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Examples Of Double Standards In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Throughout the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, one can see double standards for men and women frequently. Gender expectations took a hold of the Maycomb, Alabama; the fictional county in which this novel takes place. Looking back in history, it was always the women staying home, cleaning, cooking and taking care of the children. Men were always perceived as the superior sex. It was abnormal to see females wearing breeches or pants. They normally wore dresses. It wasn’t until the 60s and 70s when women started to join the workforce. To Kill A Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, told the story of a girl named Jean Louise - Scout Finch; she was expected to clothe herself in dresses, prepare food and think the way that women were taught to …show more content…

It was almost impossible to see girls strolling the sidewalks in shorts or pants, it was looked down upon. Scout’s Aunt Alexandra feels the need to enforce these double standards. During Christmas break, Alexandra told Scout that she needs to be wearing dresses, “...when I [Scout] said I could do nothing in a dress, said I wasn’t supposed to be doing things that involved pants” (Lee, 108) Jean Louise did not like this response, as she was raised with Jem and Dill. Growing up with two boys is not easy, but she had gotten used to playing games and wearing shorts. Changing who a person is or what they wear just because it doesn’t occur often is not okay, it i not an issue that needs immediate attention - in fact it doesn’t need any bad …show more content…

In To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout was persistently criticized for playing, acting and thinking as if she was a boy. At one point in the novel, Jem says “It’s time that you starting bein’ a girl and actin’ right!” (Lee, 153) Jem doesn’t realize that he is telling Scout to be different from who she currently is. If she started acting the way that he implied, Jem would be a very lonely boy. He is unintentionally lowering his little sister’s self-esteem. Limiting the way humans can act based on what gender they were born has no logic,

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This yard’s as much mine as it is yours, Jem Finch. I got just as much right to play in it as you have.”(61). Scout also learns to wear a dress once in awhile, just like Miss Maudie, to perform her societal duty as a female around others, such as during one of Alexandra’s missionary circle meetings, “I was wearing my pink Sunday dress, shoes, and a petticoat…”(306). It is possible that Miss Maudie is the reason why Scout prefers pants over dresses, and the reason Scout have a sharp tongue at some times. While Miss Maudie have a great effect on Scout, Atticus have a greater effect on

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This demonstrates that Scout was expected to dress a certain way in order to represent being female. There were mixed signals being given to her, which caused her some confusion about what she should be and how she should

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To Kill a Mockingbird, an inspiring tale exploring all the flaws in humanity, and giving an outline of the worst kind of people we can be. The book covers many controversial topics, such as rampant racism, prejudice, and hypocrisy. The story follows Jem and Scout Finch, the children of Atticus Finch, a lawyer who has been appointed to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been accused of raping a white woman in 1930’s Maycomb, Alabama. Atticus is forced to deal with the stress and judgment of defending Tom even though he knows he cannot win, while Jem and Scout face a similar judgment for being his children. Throughout the book, Lee shows through irony and characterization how hypocrisy and prejudice can permeate into a society's beliefs.

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Scout is already wise beyond her years, but she continues to grow throughout a series of events in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. The most important thing about Scout is her growth throughout events in the book. The context of To Kill A Mockingbird influenced Scout to change her identity and morality throughout her experiences with stereotypes and racism in Maycomb. The first way that Scout changed was by seeing and experiencing stereotypes in gender.

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Aunt Alexandra does not like the fact that Scout wears overalls and would like Scout to be more “ladylike.” Furthermore, an old lady who lives down the street from Scout has very high gender expectations about Scout too. This old lady is named Mrs. Dubose. She did not like the way Scout dressed and expected from her to be wearing a dress when out in public. As Mrs. Dubose states, “‘And you—’ she pointed an arthritic finger at me—‘what are you doing in those overalls?

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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

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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.

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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.

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