To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel that nearly every student has read in high school. The book takes place in Alabama during the early 1930s. Young Scout Finch tells a story, from her point of view, of the arrest and trial of Tom Robinson. Tom was accused of the rape of Mayella Ewell, a girl who assumably suffers abuse from her father. He was convicted despite the lack of evidence against him. While this novel’s main theme is racial injustice, it also includes gender role stereotypes. It is clearly seen that throughout the novel Scout is being harassed for not being feminine enough by members of her family and her peers. This gender stereotyping can have a negative or positive effects not only on Scout but other members of society …show more content…
They imply that men have to act one way while women have to act another way. Women in society, specifically Alabama in the 1930s, were expected to act feminine, polite, quiet,and obedient. They were also expected to do all the housework and raise children while their husbands went to work. Feminism has come a long way since then, and these stereotypes are not as strong as they once were. Men in society were and are expected to act masculine, strong, emotionless, and dominant. These ideas creep into the minds of young children and influence their behavior while growing up. They are forced into a stereotype that they may or may not be comfortable in. This brings us to the question; what are the effects of gender role stereotyping? These stereotypes make it socially unacceptable to do certain things because of a person’s gender.On one hand this can cause low self esteem. On the other, gender role stereotypes can create a sense of fulfillment. Either way they will alter a persons …show more content…
{What guidelines?? can’t serve on jury, sports?, protected vs protecting, can't do that, must do this} People that don’t follow these rigid guidelines are looked down upon by society. This is seen in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird when Scout’s aunt and father are discussing how Scout isn’t feminine enough for a girl her age. Scout faces difficulties with herself when she sees her family lose support of her. She feels dejected that she was unable to dress or act in ways that make her feel comfortable with herself. {Teaparty?} Women today still face similar issues. They get frowned upon by society for not being feminine enough. However, this issue is not only seen with women. Men are prosecuted for not being masculine enough. Our society creates gender role stereotypes about men that describe them as violent, sexually aggressive, strong, and unemotional (Wikia). Painting a picture of a “real man”, these stereotypes can be harmful men. They indicate that men cannot be victims of abuse even though 2.78 million men in the U.S. have been victims of sexual assault or rape (Rainn) and 40% of domestic violence victims are men . However, many of these men do not report their abuse because it is seen as unmanly, weak, and shameful. In some cases, the authorities do not believe the male victim, or they don’t take any action to solve the problem because the gender role stereotypes that we have been taught lead us to believe that
Harper Lee’s book, To Kill A Mockingbird takes place in the difficult times of the Great Depression in the early 1930’s. The novel surrounds the life of a young girl named Scout Finch, along with her brother Jem, and their friend, Dill. Who are forced at a young age to watch the people of their small town of Maycomb not only receive, but also give prejudice to numerous, harmless people. Whether it be Boo Radley, a shut in who falls victim to the town’s gossip, even though he is constantly showing acts of kindness towards the Finch children. Or it be Tom Robinson an innocent man that Atticus, Scout’s father must defend be accused rape, and be convicted of a crime he did not to just because of the color of his skin. Throughout the novel, the people of Maycomb deal with prejudice in the forms of sexism, intolerance of differences, and in racism.
Stereotyping, a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing, plays a big role in “To kill a Mockingbird”, and it’s also a big role in the thirties when everyone was different. In the story there are three different groups of people, the wealthy, the poor, and the black. Each of these group with some exceptions like the Finch family, looks at each other with offset opinions. The stereotyping in this story makes it come true and really plays a big part in character development.
The characters of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird are all different in their own way. Sometimes they can seem like the most infuriating people in the world, but then again they can be helpful, loving, and caring. The citizens of Maycomb County are stereotyped a lot throughout the book. They are labeled as many different things, but some of the stereotypes made aren’t entirely correct. A lot of people in To Kill a Mockingbird stereotype others by the way they look or talk based on what society considers normal. Two of the main characters in the book are stereotyped; Scout and Atticus Finch.
there to spread the word of their god, but are being mocked while they do.
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a complex literary work exploring several aspects of the human condition. Lee’s story is one based in the 1930’s, shortly before the Civil Rights Movement. Her novel ventures into the societal issues, such as racism and gender stereotyping, in their fictional town, Maycomb. One recurring theme throughout the narrative is the social adjustment of the citizens of Maycomb and the human race as a whole. Lee showcases the progress in social justice matters by using symbolism and motifs.
Stereotyping was used a lot in to Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee . It was shown a lot against Tom Robinson in the court case. Also, with Dolphus Raymond Supposedly being a drunk. Lastly it was used against Boo being a terrible person and creepy. Those are just some of the ways the book to kill a mockingbird shows the impact stereotyping has on people, and how it can affect their life.
“He won’t cry about the simple hell people give other people - without even thinking…” In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee reveals the racial stereotypes that were prevalent during the 1930s. She shows how children question and recognize prejudice before adults do.
The novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is set in a small town called Maycomb in the 1930s. In this novel the people of Maycomb discriminate against people that they have no background information about or people that are different in some way. An innocent black man is convicted of a crime he never commits, a man is stereotyped to be dangerous and scary and there are gender stereotypes.
Racial stereotypes are things where a person talks about how the other person’s race is. It describes all the “nasty” things in another person’s race. It’s basically gossiping about someone else’s race and ethnicity. Back then, in that time period, there were high amounts of racism and stereotypes, so in that case, a lot of African American people were most likely convicted for doing something they didn’t do. Even though the court is supposed to equally convict or release people who have commited a crime whether it’s Black or White people.
Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming-of-age novel set in Alabama during the 1930’s. The novel follows an intelligent girl named Jean Louise (Scout) Finch and her brother who is Jem Finch, who are both raised by their widowed father, Atticus Finch who is a lawyer. In the novel Atticus defends a black man by the name of Tom Robinson, who is falsely accused of rape. Through the characterization of Scout, the setting of missionary tea and the conflict between Miss Caroline and Scout, Lee suggests the idea that people of different races, genders and class observe a different perceptive than others. Lee illustrates Scout’ growth through the literary elements of characterization, conflict, and setting, which help develop themes of
As the United States “progresses” in economic, educational and technological advancements we still are fighting for racial equality. With more than 50 years since the brown vs. board of education case there is still incidents like Ferguson, Baton Rouge, and Phiando Castile where many questions are still unanswered. However, Harper Lee dealt with these same problems in 1960 when she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird. Lee created an emotionally confronting story. Lee writes through the eyes of “Scout” a lawyer’s daughter in a small sleepy town of Maycomb in Alabama during the great depression. Throughout the book “Scout” learns coming of age lessons from Atticus and her own experiences. But when Atticus takes on a case defending a black man (Tom Robinson) convicted for rapping a white woman (Mayella Ewell) and is found guilty. “Scout” her brother Jem begin to understand the effects of the prejudices in society. Therefore, Lee applies the literary concepts of diction and tone to revel the truth that prejudices in society negatively affect the way people treat each other in To Kill a Mocking Bird.
Harper Lee's ‘To kill a Mockingbird’ explores the prejudicial issues which plague over the town Maycomb. Harper Lee uses the trial of Tom Robinson a black man accused of rape on a young white girl, Mayella as a central theme to portray the prominence of racial discrimination in Maycomb. The racial prejudice is also widely shown through the characterisation of Atticus. Having Scout as the narrator allows Harper Lee to highlight the gender inequity through a youthful unbiased perspective. The chauvinistic attitudes and prejudiced views of most of the town’s folk leaves Maycombs social hierarchy in an unfair order, victimising many of the town’s people due to their socially non-conforming habits some ‘socially unaccepted people’ including Boo
The novel “To Kill a Mocking Bird” is based in the fictional small Southern town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. When slavery and the Civil War were still present in the people’s way of living and the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s are far from close. The novel focuses on the Finches: Scout, her brother Jem, and their father Atticus, and the trial of Tom Robinson and how it affected them and the town. Witnessing the injustice of Tom Robinson’s trial changed Scout Finch in many ways. Scout learns that there is more than one type of courage, she learns about race and its complexity, and she also changes how she views the people around her by putting herself
Throughout the book To Kill A Mockingbird Lee discusses the effects of ignorance and the toll it takes on people such as Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, Scout herself, and many more. Through her examples of sexism, prejudice, and racism, from the populist of poverty stricken Southerners, she shows the readers the injustice of many. The victims of ignorance are the ‘mockingbirds’ of the story. A good example of this injustice is the trial of Tom Robinson, who is falsely accused of raping a white girl and is found guilty. The book is from the point of view Scout, a child, who has an advantage over most kids due to her having a lawyer as a dad, to see the other side of the story. Her father tells her in the story, “you never really know a man until
In short, that means one will be expected to follow a certain guideline, a list of actions and behaviors, depending on their gender (Health Guidance). As our society becomes more advanced, and people are becoming more open toward ...other people who are different, sexism is one of the major no-no. It has rooted deep in our mind, passed down from our grandfather and their grandfathers before them, the belief that view women as merely a housewife, and that is it. A housewife that will do everything in her ability to please her man who will take care of her, and the family. A housewife that is supposed to do all the chores around the house while the husband had a night out of pokers and beer. A boy from such a household will grow up learning to objectify women as not another human being, but just an expensive maid; while men roam free and rule the world. Of course, one could not talk about the negative effects of media, which resulted in increased sexism through stereotyping without including examples from the media. Movies, plays, sitcoms (though more or less satirical), dramas, and especially the media (books, newspaper, and television) all contributed in stereotype women. Another personal experience, and as I was not