Etiquette, or Proper Decorum throughout To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird contemplates many interesting topics, such as coming of age and etiquette. Yet to properly understand how a girl becomes a lady, which is desired for the young girl in the novel, it is essential to understand how the lady must act and what particularly defines the lady. However, to truly know how a lady must act, and to define this lady, it is crucial to know etiquette, gentility, proper manners, civility, and aspects of appropriate behavior in general. Lastly, to understand the acceptable behavior for the lady of the time of the novel, one must travel back slightly to understand the background of proper behavior.
The Definition of Etiquette
First and foremost, courtesy, civility, etiquette, chivalry, and gentility and the like, have become synonymous in the English language. Yet, interestingly enough, they all contain subtle differences (Aresty 10). Etiquette is the body of rules governing the way in which people behave socially, ceremonially, or in public life (“Etiquette.” Merriam-Webster). Therefore, as characters in …show more content…
Etiquette provided precise daily rules regarding times, proper dress and behavior, and places. Therefore, proper etiquette was associated with the higher classes and those who sought to copy their example and behavior (Palmer 226). For instance, royal courts were the most natural locations of etiquette because the court itself focused on monarchs around whom “nice” behavior spread. Additionally, in the Anglo-Saxon society, the queen was mindful of etiquette. One such example occurred when she carried a goblet around in an order of precedence(“Etiquette.”, Britannica High School). In fact, in the entire whole of the 18th century, proper behavior was an expression of a rank-ordered
Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird contemplates many interesting topics, such as coming of age and etiquette. Yet to properly understand how a girl becomes a lady, which is desired for the young girl in the novel, it is essential to understand how the lady must act and what particularly defines the lady. However, to truly know how a lady must act, and to define this lady, it is crucial to know etiquette, gentility, proper manners, civility, and aspects of appropriate behavior in general. Lastly, to understand the acceptable behavior for the lady of the time of the novel, one must travel back slightly to understand the background of proper behavior.
The Definition of Etiquette
First and foremost, courtesy, civility, etiquette, chivalry, and gentility and the like, have become synonymous in the English language. Yet, interestingly enough, they all contain subtle differences (Aresty 10). Etiquette is the body of rules governing the way in which people behave socially, ceremonially, or in public life (“Etiquette.” Merriam-Webster). Therefore, as characters in …show more content…
Etiquette provided precise daily rules regarding times, proper dress and behavior, and places. Therefore, proper etiquette was associated with the higher classes and those who sought to copy their example and behavior (Palmer 226). For instance, royal courts were the most natural locations of etiquette because the court itself focused on monarchs around whom “nice” behavior spread. Additionally, in the Anglo-Saxon society, the queen was mindful of etiquette. One such example occurred when she carried a goblet around in an order of precedence(“Etiquette.”, Britannica High School). In fact, in the entire whole of the 18th century, proper behavior was an expression of a rank-ordered