Stereotypes In To Kill A Mockingbird

Aunt Alexandra doesn’t believe that Scout is feminine enough and disapproves of her tomboyish looks. She hates the way Scout dresses, can't believe that Atticus allows her to curse, and disapproves of her friends.

Atticus Finch, Scout’s father, is also a victim of stereotyping. Atticus decides to help a black man (Tom Robinson) in court. Because of this decision, the people of Maycomb have a set opinion of Atticus Finch. They say that because he is working for “niggers”, he must be like them. They also say that because he chose to help Tom Robinson, that he doesn’t like white people, and more specifically, Mr. Bob Ewell. One day while strolling back from town, Scout and Jem see Mrs. Dubose. In response to saying hello, Mrs. Dubose says, “’Yes indeed, what has the world come to when a Finch goes against his raising? I’ll tell you!’ She put her hand to her mouth. When she drew it

Aunt Alexandra tells Scout to act more ladylike since she is always wearing boyish clothes and hanging out with Jem and Dill (Lee 12-23). Scout usually hangs out with Jem and Dill and does not wear much feminine clothes, so Aunt Alexandra tells her to act more ladylike. Miss Maudie and the other females make fun of Scout for the way she dresses (Lee 262-263). Miss Maudie asked Scout where her britches were. When Scout realizes her mistake, all of the girls, including Miss Maudie, start to laugh at

Scout is surrounded by adults who want the best for her and encourage her to be who she wants to be, however, they cannot shield her from the societal pressures to conform to the set gender stereotypes in her community. Atticus and Miss Maudie both encourage Scout to grow up freely and to have fun, they do not hold specific gender biases and allow her to wear pants and to play with the boys. Through their actions, “Scout and her parental figures demonstrate this flexible view of gender. Scout is not born with an innate predisposition to be a tomboy; rather, her behaviors define her as a tomboy”(Earnest 10). While she grew up free, she has reached the age where she starts to get told that she should wear dresses and that she should become more ladylike.

She thinks that, that word is rude and that people need to think about what they say before they say things. Another example of Scout experiencing discrimination is after Christmas with Aunt Alexandra’s family Scout recounts, “Aunt ALexandra is fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if i wore breeches;” Scout then narrates “I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said i wasn’t supposed to be doing things that required pants” (108). This shows that Scout doesn’t agree with the social norms of woman. She wants to be comfortable and whenever Aunt Alexandra pressures her she just tries to be herself.

Because of this there is much pressure on Scout by her Aunt Alexandra to become more lady like. Obviously becoming a lady is not one of her foremost goals. In fact, it often seems like Scout would rather be a boy because they seemed to have more leeway. For example, “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.” (108) As Scout gets older despite what she used to think she realizes being a girl isn’t all sitting around and sewing

When Scout asks Jem about

In the case of Jean Louise Finch or Scout, the main character from To Kill a Mockingbird, throughout the book she experienced many situations where people tried to enforce certain behaviors onto her because she was a girl. As a young lady in the 1930s, a time in which the

Scout challenges through the gender stereotypes from her family in her determination to remain a tomboy. Aunt Alexandra makes it her mission to decimate Scout’s tomboy tendencies. Aunt Alexandra tells Scout that she needs to dress more feminine and act like a lady, "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. Aunt Alexandra's vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born” (Lee 83). Scout does not respond emphatically to the idea of being feminine, “I suggested that one could be a ray of sunshine in pants just as well, but Aunty said that one had to behave like a sunbeam, that I was born good but had grown progressively worse every year” (Lee 83). Scout does not do anything feminine because she is a tomboy. She rather play outside than inside and prefers the nickname “Scout” instead of, “Jean Louise” because it sounds too girlish. In Maycomb, the town has strict gender stereotypes, for example, “ladies bathed before noon, after their three o’clock naps, and by nightfall were like soft teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum” (Lee 5) but Scout opposes this idea and does not want to be a, “soft

For example, during the christmas party at Finch's Landing, Scout recollects on Aunt Alexandra’s character. She particularly remember her Aunt’s disapproval of her clothing, which were overalls. In Alexandra’s mind they were downright unfeminine, so she urges Scout to wear a dress. This tells the readers that Scout believes that one’s actions and characteristics should not be based off a stereotyped image of being male or female. Also, her resistance to an elder symbolizes a reality for change.

Also, during the same Christmastime family reunion, Scout’s Aunt Alexandra comments on Scout’s choice of pants, saying she needs to be more lady-like. Scout says “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 required pants” (108). This is an example of sexism against Scout because Aunt Alexandra constantly pushed Scout to be more and more like a girl rather than her being herself. Scout thought this was unfair because she usually dressed and acted like a tomboy, it was who she was. Scout faced discrimination in the form of sexism from her Aunt, and also faced racism when Francis taunted her about her father’s court

While Scout was happy in overalls “‘Aunt Alexandra’s vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born…’”(Lee 108). This clearly demonstrates how Aunt Alexandra views women as caretakers because of the expectations of women in the 1930s. As Aunt Alexandra settles into the Finch household, she continually tries to make Scout wear a dress and quarrels with Atticus over Scout’s boy like manners to refine her into a lady. Through we can see her strict adherence to gender roles. This adherence also shows how much society entrenches gender norms in her character.

Scout doesn’t like to wear dresses, she prefers overalls and hanging out with boys. Aunt Alexandra tells Scout why she is visiting, she says, “ 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…” (Lee 170). Even though Scout likes hanging out with boys, she remarks that it will be a while before she is interested in boys.

Scout isn’t the common young girl in Maycomb, as she is uninterested in the stereotypical “girly” activities. Jem frequently insults Scout by calling her a girl and telling her to stop acting like one, as if being or acting like a girl were an insult. Evidently, people were born with the idea that being like a girl is a bad, no matter what the girl does; even if a girl acts “like a girl.” Due to the fact that Aunt Alexandra does not believe Scout acts like how a proper girl should act, she moves in with Atticus and his family to change Scout into a “proper lady.” Alexandra’s first issue was that she did not believe females should wear overalls, so she was fanatical to completely changing Scout’s attire from the her so-called tomboy ways to more girly styles. Furiated, Scout claimed that she couldn’t do anything in dresses and Alexandra responded telling her that she shouldn’t do things that require anything other than a dress. By reason of Aunt Alexandra’s actions, Scout learns that she should fight back for what she believes in. Scout declared that she wanted to grow up to be a lady and that she could achieve that without affirming gender

During the progression of the book Aunt Alexandra comes to Maycomb to give scout a “ Feminine Influence” so that she will end her tomboyish ways. This matter of Scouts femininity poses as big problem for Aunt Alexandra. “Jem’s growing up