenous to filthy surroundings.”(Lee 227). Lee made this family the stereotypical “white trash” family because it shows the true…
Throughout the novel, Scout starts out as an ignorant boyish girl. She had no knowledge of the world and relied on her brother. At the end of the novel, she becomes more ladylike and less selfish. The lessons she learns are all in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. One of them is to judge a person, you have to look at things from their point of view.…
Stereotyping is an act that many might do out of ignorance or intentionally. It plagues society today, for it causes many individuals to hate others based on a personal opinions. In Webster’s New World Dictionary, the word “stereotype” is defined as “a way of thinking about a person, group, etc. that follows a fixed, common pattern, paying no attention to individual differences”. In “To Kill A Mockingbird” there are many examples of stereotyping between Whites and Negroes. In the book, Lulu, a fellow negro, says, “You ain't got no business bringin’ white chillun here- they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church ain’t it, Miss Cal?” (136) Certain races might have conflicts between each other, causing them to have a negative thoughts…
Atticus is a white lawyer who lives in this racially prejudice town yet he is willing to stand up for a black man. A prime example of Atticus’ ability to help Scout mature is his advice and teaching Scout to not be judgmental of other people based on their appearance or actions. Atticus tells Scout, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (Lee 30) This quote teaches Scout a life lesson that changes her personality throughout the rest of the novel because Atticus is telling her to not be judgemental differs her from everyone else in Maycomb. Nobody in Maycomb considers a black person’s point of view. Everyone else is willing to judge people solely based on their skin color. On the other hand, Scout does not judge people and is accepting of everyone. Another example of Atticus providing Scout advice that influences her development is his reference to killing mockingbirds. “Remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” That was the only time I ever heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something…” Miss Maudie responds to Scout by saying “Your father’s right….Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy….but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill…
In Harper Lee’s, full name Nelle Lee’s, novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, published in 1960, there are many instances where characters challenge stereotypes or work to help defy them. Jem, for instance, is a character who does not act how a typical boy is supposed to, challenge the stereotypes of males. Another example is Atticus, a lawyer and the father of the narrator. Lastly, Boo Radley, a man prejudged by the entire town, ends up being the biggest hero in Harper Lee’s book. In summary, Jem, Atticus, and Boo Radley are all people who contribute to the novel’s theme of challenge stereotypes and prejudice.…
Atticus, who is portrayed as an unprejudiced character, allows his young daughter, Scout, to wear overalls in a generation that girls were expected to wear dresses. He does not force her into society’s gender specific roles because he recognizes that she is an individual with a personality of her own. Throughout the novel Atticus consistently prompts his children, Jem and Scout, to be considerate of others regardless of their race or gender. However, even Atticus, who is nondiscriminatory, maintains and perpetuates sexist beliefs. This is evident in chapter 23 of To Kill a Mockingbird when Atticus insinuates that women do not have the same intelligence or mental capacity as men. Scout proclaims her indignation that women are not allowed to…
How often do you see sexist remarks about women anywhere? Not as often as you would have 20 years ago and beyond. Though the thought that women have to take on certain roles has faded it’s not the only gender stereotype out there. The rise of feminism has brought forth both good and bad ideas as well as change towards a brighter future. To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel, by Harper Lee, which takes place during the Great Depression. Around this time there were a lot of different stereotypes about different kinds of people such as, Racial, Gender, Class, and Social stereotypes just to name a few. The main character, Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, is a girl and as a result faced a lot of Gender related stereotypes which still appear in today's society…
Jem and Scout encounter contradistinctive prospects when they are judged for what their father does, and how they act. Scout witnesses what it’s like to see her father be considered “trash like the people he works for,” as a result of Atticus defending a black man. In a different situation Scout wants to show Cecil Jacobs shouldn’t call her parent a bad name. “and I was far too old and too big for such childish things, and the sooner I learned to hold in, the better off everybody would be.” Scout is taking pressure from the trial, Mrs. Dubose comments, what she shouldn’t do.…
Scout and Jem’s father, Atticus, is an honest white man who is defending an innocent Negro man, although he is frowned upon by others. The white folks of Maycomb County think that they have a higher social status than the black community, and that the views of a Negro does not matter. The most blatant example of racism in the novel is when Tom Robinson was convicted of raping Mayella Ewell. Although the people of the town know that Tom Robinson was innocent, the jury still saw him as guilty because he is an African American man, and would never be able to win over a white man. This jury ruling causes both those who encouraged Robinson’s conviction and those who were convinced of his innocence to question their views of justice and fairness. This decision forces Scout and Jem to confront the fact that the beliefs that Atticus has taught them cannot always be accustomed with the reality of the world and the evils of human nature. Even their neighbor, Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose, who the children are scared of, is racist and calls Atticus a "nigger-lover" to his children. The children despise of her and “hated her. If she was on the porch when [they] passed, [they] would be raked by her wrathful gaze, subjected to ruthless interrogation regarding our behavior, and given a melancholy prediction on what [they] would amount to when [they] grew up, which was always nothing”…
In the past years women have been fighting for equal rights, but in the year 1933 it was pushed on to young girls to be a “proper lady” meaning to serve the husband and have a woman’s first interest in the well being of men. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird is about childhood and growing up with Scout. The narrator, Scout has been taught like an adult by her father for her whole life and gender was never a problem with Atticus, he taught her and her brother Jem the same way, but as she grows up she is pressured to become a proper lady by her peers. We can gather that gender roles are a major part in Scout’s life by the several symbols of women, such as flowers, that show, the theme of gender roles that Harper Lee weaves into To Kill a Mockingbird.…
Even in the modern world, there is still discrimination and stereotype going around, not to mention that it was at an even higher rate years ago. The poem Equality highlights the importance of a free fair world as the sentence: “Equality, and I will be free” keeps appearing. It mainly enhances the idea of how equality should be reached without segregation, discrimination and racism for all ages, gender, ethnicity, or age. Atticus, the single parent of Scout and Jem, Maycomb’s attorney who was assigned to represent Tom Robinson from To Kill A Mockingbird clearly portrayed and initiated this idea in the novel. We often get easily influenced by the society, others and social media which may have shaken us to change our mind due to the high-pressure impact but Atticus Finch can be called an exception. Even after multiple insults and verbal intimidations, he still believed in justice as firmly as before, while keeping to his job and trying his best to gather information to defend Tom Robinson no matter how low the chances were. When Scout once asked him if he was a nigger-lover because everyone calls him that, he replied confidently: “I certainly am. I do my best to love everybody... It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn't hurt you”. This is a perfect example of how his beliefs on equality are steady and not at all influenced by the judgemental society. “Take…
Harper Lee writes To Kill A Mockingbird staying true to the sexism that took place during the period of the 1930s. At this time, how women were viewed was a paradox. While women were seen as pure, perfect, and dainty, they were also highly disrespected by men, labeled as dumb, and forced to work in the home and bear children. This paradoxical treatment of women was convenient for men who desired to control women and maintain their submissive demeanor. This mistreatment was highly integrated into society and Harper Lee gives both antagonists and protagonists moments in which they disrespect or otherwise criticize femininity. Jem, Scout’s older brother and young boy growing into adolescence, frequently comments on Scout’s gender, at one point…
Scout Finch as “a tomboy most frequently clad in overalls, Scout spends much of her time with her older brother Jem and is constantly trying to prove herself his equal.” Throughout the novel, Scout is impacted by gender discrimination, along with other women in Maycomb. Aunt Alexandra tells Scout a few times that she could not hope to be a lady if she wore breeches. Aunt Alexandra also expects Scout to play with stoves, tea sets, and necklaces. Aunt Alexandra is not the only person who discriminates women. Even Atticus, who does not judge anyone, also discriminates against women. On page 221, Atticus tells Jem that women are not allowed to serve on juries in Alabama. Atticus even jokes that the court would never get a complete case tried with…
In "To Kill a Mockingbird", the author, Harper Lee, makes it clear that the expectations that Aunt Alexandra had for people were immoral. Aunt Alexandra expected Scout to dress and act like a lady. She wanted her to do things, such as wearing dresses, talking like a lady, and not doing things that boys do. However, Scout was not ready to make that change, because she was used to doing the exact opposite of what Aunt Alexandra asked her. She was doing things that boys would do, like wearing overalls, running around outside, and even fighting with other people. This was a reason that Scout did not like her Aunt very much; on the other hand, Scout had much respect for Atticus because he did not judge her by her appearance, but by her intentions, actions, and mentality. Through Aunt Alexandra, Harper Lee shows us that expectations should be built in accord to a person's character.…