To Kill A Mockingbird Tradition Analysis

In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, the theme of the story is just because a person belongs to a certain group, does not mean they agree with their traditions. Scout portrayed this after overhearing a conversation of Aunt Alexandra with her father, Atticus. Scout’s aunt, Alexandra, does not approve of her dressings, however Scout has a different opinion, as she says, “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

Lee’s portrayal of Scout being a tomboy shows how not all people will follow the traditions told to them. Just as Scout being a girl, she does not believe she should have to follow the guidelines, given by her aunt, on how acting like a girl would make people more happy. Scout believes that her way of dressing is quite okay, and wearing a dress should not be a requirement to satisfy others. Although Aunt Alexandra may live by the family traditions, Scout has her own way of living, and portrays this by wearing pants, instead of dresses. Atticus also presents the breaking of traditions after speaking with Aunt Alexandra over family traditions. Atticus went to speak with the kids on Finch traditions because Aunt Alexandra felt the kids did not follow them, but Atticus had a different belief as he said “ “She asked me to tell you you must try to behave like the little lady and gentleman that you are, she wants to talk to you about the family and what its meant to Maycomb County through the years, so you’ll have some idea of who you are, so you might be moved to behave accordingly,” he concluded at a gallop… “You really want us to do l that? I can’t remember everything Finches are supposed to do…” “I don’t want you to

Forget it.”” (Lee 177-179) Although Atticus was supposed to follow as Aunt Alexandra wanted him to make the kids be, he did not do so because his beliefs were different. Atticus did not believe in the traditions that ran in his family. This is specifically portrayed in the quote when he told the kids to forget about what he said, and also by the way he raises the kids because he knew what he had said was wrong, and did not follow what his beliefs were. Finally, Lee portrays not all agreeing on their traditions, even though they may be classified into a certain group when Atticus told of his feelings towards white people cheating black people. Even though Atticus is white, he still had harsh feelings to the white people who cheated black people as he said “...you’ll see white men cheat black men everyday of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it -- whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash” (Lee 295). Lee strongly shows the disagreeance on traditions of white people back in the times of this book based upon the usage of Atticus’s words