Scout Finch's Role In To Kill A Mockingbird

To begin with, the first incident takes place when they visit Scout’s Aunt Alexandra. Scout recalls a memory, which she remembers as “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.” This shows me that even though her aunt argues that Scout needs to act more like a lady now, Scout denies this and is satisfied with how she dresses. In addition, Aunt Alexandra wants Scout to spend her time playing with “small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace.”(Lee, 83) Scout’s aunt tries to convince her to becoming accustomed to activities that will encourage her towards becoming a ‘proper’ lady

Because of what people have heard about Scout, they stereotype that she isn’t ladylike because she acts like a boy and wears overalls. Mrs. Dubose, the Finch’s neighbor, says, “’…what are you doing in those overalls? You should be in a dress and camisole, young lady! You’ll grow up waiting on tables if somebody doesn’t change your ways- a Finch waiting on tables at the O.K. Café-hah!’”(Lee 135). In this case, Scout is considered a stereotype, but she changes her ways. Scout is confronted with her own stereotypes in the novel but as she grows and learns, she begins to regret her actions. Scout changes her ways throughout the book in order to get rid of the label people put on her. Even though she is still a tomboy at heart, Scout learns how to control her actions and act more like a lady.

Throughout the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee challenges the societal norms of gender roles, within the character “Jean Louise,” also referred to as her tomboy name “Scout.” Scout battles the society-defined roles in many ways throughout the text. Many factors lead to Scout redefining femininity, including Jem and Dill’s coming-of-age dilemma. An exploration of gender roles and inequality throughout the text and this time period will allow one to understand how Scout was able to overcome gender stereotyping.

Throughout the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, one of the main characters, Scout, is impacted by sexism from her family, peers, and community. The book is set in the 1930’s when women were definitely not thought of as equal. There were certain social rules that girls should follow and the ways that society told them to act. The scout is a character that is impacted by sexism throughout the story. She is a young girl that changes because of the oppression that is placed on her by her family and peers. The character Scout is affected by sexism, which Harper Lee uses to develop the reader’s perception of Scout from indecisive and confined to determined, criticized, and conflicted and finally to confident, conflicted, and decisive.

Feminism and Gender Roles in "To Kill a Mockingbird" In "To Kill a Mockingbird," Harper Lee shows how girls like Scout Finch deal with what society expects from them as females. Scout isn’t into the typical girl things of that era. She prefers jeans and playing outside with her brother. Through Scout, Lee suggests that girls should be free to be themselves, even if it means going against the normal. Scout’s dad, Atticus, breaks the mold of what’s expected from men in the 1930s.

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

In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, sexism is a prevalent issue that has yet to be tackled. In Chapter 4, Scout relates a comment made by her brother, Jem, saying, “I was not so sure, but Jem told me that I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that’s why other people hated them so, and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find some to play with” (Lee, 54). This instance is one of many in which women are being degraded by fellow males. Due to the constant and never-ending harassment by Jem, Scout is convinced that “acting like a girl” is unfavorable, seldom wearing dresses or practicing ladylike qualities. This issue of sexism is still very much present in today’s society, because, based upon an article published by the National Partnership for Women & Families, “In Kentucky, median annual pay for a woman who holds a full-time, year-round job is $33,704 while median annual pay for a man who holds a full-time, year-round job is $42,203. This means that women in Kentucky are paid 80 cents for every dollar paid to men, amounting to an annual wage gap of $8,499” (“Kentucky Women and the Wage Gap”). With this difference in pay rates between men and women, Kentucky women lose a combined total of around five billion

In chapter 9, Scout is constantly criticised for not being more like the rest of the women in the town, and although she partially conforms in chapter 24, Scout still wears her overalls underneath her dress. Scout rethinks the comments made by the women in her Aunt’s circle, became increasingly wondered by the world of women and thought: “There was no doubt about it, I must soon enter this world, where on its surface fragrant ladies rocked slowly, fanned gently, and drank cool water. But I was more at home in my father’s world. People like Mr. Heck Tate did not trap you with innocent questions to make fun of you; even Jem was not highly critical unless you said something stupid. Ladies seemed to live in faint horror of men, seemed unwilling to approve wholeheartedly of them.

Scout was a tomboy and she thought that she would always be one. As she got to be an adult, she started to turn into a more of what you would call a “girly girl.” Her Aunt Alexandra has been trying to turn her into a lady. After the death of Tom Robinson.

Her unbiased father Atticus just wants her to be herself, other family doesn’t feel the same they want Scout “to be a proper lady.” Scout is expected to change her identity by not swearing and “dressing like a lady”. “I was not so sure, but Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that's why other people hated them so, and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find some to play with.” (4.119)

Whether or not being raised by a single father and an older brother had anything to do with it, Scout grows up believing that being a girl meant that she couldn’t have any fun. Girls have to be proper by wearing dresses. They can’t run around and play outside or swear. Women also don’t always say what they mean and can be catty with each other. Scout would rather hang out with the men who are blunt and say straight up what they think or how they feel about something.

Scout does not conform to the typical standards of southern girls in the 1930’s: she does not act like a lady, gets in fights, and curses. Scout especially hates dresses. She loves her overalls, and will do anything to avoid wearing a dress. At one point, Scout actually considers running away from her family: “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 182). Scout harbors so much hatred towards the stereotypical feminine attire that she contemplates running away. This quote demonstrates the level of distaste she truly has for dresses, and the overall confines of femininity. Scout persistently defies gender roles and acts differently from the conventional woman. This defines Scout’s personality and shapes her adventures throughout the entirety of the

How Scout Develops from a Tomboy to a Young Lady in To Kill a Mockingbird

When the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, was written by Harper Lee, the Southern United States was still clinging tightly to traditional values. Southern societies pressured men to behave as gentlemen, and women were expected to be polite and wear dresses. These stringent gender roles were adhered to in small southern towns because they were isolated from the more progressive attitudes in other areas of the United States. Harper Lee documents the life of one young girl growing up in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. Jean Louise Finch, also known as "Scout," is a young girl searching for her identity. Scout, a young tomboy, is pressured by adults who insist she should conform to the

At that moment Scout didn’t understand why being a girl meant being seeked out like a target just to marry. She couldn’t understand the “traditional” women and doesn’t understand why she can’t act how she wants. Scout doesn’t understand this role that she must play as a girl, Scout is simply a girl stuck in old ways of