Gender Roles In To Kill A Mockingbird

“A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing” is describing the word stereotype. There are many kinds of stereotypes. For example, there is gender stereotypes, racial stereotypes, physical appearance stereotypes, economical stereotypes, financial stereotypes, and they go on and on. But, I am going to be focusing on gender stereotypes. From the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and from the article Young Children Must be Protected from Ingrained Gender Stereotypes by Laura Bates, we learn that they both address the sexist assumptions about girls and boys that have long-lasting effects on human beings. Even though the settings are in different time periods from these two writings. From

In the town of Maycomb, it is difficult to arrive at one's own identity. This harsh reality takes its toll on Scout until she befriends three different women, each with their own lessons to teach. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout is challenged by many obstacles throughout the novel, but there are three specific women who help Scout develop as a character in many different ways throughout the story as Scout is, in fact, motherless. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the similarities, and differences of which Calpurnia, Miss Maudie, and Aunt Alexandra influence Scout’s life reveal to us the different traits she learns from them such as forgiveness, sophistication, and equality and also how their differences find a way to benefit her in any

Harper Lee’s widely acclaimed novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, addresses many themes that continue to influence our modern world. At first glance, the book seems to dwell mainly on racism and injustice, but a deeper look reveals other themes, such as gender inequality and social class. This has proved one of the main reasons that it remains as relevant today as it was at the time of its publishing. Not only are its themes varied, but very few of them are neatly resolved, making it a simple, honest portrayal. It often went both ways, as shown in the book – men believed (that they were/ themselves to be) superior to women, but women saw themselves as more sensible and logical than men. Gender inequality is prominently/principally

To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee in the 1950s. Within her book, she incorporated many aspects of her own life. For example, she based the court case of Tom Robinson off of a similar court case that falsely found a group of black men guilty of the rape of a white girl (Winters). Based off of Lee’s hometown Monroeville, this book was set in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. During this time, strict gender roles were enforced in many ways. Women were to follow the patriarch of the household and serve only as housewives (Kleinschmidt 116). Typically, the women who did have jobs outside of the household weren’t married ("Working Women in the 1930s"). Sexism in society was enforced through expectations of dress and behavior. This is continually demonstrated throughout this literary work and became one of the main themes. In To Kill a Mockingbird, gender constructs limit individuals and their potential, resulting in dysfunctionality.

but taught by a mother figure. For Evelyn, Aunt Good was her ‘mother’ and Calpurnia was Scout’s ‘mother’. Both Aunt Good and Calpurnia care deeply about how their ‘child’ acts.

“Don’t you contradict me! And you--what are you doing in those overalls? You should be in a dress and camisole, young lady!” said Mrs.Dubose “Don 't pay any attention to her, just hold your head high and be a gentleman” replied Jem. Does being a gentleman mean something special? Why are men to hold a higher honor than women? People expect women and men to be a certain way. This includes but is not limited to the way they dress, act and function in society. The pattern of a masculine or feminine behavior of an individual that is dependent on a particular culture that is largely influenced by the child 's upbringing. In other words where a certain sex belongs in society or known as gender roles.

The Roles and Expectations of Women in To Kill a Mockingbird Women are in the workforce, even in mainly male dominated jobs and have nearly doubled from 38 percent in 1960 to 60 percent by 2000. Events that come from the course of history have helped shaped society’s view of women’s roles in society. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, gender equality is explored through the roles and expectations of women in society. As displayed in instances where Scout is accused of being a girl and is excluded from Jem and Dill’s boyish play.

In To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee, there are many examples of how women are limited in society. One example of how women are limited in society is when Aunt Alexandra says "We decided that it would be best for you to have some feminine influence" (170). This shows that women are treated differently by the way that they say she needs to act. They really believe that Scout needs to act more like a women which is not fair that women must act different. The novel also states "when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she told me I wasn't supposed to be doing things that require pants." This means that Scouts aunt disagrees with a girl wearing pants. This is because the women in society all wear dresses. This shows that women are limited

How would you like it if someone walked up to you and insulted you based on the color of your skin? A characteristic like that isn’t even something you can control, so . Discrimination is inevitable in any culture, throughout history, in modern times, and even in ancient times. For example, the oppression and murder of 6 million Jewish people during the Holocaust, the African Slave Trade which occurred for multiple centuries, and more recently, the “ethnic cleansing” of Rohingya people in Myanmar, brought on by the government of the Asian nation, all of which are tragedies doomed to happen when history repeats itself and people do not learn from their mistakes. Not even the rural Alabama town of Maycomb in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee was safe from discrimination. Throughout the book, examples of racism and sexism run rampant throughout the pages, against African Americans and women, all due to the simple yet untrue reality that one group is favored over another. Often, these skewed perceptions of another group often cause a group to be negatively affected, causing emotional pain, physical abuse, or even judicial turmoil. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there are many examples of discrimination towards a specific group, most prominently racism and sexism.

A society will often dictate what is expected of citizens through the unspoken social expectations of the community. These expectations set by society often lead to inequalities, in terms of power and inclusion, which can be seen through Maycomb’s court system and Atticus’s statements of Maycomb’s social expectations. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the conflict between social expectations and inclusion in society stems from the racism and sexism found in the community of Maycomb. This demonstrates that to achieve equality in a community, social expectations that are set by the public cannot limit or restrain a specific set of people in terms of power or inclusion in society.

In the past, women and men have been expected to act in certain ways. To Kill A Mockingbird is a perfect example of how women are supposed to act and fit into society. The “narrator” Scout struggles with her aunt and how the way she wants to be seen and treated. During the time period of To Kill a Mockingbird each gender was expected to act and dress in certain ways unless you are seen as an outcast by society. It's all about the status quo and according to Aunt Alexandra, and Scout is above it.

Discrimination between men and women has been around for a long time. Women are offended discriminated simply because of their gender. In to kill a mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates that women are supposed to act proper and do what they are told. Scout is often discriminated against because of her tom boy style. Aunt alexandra is often criticizing Scout for her unladylike manner and is quick to point out her appearance suggesting she wears dresses instead of overalls. Scout is also criticized by her brother Jem. As Jem matures he criticizes Scout for her tomboy look and tells her to start acting like a girl. “Jem had acquired an alien set of values and was trying to impose them on me: several times he went so far as to tell me what to do.

“A southern belle was a girl who was expected to grow up into a lady. She was supposed to be fragile and flirtatious...beautiful...up-to-date on the latest fashions” (Charles R. Wilson). The appearance and actions of women were harshly critiqued in the early 1900s. If a woman did not fit the social norm, she was treated as an outcast. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout, a young tomboy, is criticised by her older neighbors and relatives for her boyish appearance, but she is accepted by outcasts like herself, and by people who disagree with what is expected of women. Through methods of characterization, Harper Lee reveals that social expectations are an unfair requirement of individuals. Scout reveals the expectations

The expectation of the gender roles of Maycomb effect Jean Louise Finch (Scout) directly. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee there is an ‘unspoken law’ about how women should act and present themselves. The character Scout in the novel breaks these laws frequently. To begin, it is Christmas and Scout is at the Finch Landing and Francis is starting to get on Scout’s nerves: “This time, I split my knuckle to the bone on his front teeth. My left impaired, I sailed in with my right” (112). Scout hit Francis because he was calling Atticus a “Nigger lover” for defending Tom Robinson.She did this because she has a high level of respect for her father and that is why Scout hit Francis, it was in defence of Atticus. But the expectation of gender roles in Maycomb state that proper ladies are not to be violent, but to be polite and proper all the time.

“The worst thing you can call a girl is a girl. The worst thing you can call a guy is a girl. Being a woman is the ultimate insult” (Valenti). Harper Lee was ahead of her time, and did all the things society said she was not supposed to. From cutting her hair short, to going to law school and eventually becoming a writer. All of these are examples of what women should not do in the 1960s.. She never married which even today is considered to be a woman’s greatest accomplishment. Her whole life she faced criticism for going against gender norms, but yet she did not conform to society. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee introduces the idea that society should not enforce gender roles on women, because she believes women should be able to express themselves in their own way.