How Does Harper Lee Use Gender Lens In To Kill A Mockingbird

The novel To Kill A Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, portraying literary lenses within her book one example being gender lens, through a main character by the name Jean Louise Finch also known as Scout. Living in a small home in Maycomb County with her brother, Jemermy Atticus and her widowed father, Atticus Finch. In Harper Lee’s, To Kill A Mockingbird, the division of roles and social expectations between both male and female is negatively illustrated. Furthermore, Scout is told to wear proper clothes such as dresses, the language used, and her actions with others within Maycomb county. Scout is a tomboy, or at least that's what she was called by her family, friends, and neighbors. Scout prefers to be comfortable in her own skin. But there

Her brother, Jeremy, was hanging out with a local neighborhood kid, who goes by the name of Dill. Dill and Jeremy are always around each other. The moment Scout came over to them, planning to join them in whatever plans they had come up with. Jeremy and Dill tell her to go away, and Scout denies that request. But Jeremy and Dill still don’t let her until they come up with a deal. In Harper Lee’s book, To Kill A Mockingbird, Dill says to Scout, “If you stay you’ve got to do what we tell you” (Lee 46). This piece of evidence goes back to Scout wanting to fit in, joining her brother and brother’s friend. But as a warning, they tell her she has to obey whatever they tell her to do. And as long as she does what they tell her, they’ll allow her to join them. However, Scout isn’t a big fan of the idea, she wants to join without having to strike any deals with them. But at the moment, she has no other choice. So she agrees with that. For this reason, Scout also indulges in language she is told not to speak or use. Scout prefers to speak her own

But for Scout, it doesn’t matter to her as she’s already used to it. Above all else, Scout isn’t aware of her actions and the possible harm she is causing to others. Scout is an independent girl. Doesn’t like to be controlled by others. But Scout also has this tendency to get involved in arguments leading to fights. In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout goes for a blow, “This time, I split my knuckle to the bone on his front teeth”, (Lee 84). Here Scout goes in to begin the fight against her cousin, Francis, she didn’t take it well when Francis called Atticus a “Nigger Lover”. Scout doesn’t appreciate it when her family is getting called names or being talked about behind their backs. Scout fought for what she believed in, fought for what she thought was right. Though her actions wouldn’t go unnoticed by her aunt, Alexandra didn’t like it when Scout decided to fight Francis and said it was improper for her to do so. As a lady, she shouldn’t be starting conflict much less with a boy. As a result of everything that has been stated previously, in Harper Lee’s, To Kill A Mockingbird, the division of roles and social expectations between both male and female are negatively