Feminism In To Kill A Mockingbird

Words: 919
Pages: 4
Open Document
What Does It Mean to Be a Woman Through the Book To Kill A Mockingbird In to kill a mockingbird feminism is without a doubt present. The book alludes to the question what does it mean to be a woman. Scout struggles with this throughout the entire book because she likes to wear pants and play with the boys, but does that make her not a girl? To Kill a Mockingbird includes various allusions to the idea that society has certain expectations and preconceptions of what it is, and what it means to be a woman. Lee illustrates this idea to her readers through the values and beliefs of certain, more traditionally minded, characters such as Scout’s aunt Alexandra, and through various descriptions and uses of dialogue throughout her novel. Scout is …show more content…
”Through the first-person female voice, Southern women are ridiculed as gossips, provincials, weaklings, extremists, even racists.” (Shackleford, 6)Women are not only told to act like “women” but they are also often portrayed as where they are from.Women as a whole can not be themselves and may even appear odd, similar to Scout, because they are living how they want and not meetings everyone's preconceived ideas of what a woman is. Many women have endured being ridiculed, publicly humiliated and more, just for being themselves and not “conforming” to everyone's idea of a …show more content…
With the exception of Calpurnia it seems that women do nothing in the book. The men work on the farms, are lawyers, paper writers and more. However, women tend to the garden, make the meals and look pretty. ” The first person narrator reveals Lee’s criticism of southern women and their narrow mindedness concerning gender roles.” (Shackleford, 6) To this day women earn 79 percent of men's hourly pay. Women’s sports are still less watched and less promoted than Men’s sports. Even though you may subconsciously do it, when you think of a boss you think of a man and when you think of a secretary you think of a woman. This has been the image that has been planted in my head, your head, and even past generations heads. All together it seems like for every step forward we take two steps
Show More

Related Documents: Feminism In To Kill A Mockingbird

Boy and Scout Essay

Someone Has to Wear the Pants Although feminism is a modern term, female characters in literature have shown these qualities throughout time. The novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, tells a story about a single father raising a boy and a girl during the 1930’s in Maycomb, Alabama. The main character, Jean Louise Finch, also known as "Scout," narrates the story of her childhood, growing up with a brother and another boy during a time when women were expected to be polite and feminine at…

Words 758 - Pages 4

Examples Of Evil In To Kill A Mockingbird

Evil is in the Eye of the Beholder To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a fictional tale that showcases a young girl who is figuring out how the world works and her place place in it. As she grows up she learns about feminism, prejudice, inequality,and various evils that occur in this world. Whether society realizes it or not the world has changed. Sure technology has changed but human beings have too. It is almost as if generation by generation the human race has slowly degraded, but how? How…

Words 574 - Pages 3