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Atticus Finch Sexism

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Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird,” presents readers with many life lessons. The book is set at a very controversial time period around the World War II era. The time period is one which is simply black against white. The book is narrated by a tom-boy, Scout, growing up in her early ages of life. Her father, Atticus Finch, is a lawyer, who defends a black man named Tom Robinson, who is being treated unfairly in court. The reader has the privilege to experience an authentic point of view of what kids living in the 1930’s were exposed to. Over the course of the book, Harper Lee exposes the reader to the hard and controversial time, filled with prejudice and injustice. Throughout the story, the reader is exposed to the hardships of being an …show more content…

This is a very sexist time period. Basically every woman in the story does not have a job, except for Calpurnia. Women are discriminated frequently in the book, especially Scout for being more masculine. “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,” (pg. 92). Although Scout was not like other girls her age, she was not given freedoms for what she wanted to do or wear. Aunt Alexandra goes crazy when she see’s Scout wearing breeches. Scout wants to play outside and do normal boy things, which she cannot do in a dress. Aunt Alexandra then told her that she is not supposed to be doing anything that required pants. This is saying that women are not supposed to be doing anything in society. This is very sexist, especially for a kid, even though she is very different from girls her age, she should be able to do whatever she wants and do whatever she wants to. “Stay with us, Jean Louise,’ she said. This was part of her campaign to teach me to be a lady,” (pg. 262). It is clear that Atticus’ intentions on bringing his sister, Aunt Alexandra, into the house is to “teach” Scout to be more like a

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