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Is there sexism in To Kill a Mockingbird
Gender roles to kill a mockingbird
Gender roles in literature
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More handpicked essays just for you.
Is there sexism in To Kill a Mockingbird
Gender roles to kill a mockingbird
Gender roles in literature
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Is there sexism in To Kill a Mockingbird
The game played by the children Scout, Jem, and Dill in the book To Kill a Mockingbird emphasizes their ignorance and prejudice towards things they don’t understand. Such as when they talk about Boo Radley being dead, “Besides, I don’t think he’s still there. He died years ago and they stuffed him up the chimney.” This dismissal of the possibility that they might feel shame for their actions reflects the theme of ignorance to a tee. The apparent incapability to feel shame is apparent in them when they continue the game in front of all the neighbors, save Nathan Radley.
“Scout I’m telling you for the last time shut your trap or go home. I declare to the lord your getting more like a girl everyday.” From this quote Scout does not like being called a girl. She refuses to be called a girl or that she acts like a
Scout is a very outspoken girl throughout the book. This is obvious to see in (lee 112) “ she called me a whore lady and jumped on me, is that true scout, said uncle jack. I reckson so.” Scout is in trouble she does not care she still chooses to smart off. Another way
I declare to the Lord you’re gettin’ more like a girl everyday” (51-52). Jem said this when Scout was too scared to go to the Radley’s house. She doesn’t want them to go because she is scared they will get killed by Boo, but after he said that she felt like she has no choice but to go because she doesn’t want them to see her differently and can’t convince them not to go. In both the movie and the book, Jem says many things about Scout being a girl, making her seem different from them by
this quote signifies that scout hates being called and has hated being called a Girl since day 1. She always thought the way girls act and the things they liked and this was probably reinforced by the fact that scout and Jem don’t have a mom so scout is surrounded
Before they started to climb the fence, Scout thought about what Atticus would think if he found out. She was about to be show rectitude. She wanted to back out and go home. She knew that it wasn't a good idea. A few minutes after Scouts discouraging thoughts, Jem and Dill called her a girl and said that she would slow them down anyways, which made her thoughts dispel and just made her mad because she didn't like being stereotyped by her gender because she could do things that they could too.
Aristotle, a famous philosopher, once said, “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet” (Brainyquote.com). The ‘bitter roots’ he is talking about are quarterlies. A quarterly is a test given to students at the end of each marking period to allow students to show what they have learned for that marking period. Each major subject including math, science, english, and history, are required to administer the tests. Understandably, not many people are familiar with this test because they are actually very uncommon.
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
Cultural norms are what make and shape a society. They are the guidelines, and or patterns, that are to be followed, in order to be considered a normal, typical, everyday citizen. As such, it does not matter if the norms are right or wrong. As long as the citizen is still a part of their society, right and wrong does not matter, as far as they are concerned. In the case of To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, the cultural norm, of Maycomb County, embraces the wrong, in the form of extreme prejudice behavior.
Life is overfilled with messages, like weeds in a sea in unmaintained grass. Whether it’s warning a person, or pointing out a flaw; these little lessons are there to further grow the positive parts of that person’s personality. A simple demonstration of this is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. An old, children’s book serving no meaningingful purpose is what it may seem, nevertheless, it actually is a novel that offers a unique outtake on all aspects of human life. In the book, two children Jem and Scout, who learn about equality, racism, and social class through court cases, tea parties and more.
Scout, a young girl, faces constant pressure from her peers and society to conform to gender norms and act like a lady. However, she refuses to give in to societal expectations and stands up for herself and her beliefs. For example, when her teacher reprimands her for knowing how to read before starting school, Scout does not back down. Instead, she continues to read and pursue her education. As Scout states, "I never loved reading until Jem showed me how.
Since this was in a time when women still didn’t play too big of a role in society, being called a girl implied that the person being insulted wasn't a particularly active person in the community. Since this life never crossed Scout’s mind, and she is hanging round with a bunch of boys, this is the highest insult to any of them, including the actual
In spite of Scout’s inability to fully comprehend the significance of what Atticus is doing for Tom, she readies herself to defend Atticus, which ultimately portrays that she does not regard society’s expectations on how she should
Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, illustrates how women are restricted by societal expectations. Women and girls are expected to act a certain way, to be feminine and docile. After an argument between Jem and Scout, Jem goes as far to shout, “‘It’s time you started bein’ a girl and acting right!’” (Lee, 153). Jem believes that Scout should be cooperative and malleable to be a typical girl.
Fairly early on in the book, Scout tells us about how Jem told her to go find girls to hangout with, “I was not so sure, but Jem told me I was being a girl, that girls always imagined things, that’s why other people hated them so, and if I started behaving like one I could just go off and find some to play with”(54). In this example, Scout had just finished trying to convince Jem that Atticus knew they were making fun of Boo Radley. The quote shows how Scout is expected to act like a girl and hangout with girls, because girls shouldn’t play rough with the boys. In another example, Aunt Alexandra tries to change the way Scout acts,