Femininity In To Kill A Mockingbird

Atticus parents his children Jem and Scout as equals, seeing them just as children who love to play outdoors and have adventures. For example, he gives them the same gifts for Christmas, “Jem and me got air rifles” (107). Scout chooses to be a tomboy most of the time. This is why she spends a lot of time in overalls and, as her cousin Francis says, “running around with stray dogs” (110). Scout knows that her father does not really care whether she acts “ladylike” or not, as long as she is a good

Since Jem enjoys doing "manly" things, Scout does them as well for she does not know any better and she wants to gain Jem's respect for her. As time goes by, Jem starts to mature himself, from an irresponsible boy to a sensitive, gentlemen, Mister Jem; he is always Scout's adored older brother. As Scout gets older, her Aunt Alexandra decides to try and get Scout to act more like the Jean Louise that she wants her be. The only time that Aunt Alexandra was around for a long period of time was during the trial when she came to live with the Finches when Atticus was the lawyer for Tom. Even though she disagrees with her brother, Atticus, with his way of raising his children, especially Scout, who should be taught to be a lady believes that in time, she will "come around"

First of all, Scout is more a tomboy than a girl. Boys tend to live by the phrase, “Boys rule. Girls drool.” Scout expresses,” I was not so sure, but Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that’s why people hated them so, and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find some to play with.” (45). This quote implies that Scout thinks girl things are bad and boy things are good. She has constantly been taught this. Scout believes she can avoid being a girl by not acting like one. Being a girl to Scout is more about what she does than what she is born with. Another example of Scout being more of a boy is how she reacts to the situation with Walter Cunningham and Miss. Caroline. In the text, Scout states, “Ah-Miss. Caroline? Miss. Caroline, he’s a Cunningham.” (22). The gender role of a girl would usually to sit back and watch everything go down. In Scout’s case, she is outspoken and has no filter. She has to tell Miss. Caroline what everyone else is thinking. It is in this sense and others that Scout challenges the traditional gender roles throughout the

Scout was particularly affected by gender discrimination as she was a girl. She was told she acted too much like a boy when she should be acting like a girl. Scout described Aunt Alexandra as “Fanatical on the subject of my attire. 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 pant” (108). Aunt Alexandra discriminated Scout for not wearing lady like attire and told her that if she continued to dress that way then she could not be a lady. Aunt Alexandra soon became determined to put an end to Scout’s non-feminine behavior. Atticus tried to explain to Scout that "She asked me to tell you must try to behave like the little lady and gentleman that you are. She wants to talk to you about the family and what it's meant to Maycomb County through the years, so you'll have some idea of who you are, so you might be moved to behave accordingly"(178). Atticus decided to take his sister’s word and told his children what they should act like despite him not approving of this. Scout’s behavior is what leads her Aunt Alexandra to discriminating her and telling her she will never be a lady if she continues to not dress

Scout had been raised in a masculine environment, with her father Atticus and her brother Jem, after her mother passed away. During the first chapters of the book, many negative comments were made about acting or being a girl from Jem. Jem would say comments such as, “ ’Scout I’m tellin’ you for the last time, shut your trap or go home-I declare to the Lord you’re gettin’ more like a girl everyday!’ “. Comments like this were made throughout the beginning of the book, making it seem that acting feminine was inferior to masculinity. This environment contradicted what many believed a little girl should dress and act like.

As girls grow in life, they mature and change into women. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Scout, the main character, begins to mature into a woman. In the beginning of the book, she is a tomboy who cannot wait to pick a fistfight with anyone, but at the end, she lowers her fists because her father, Atticus, tells her not to fight. Scout's views of womanhood, influenced by how Aunt Alexandra, Miss Maudie, and Calpurnia act, make her think more about becoming a woman and less of a tomboy.

Scout who lives in a male dominated society, soon embraces her identity. Her father, Atticus, and brother Jem, who both live with her impact Scout towards male dominance. Scout feels like she’s being pressured into being someone who she’s not. Later on, Scout soon struggles that wanting to be herself won't be enough and that she doesn’t have to prove to anyone that she’ll act differently towards others. Scout does many masculine activities that make her feel like who she wants to be makes her true identity who she really is.

“I was not so sure,but Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that's why other people hate them so, and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find some to play with.” Scout also likes fighting with guys. For example, “catching Walter Cunningham in schoolyard gave me some pleasure,but when I was rubbing his nose in dirt Jem came by and told me to stop. ”Scout can be considered at tomboy because she doesn't like to wear dresses,and is always with

Scout and Jem aren’t necessarily the ideal girl and boy in this time. They were raised differently than most girls and boys of their generation. Scout, growing up with her older brother, acts like a tomboy. She wears overalls, plays with “boy” things, and behaves just like her brother. Her dad (Atticus) doesn’t see a problem with how she acts, but their neighborhood and family members do. She gets told to “act like a lady” constantly, even by her brother. Whereas her brother, Jem, doesn’t get told to behave much differently other than to be a gentlemen. As time goes by and the kids get older, Jem slowly starts to mature and Scout doesn’t like it. In chapter 12 paragraph 7, the book states “‘Baby,’ said Calpurnia, ‘I just can’t help it if Mister

She is “A tomboy at heart” and acts unladylike despite all the remarks from her aunt Alexandra. Scout spends her days playing outside with her older brother, Jem, and her best friend, Dill. Scout prefers her beloved overalls, "the garments her aunt Alexandra most despised. "(pg. 92)

Sophisticated and mature, Alexandra does her part to follow the rules as she “embodies the rules and customs of the adult world”[Lee 140]. It is not surprising to know she demands the maintenance of the Finch reputation. To do so, Aunt Alexandra forces Scout to do something she is not happy with. Scout’s tomboyish nature goes against what Aunt Alexandra deems to be ladylike, and forces Scout to wear a dress. Alexandra also feels the need to make sure Scouts manners are in check and starts to apply the pressures of being female, “(Scout) carefully picked up the tray and watched (herself) walk to Mrs. Merriweather.

With the standard that men were above women, Scout must decide how to encounter this problem. Scout and other women are faced by sexist statements from men, which show men were viewed as the greater gender during this time. Whenever Scout upsets Jem, Jem seems to use Scout’s gender as an insult to persuade her into changing her mind. Scout appears to be offended when referred to as a girl, meaning she just wants to fit in and be seen equal to her brother and Jem.

Atticus had to assume both the role of mother and father, which wasn't the best for either of the children. Even Scout realizes this when she says, “... he was trying to do but Atticus was only a man. It takes a woman to that kind of work.”

“We decided that it would be best for you to have some feminine influence. It won’t be many years, Jean Louise, before you become interested in clothes and boys–” (p.170). This was the first example of Aunt Alexandra telling Scout that she needs to be more like a girl. Scout gets really upset by this. She has always had her own style and never been a very girly girl. Scout has always hung out with the boys because of her brother. So when Aunt Alexandra says how she here to be Scout’s feminine influence, Scout gets annoyed. Atticus has always let Scout act the way she wants as long as she is a respectful person. “I do. I guess it’s to protect our frail ladies from sordid cases like Tom’s. Besides,” Atticus grinned, “I doubt if we’d ever get a complete case tried–the ladies’d be interrupting to ask questions.” (p.296). Atticus says this to Scout because

Scout reflects on her relationship her aunt before a christmas dinner, noting how a conversation between Alexandra and Atticus about Scout’s attire was the only point in her life where she had heard her father speak sharply with anyone, “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. 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”. (83) Alexandra has very little knowledge of what Scout enjoys doing, and doesn’t seem to care enough to respect it. One of her missions throughout the novel is to permanently change Scout’s attire from her regular overalls into frilly dresses even if that meant giving up the things she enjoyed doing and substituting them with a life of playing with tiny tea sets and stoves. Through this, Lee is able to show the disconnect between Scout and her aunt’s generations and how sexism can sometimes even originate from other