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Individuality In To Kill A Mockingbird

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In “To Kill A Mockingbird” Harper Lee displays how characters struggle to conform to society’s expectations revealing that people cannot conform to society and remain an individual. Aunt Alexandra willingly conforms to society’s expectations and yet in doing so, she loses her individuality. Aunt Alexandra is constantly telling Scout to act like a woman and if Aunt Alexandra is not instructing her to then she is at least nudging her in that direction. She believes that people should act a particular way “‘Stay with us, Jean Louise,’ she said. This was part of her campaign to direct me to be a lady.”(307) Aunt Alexandra and some other Ladies from around Maycomb get together and converse about different subjects. As part of teaching Scout to become a lady, she invited …show more content…

Aunt Alexandra because of her idea that everybody is supposed to be a precise way she is trying to fit Scout into the role of a lady. This role Aunt Alexandra is seeking to fit Scout into is the role that she fits into and the other women in Maycomb fit into. When she does this she loses her individuality and becomes part of the bigger mindset that is Maycomb.Aunt Alexandra is focused on Scout throughout the book. Scout was thinking about Francis at this time. She was deliberating about how she considered him the most boring child she had ever met. Scout thought back to the unique time that Atticus spoke sharply. Atticus was talking with Aunt Alexandra about Scout because Aunt Alexandra did not think that it was fitting for Scout to wear overalls:”Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore breeches”(108) Aunt Alexandra conforms to society and always has. Scout is Aunt Alexandra’s opposite. Scout wears overalls and does not conform to society’s expectations. Aunt Alexandra conforms to society just like most of Maycomb does. She acts how everybody thinks she should act. When Scout is not

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’s mother passed away. Aunt Alexandra tries to convert Scout from acting like a boy and tries to make her act like a girl more. Aunt Alexandra influences both Jem and Scout by teaching them basic manners. Ex. She teaches them how they should act when she first comes over.

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1987 Words | 8 Pages

The citizens viewed Aunt Alexandra as a real prim, proper lady as she had the characteristics the ladies were taught to have but could never master had they had no role model who exhibited these traits. Aunt Alexandra became the vision of a “perfect” lady, which goes to show how Maycomb lived when compared to Aunt Alexandra. Without this glimpse of perspective, the film lost an interesting take on how the ladies in Maycomb were expected to be. While Aunt Alexandra gave the reader a feeling of how Maycomb viewed ‘outsiders’, Aunt Alexandra also gave the reader insight as to how ‘outsiders’ viewed Maycomb. This is illustrated when Aunt Alexandra is discussing with Scout the ways of different citizens of Maycomb.

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Harper Lee uses the characters Miss Maudie and Aunt Alexandra to influence Scouts own opinions. Aunt Alexandra thinks that Scout needs a more feminine role model in her life. She moves in with Atticus during the time of the Trial of Tom Robinson. She tries to teach Scout the not ways of a woman. Scout wants to be herself and wear what she feels comfortable in.

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1577 Words | 7 Pages

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, you can see the character of Aunt Alexandra developing throughout the whole of the book from being presented as cold and harsh to more caring and showing how she has a softer feel. It may not be evident at first, but as you read and look closely at her character's actions you may just understand how evident these changes may be. In this essay, we will discuss this along with how her character compares and interacts with Scout and Jem along with how they react to her doing these things and how it affects them, from when she's first introduced to the end of the story when she's last mentioned. When you first meet her character, it’s at Finch’s Landing for Christmas (which takes place in chapter

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540 Words | 3 Pages

Yet, there are also many other parts of peoples’ appearances that are judged. One of these is the gender stereotypes of boys and girls should dress, however, not everyone abides by these ‘rules.’ This can be shown by how Scout dresses in common ‘boys’ clothes, instead of dresses, which was what a girl was ‘supposed’ to wear. Many times Scout is criticized for this by many of the ladies of Maycomb, especially Aunt Alexandra, of which it is said this: “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire.” (108) Scout was being judged by how ‘unladylike’ she is by what she wears, and although it is not fair for her to be defined by this, she

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Scout presents Aunt Alexandra with an initial negative perspective portrayed to the audience. But despite that, Scout gets to know Aunt Alexandra (more evidently in chapter 24) after Aunt Alexandra sat down in Calpurnia's chair and put her hands on her face. (236.) The act of Aunt Alexandra taking a seat in Calpurnia's chair and covering her face with her hands serves to emphasize the deep-rooted connection she has with conventional notions of femininity and the role it plays in defining her and Scout's identity as being effeminate; additionally, this action shows Scout that Aunt Alexandra is not all prudish and can express emotions she had not associated with

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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.

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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

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516 Words | 3 Pages

“I had an idea however that Aunt Alexandra’s appearance on the scene was not so much as Atticus’s doing as hers” (Scout 171) What gave impulse to the conflict was Alexandra attempted to change Scout, She would invite her to dress up and have a tea with her cousins. She also felt it was necessary for Jem and Scout to increment family pride “your cousin wrote this said Aunt Alexandra he was a beautiful character” (Alexandra 176) She flaunted the book their cousin had wrote but Jem and Scout were not impressed. The conflict in chapter 13 all grew from Alexandra's

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(Lee 145). Being a tomboy, Scout tends not to follow typical gender stereotypes perceived as normal at that time, something that Aunt Alexandra—and many others in Maycomb—refuse to accept. Despite it never being mentioned directly, Aunt Alexandra pressures Atticus into allowing her to live with him

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Aunt Alexandra’s philosophy is completely different from Scout’s father, Atticus. She thinks that order and orthodox traditions of roles are more important than what Atticus thinks is correct which is understanding the viewpoints of others and remaining true to your own sense of individuality. Aunt Alexandra is also a dynamic character. As the story goes on, Scout understands that deep down inside Aunt Alexandra is an intelligent and compassionate person, proving true the statement that Atticus made at the end of the story, "Most people are, Scout, once you finally see them," (Lee 376). This figuratively means that when Scout gets to know a person a little more, or “see” more of them, she can understand them and “sees” the real, and misunderstood person.

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782 Words | 4 Pages

Anything Scout wants to do that she feels should not be “done by Finches” is immediately followed by a firm no. She believes that the Finches were destined to be superior than everyone else and uses that to help her beat Scout into line although whether it worked or not can be decided by us. Lee uses the contrast between Atticus and Aunt Alexandra to further show the topic of tolerance throughout the book. Aunt Alexandra is very poised and the ideal representation of southern women at that time and if we had such a bad perception of her, imagine living in a society of people filled with people like her.

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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.

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1829 Words | 8 Pages

Aunt Alexandra comes into the Finch household to work with Calpurnia, the black housekeeper, “...and is persuaded that Atticus and Calpurnia are raising Scout to be unladylike” (Shaffer). Aunt Alexandra and her brother Atticus were raised to adhere to traditional Southern gender expectations. Following their childhood, Atticus began living a more progressive life defending a black man and allowing his daughter, Scout, to be a tomboy. When Aunt Alexandra joins the family, she uses the opportunity to try to teach

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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.

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