The novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee was published in 1960, and praised for its analysis of the close minded and hypocritical American southeast. The novel is written with whole cast of brand new stereotype breaking. Such as Mayella Ewell a nineteen year old, poor, white woman, who despite the stereotype that is still placed on women today, is portrayed as the sexual instigator in an assault situation. However, while many characters in the novel do break the stereotypes placed upon them, the novel upholds many as well. One of the characters in the novel based off of a stereotype is Calpurnia, the black maid hired by the Finch family. Within the first chapter of the novel Cal is introduced: “Calpurnia was something else again. …show more content…
Zeebo is introduced when Calpurnia takes the children to her church after scrubbing them …show more content…
Scout Finch has received much praise for how she breaks the gender roles placed upon her, but while doing this she falls into the overplayed tomboy stereotype. Later in the novel Alexandra visits with one of her prime goals making Scout into a lady, “ 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, 107) As with most tomboys Scout is told she will grow out of it when she gets older, and that she will become a girly girl to impress the boys around her. She is also told that the reason she acts this way is because she didn’t have a ‘real’ mother, and that to make her father's life easier she should be act like a girl, “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.” (Lee, 67) The most obvious trait of the tomboy is her hatred of dress, and her refusal to wear anything