Stereotypes In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

The interactions that Scout has with other characters in the book is essential for the effective expression of the theme. In To Kill A Mockingbird Scout finds herself being unknowingly prejudice and even being made into a stereotype. She also learns first hand about how reliable rumors are from her neighbor. Throughout the novel, Scout helps develop the theme of, people often make unfair judgments based off of stereotypes and rumors, by using her interactions with Walter Cunningham, Aunt Alexandra and Boo Radley.

In the book the author uses Scouts interactions with Walter Cunningham to develop the theme, people often make unfair judgments based off of stereotypes and rumors. She does this by showing Scout labeling Walter as just another Cunningham.

She does this by showing how her Aunt, who is very prejudiced and believes in every stereotype there is, is trying to mold Scout into becoming the stereotypical little girl of the time period. In the book Alexandra pushes to have Scout, who enjoys to wear pants and play outside, to wear dresses, play inside, and act more dainty. In the book when Scout says, “Aunt Alexandra’s vision of my department 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 fathers lonely life” (page 93) , it assists support this because it shows all of the things that her Aunt wants her to change about herself so that she can be like every other little girl. Scout also learns that rumors are not always the most accurate judgment about people from her

In the beginning of the book the kids are all afraid of the Radley house because they think that their son is a crazy, violent mad man, even though truthfully he isn't, which is learned when he helps save Scout and Jem's lives. In the beginning Scout says what she thinks he is like based on the rumors about him, “Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained -- if you ate any animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he dad were yellow and rotten, his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time” (page 13) , but in the end of the book after Mr. Ewell tries to kill her in Jem she says, “Boo wa our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good-luck pennies and our lives” (page 373). These things that Scout says about him help show how their attitude towards him changes from when all they knew about him was rumors to when they finally met