ipl-logo

Essay On Sexism In To Kill A Mockingbird

1249 Words5 Pages

There is no doubt that things have changed since 1929 to now. Some things have gotten better, somethings have gotten worse and somethings have stayed the same such as how we view people by their race, gender or class. In the book (To Kill a Mockingbird) by Harper Lee, it displays how life was for two white children named Jem and Scout during the Great Depression, and all their experiences with racism and discrimination. In the book, Atticus, the children’s father is ordered to defend a colored man named Tom Robinson who was accused of rape which causes controversy throughout Maycomb. Some people disagree that Atticus should be defending a colored man, but some people such as Miss.Maudie are glad that Atticus is defending Tom Robinson because …show more content…

In the book To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper lee, Aunt Alexandria visits the finch’s house for a while. In her visit Aunt Alexandra feels like Atticus isn’t racing his children properly and because of this Aunt Alexandria pursues Scout to be more lady like since she’s a girl even though scout disagrees. “I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches; when I said I could possibly do nothing in a dress, she said I shouldn’t be doing things that required pants. Aunt Alexandria’s vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets and wearing Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born; furthermore I should be a ray of sunshine in my fathers lonely life.”pg,Lee This shows that Scout doesn’t want to be a stereotypical girl, but Aunt Alexandria is pursuing her to be more lady-like just because of her gender . To this day people still stereotype females. In the video (Like A Girl) by Always, several people are asked to run, fight and throw like a girl and all several people displayed what a stereotypical girl will run, fight and throw like with no hesitation. Today, most people stereotype girls because they don’t have the same expectations from a girl as they would with a boy. This shows that sexism wasn’t so different back then as it is

Show More
Related
602 Words | 3 Pages

Scout’s Aunt Alexandra want her to be more like a girl and start dressing like one. " Women were treated as delicate, fragile creatures, and they were expected to act with that treatment. Scout was anything but delicate and fragile, and a good deal of the story focuses on her attempts to fit into a world that expects tomboys to wear frilly dresses and maintain a dainty disposition. Scout always like hanging with the boys and she really didn’t like wearing girl clothes.

Read More
926 Words | 4 Pages

I carefully picked up the tray and watched myself walk to Mrs. Merriweather. With my best company manners, I asked her if she would have some. After all, if Aunty could be a lady at a time like this, so could I.” This quote explains how Aunt Alexandra is telling Scout to copy what she does in order to look more lady-like and so that she can conform in to the society. Prejudice is another kind of conformity that is shown in the book “To Kill a Mockingbird”.

Read More
738 Words | 3 Pages

In the world right now, there is still inequality for all. People are criticized everyday because of how they look, speak, dress, act, etc. In America, although there is people that are changing, there with always be that small group of people that won’t change their views on what they believe is right and wrong in our society. You can also see this in the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, written by author, Harper Lee. All throughout the novel, you can see how white people are superior to the African Americans that live in the same town.

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
857 Words | 4 Pages

Essay In the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee, there are many important messages shown throughout the book. However the primary focus was set on racial prejudice that existed in the 1930s-1940’s in the fictional town of Maycomb County. The racism in the novel was very much a reality in 1930s-1940s America. A very good example of the racial prejudice that existed was in the courtroom during Tom Robinson’s trial, an innocent Negro man held against his will for a crime he did not commit.

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
1386 Words | 6 Pages

Kellman states, “It is all right to run up to the porch of a recluse, as a game; it is all right to rub a poor boy’s nose in the schoolyard dirt; it is all right to make a snowman in the image of a neighbor; and it is all right to make fun of crabby old ladies” (1472). All of these actions are just every day, normal things in Scout’s eyes. Believing that there is nothing wrong with treating others this way, she continues to do these things. One day, she finally realizes that she cannot treat others that way. Realizing this begins to show that she is maturing.

Read More
614 Words | 3 Pages

In society, there are very few people who have the unwavering dedication to stand up for what they believe. In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a black man was convicted and accused of a crime he didn 't commit, raping a white women, which is not in anyway tolerable in society. In Harper Lee 's To Kill A Mockingbird, the author used point of view and symbolism to acknowledge how the the several social divisions which make up much of the adult world are shown to be both irrational and extremely destructive. To begin with, the short story To Kill A Mockingbird, used point of view to show how the many social divisions in the world are irrational and destructive. Scout; a first grade student at the time, was telling the story from her point of view and what had occurred from her childhood perspective.

Read More
495 Words | 2 Pages

John Boy was affectionately known in the City of Blythe to be a helper, a friend and a person everyone could always depend on. Helping his father with the Dobbs Duffers Fore Children Charity, it became John’s pride and joy to sacrifice and provide quality care services to anyone facing a need. Called upon by a local community member to help Aiden Prieto, a 2-year-old boy at the time who was facing kidney reflux, and whose family couldn’t afford the medical treatment needed; without missing a beat, John rallied up the gang by asking for the help of his father and his son to present with him, a healthy donation to mom, Alicia Maciel, whose son is now fine and doing well.

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

Scout said, “"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; furthermore, I should be a ray of sunshine in my father’s lonely life. 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...." (108). This quote illustrates how Scout pushes against gender stereotypes, and this is the root of conflicts between her and Aunt Alexandra.

Read More
803 Words | 4 Pages

“The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.” This is a quote from Atticus Finch, a courageous and wise character from Harper Lee 's novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. The story is told through the perspective of a young girl, Jean Louise ¨Scout¨ Finch. She lives with her older brother, Jeremy, and widowed father and prominent lawyer, Atticus, in Maycomb, Alabama during the time of the Great Depression. Throughout the novel, the children experience the injustice and prejudice of society through a tough case that their father was appointed to and are taught to respect and tolerate all people, despite their differences.

Read More
531 Words | 3 Pages

Scout was more of a tomboy than a girly girl. Aunt Alexandra didn’t like how she didn’t act like a proper lady, and would ask Scout to act more ladylike. As she grew up, she was able to understand things a lot better. She began acting more grown up in situations like Aunt Alexandra’s dinner party.

Read More
106 Words | 1 Pages

He wants Scout to change who she is to fit his idea of what being a woman is about. In Jem’s mind, women and girls should not be opinionated and “rough”, they must be feminine and frail.

Read More
1514 Words | 7 Pages

In the story Aunt Alexandra gets angry at Scout for hanging out with people that were not in the same economic group as them. The text states, "She took off her glasses and stared at me. ' I'll tell you why,' she said. ' Because--he--is--trash, that's why you can't play with him. I'll not have you around him, picking up his habits and learning Lord knows what.

Read More

More about Essay On Sexism In To Kill A Mockingbird

Related Topics

Open Document