ipl-logo

Challenging Gender Norms In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

2092 Words9 Pages

Mae Alwart Ms. Kannon English 9B 5 June 2024 Challenging Gender Norms and Sexism In the twenty-first century, we believe gender inequality is just in our past. However, according to the United Nations, it is estimated that closing the gender pay gap will take another 257 years, at the current rate (“Closing gender pay gaps”). This deep-rooted inequity, both in our society today and throughout history, is depicted in To Kill a Mockingbird, where sexism and barriers restrict women’s role in society. Harper Lee, the author of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, tells the story of a young girl named Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, raised in a household with her aunt, brother, and father in Maycomb, Alabama. Maycomb is a Southern town that reflects traditional gender norms and beliefs. Scout grew up with the maternal …show more content…

Everyday sexism is often present at a constant low-level in the background of our lives, adding an extra layer of stress. Unsurprisingly, these subtle forms of everyday sexism have been linked to poorer mental health.” Even though sexual discrimination may seem like a small problem and barely acknowledged or noticed by some, its effects lead to bigger issues like poor mental and physical health. Sexism is highly apparent in our society, and it is crucial to acknowledge it before its consequences become worse than they already are. Harper Lee created the characters of Aunt Alexandra and Jem Finch to expose how traditional views of gender roles impacted individuals. Aunt Alexandra comes to Maycomb with the intent to become a matriarch in the Finch family and to lead them to a more traditional way of life. According to Scout, "Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my

Show More
Related
1339 Words | 6 Pages

Idhaant Bhosle Ms.Morgan EN 100 (H) 8 March 2023 The Role of Language, Power, and Societal Status in Confronting Racism and Inequality in To Kill a Mockingbird Race has always been a defining factor in American society, shaping the way people interact with each other and the world around them. Similarly, In Harper Lee’s classic novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee explores how race structures relationships in terms of power, language, and social status. To Kill A Mockingbird is set in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s, the novel is told from the eyes of Jean Louise Finch, Scout Finch, a young girl growing up in a world where society is divided by the prejudices of others. Scout is the daughter of Atticus Finch, a lawyer, defending an African

Read More
718 Words | 3 Pages

Ian Anderson Mrs. Pearson English 10C 9 May 2024 Breaking down social class struggles In Harper Lees, To Kill A Mockingbird Harper lee uses the literary lense of gender to explain social expectations, the opinion of both the men and the women in the communities, and the disbalance of power between the men and women, revealing just how complex the differences of opinion of men and women within the racist parts of the south. Relating back to the claim of the disbalance between the men and women in the communities on page 115, it proves this by saying, “It's time you start being a girl and acting right.” This is because Jem likes to act like a boy and her father is getting tired of it. Relating to the lens of gender, it's proving the claim because

Read More
884 Words | 4 Pages

Gender Norms in Maycomb Harper Lee in To Kill a Mockingbird proves how gender norms are often rebelled against, and this can also be connected to the women in Iran who are rebelling against their societal standards. During Scout’s childhood, she experienced many different opinions on how she should dress, which causes her to rebel against them. During Scout’s summer break from school, she often wears overalls and a t-shirt while walking around town with her brother, Jem. To get to town, Scout and Jem have to pass by an older lady’s, Mrs. Dubose, house.

Read More
1119 Words | 5 Pages

In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee teaches us about the town of Maycomb County in the late 1930s, where characters live in isolation and victimization. Through the perspective of a young Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, readers will experience prejudice Maycomb brings during times where people face judgement through age, gender, skin, and class. Different types of prejudice are present throughout the story and they all contribute to how events play out in the small town. Many of those in Maycomb face and express sexism, racial discrimination, and classism their whole lives. This disables the people who fall victim from living their life comfortably in peace.

Read More
1283 Words | 6 Pages

In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout’s behavior, clothing, and activities are in direct contrast to the traditional expectations of girls in Maycomb. Scout Finch’s behavior contradicts the accepted practices of women of her time.

Read More
1177 Words | 5 Pages

Breaking Away Even though Letty Cottin Pogrebin, an American author and social activist, recently stated, “When men are oppressed, it’s a tragedy. When women are oppressed it’s tradition,” in recent times, women decades ago experienced even greater prejudice (Deborah, Golda, and Me). In Harper Lee’s 1930s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee discusses the tradition of inequality between men and women. The protagonist and narrator, Jean Louise Finch, also known as Scout, lives in a time when women are expected to be perfect Southern ladies.

Read More
712 Words | 3 Pages

Imagine one day you wake up and many of your constitutional rights, such as the right to vote, are gone. In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Sexism plays a huge role in many scenarios throughout the story. For example, a quote in the novel states, “ ‘Scout, i’m tellin’ you for the last time to shut your trap or go home- I declare to the lord you’re gettin more like a girl every day.’ With that, I had no option but to join them.”(Lee

Read More
400 Words | 2 Pages

Scout's tomboyish nature challenges the traditional expectations of her gender. Despite societal pressure to conform to conventional femininity, Scout's non-conformity offers a powerful critique of the restrictive gender norms of the time. Additionally, characters like Aunt Alexandra represent the oppressive expectations placed upon women in Maycomb. Through these portrayals, Lee highlights the detrimental effects of sexism on individuality and personal growth.

Read More
779 Words | 4 Pages

Life is overfilled with messages, like weeds in a sea in unmaintained grass. Whether it’s warning a person, or pointing out a flaw; these little lessons are there to further grow the positive parts of that person’s personality. A simple demonstration of this is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. An old, children’s book serving no meaningingful purpose is what it may seem, nevertheless, it actually is a novel that offers a unique outtake on all aspects of human life. In the book, two children Jem and Scout, who learn about equality, racism, and social class through court cases, tea parties and more.

Read More
737 Words | 3 Pages

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, is set in the 1960’s, a time when men and women had specific and restrictive roles in society. Men were the ones to work and earn money for their families and women were expected to a caring and obedient homemakers. In many ways, those gender stereotypes are still very present today. The contrasting opinions of Atticus Finch and Aunt Alexandra provide the reader with the different views on how men and women should be raised, which in turn, affects the readers thoughts and opinions on the gender expectations and roles that are present in today’s society.

Read More
645 Words | 3 Pages

In the title of the book To Kill a Mockingbird, gender roles play a big part in the time that the book was written. There are many examples of people being told what they could and couldn’t do based on their gender, and insults thrown around that are gender-based. One example of gender roles in the book are Jem’s comments on Scout’s behavior, especially when Jem and Dill are about to break into the radley’s. As they are discussing it, and Scout comes up and starts pestering them about what they are doing, Jem remarks that Scout is “gettin’ more like a girl every day!” pg.

Read More
1099 Words | 5 Pages

In the book, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee, the author writes about what happens in the small southern town of Maycomb, in Alabama. Lee uses the influence of belief in traditions such as roles and family bonds to show that they are causes of conflict. Throughout the book, roles such as gender, age, race, and family confines characters to act, look, and even speak certain ways, causing internal, external, and family conflicts. This theme that different types of roles and family bonds are the root of conflict is developed through the use of physical setting, anti stereotype, and historical setting The author shows that Scout faces external conflicts caused by the pressure to fit into the stereotypical gender roles accustomed to girls at this time in history.

Read More
106 Words | 1 Pages

Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, illustrates how women are restricted by societal expectations. Women and girls are expected to act a certain way, to be feminine and docile. After an argument between Jem and Scout, Jem goes as far to shout, “‘It’s time you started bein’ a girl and acting right!’” (Lee, 153). Jem believes that Scout should be cooperative and malleable to be a typical girl.

Read More
730 Words | 3 Pages

In Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird”, the issue of Southern Womanhood is brought up many times throughout the novel. Lee uses many different characters to help show how she viewed Southern Womanhood. Specifically she uses, Scout, Mayella Ewell, and Scout’s Aunt Alexandra. In "To Kill A Mockingbird", Harper Lee uses specific characters to show how negative of an impact Southern Womanhood used to have. Harper Lee uses Scout in many cases to show how she thought Southern Womanhood used to have a negative impact.

Read More
849 Words | 4 Pages

To Kill a Mockingbird suggests that women should be able to have equal opportunities to men. Through Scout’s tomboyish attitude,Harper Lee is able to highlight to wrongs in forcing a girl to

Read More

More about Challenging Gender Norms In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Open Document