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To Kill A Mockingbird Gender Roles Essay

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To Kill A Mockingbird Gender Roles Essay
To Kill A Mockingbird

Gender roles are slowly disappeared as society advanced yet we were nowhere close to equality in the depressing age of the thirties they were very much alive. Yet in a time of woman must follow what is expected Scout the speaker of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, seems to unknowingly challenge what is the norm of society. The classic novel tells the story of Scout a young girl growing up in Maycomb Alabama as she journeys with her brother Jem and close friend Dil, the story shows themes of racism and childhood innocence. As the kids try to lure an outcast who is rumored to be dangerous,and witness how their father tries to stand up for black man accused of a crime he didn’t commit in an era of extreme racism. A time where standing up for minorities is met with more backfire than hating them. Scout’s character deconstructs female gender roles through her choice of how to pass time, how she uses conflict to solve annoyances, what color she dislikes, and how she finds regular “lady” conversation.
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Such as things like the color girls are supposed to like.”I felt the starched walls of a pink cotton penitentiary closing in on me, and for the second time in my life I thought of running away. Immediately.” (Lee 14.24) Although this may seem like a quote only used to describe the setting that helps show what To Kill A MockingBird does so well. It has managed to put in very subtly something that completely goes against the stereotype that is decided since you are born and wrapped in a blanket. Boys like blue. Girls like pink. The fact that Scout has such a hatred for color does a perfect job showing how she is a prime example of someone who doesn’t follow the basic belief that both genders are thought to

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