In terms of gender, To Kill a Mockingbird does remarkably well with depicting women’s inequality through Scout. This is the point where both novels converge, although To Kill a Mockingbird has the advantage of its publication being at the front of the women’s movement. With the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird being placed in 1930s Alabama, Scout would assuredly face the expectations and gender biases of the time. As earlier mentioned, by the beginning of the 1960s in America, women were beginning to work increasingly outside of their homes. Harper Lee reminds readers of this when Scout is asked what she wants to be when she grows older. She replies with what she feels would be an accepted answer, as “just a lady” (Lee 263). The response she
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Upon her entry into the novel, Scout states that “to all parties present and participating in the life of the country, Aunt Alexandra was one of the last of her kind” (Lee 146). Because Aunt Alexandra is the “last of her kind” and a source of pressure for Scout to become a “female” in the eyes of society, Harper Lee implicates that times were changing for women as early as the 1930s. To further illustrate women's changing roles, Scout also attends school with both genders, but is told that it would be wise to keep her literacy a secret. Harper Lee unusually allows Scout to receive a high amount of education for the time to create a source of conflict, which is an effective reminder of the real gender inequality in the 1960s. Although girls had been attending school for decades, it is not until “Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 broadened the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and barred gender bias in federally assisted education programs” (“Modern America”) that more concrete equality was reached in this …show more content…
As a white man who properly defends Tom Robinson, a black male, Atticus Finch, like Scout, is an unusual character in a 1930s setting. Following the idea of society wanting and needing strong leaders that are not afraid to challenge societal ideas, the reader sees Atticus Finch as a hero for defending Tom Robinson. John M. Gist, an author and Chair of the Humanities Department at Western New Mexico University, even claims that he is “the most enduring fictional image of racial heroism” (Lannone 250). This is considerable praise, but over time Atticus has captured attention for different reasons. Because Atticus Finch is such a unique character that was originally seen as a hero, critics are constantly reviewing and discussing what occurred with what they believe should have happened. According to Monroe Freedman, a professor of legal ethics at Hofstra University, “Atticus should have done more to advance social justice” (Lannone 254). Freedman goes further to describe his view of Atticus, noting that “Atticus was complicit in the system by patronizing segregated parks and restaurants” (Lannone 254). Freedman’s view is only a glimpse into the wildly different interpretations of To Kill a Mockingbird, but the number of differing viewpoints only serves to emphasize the
Upon her entry into the novel, Scout states that “to all parties present and participating in the life of the country, Aunt Alexandra was one of the last of her kind” (Lee 146). Because Aunt Alexandra is the “last of her kind” and a source of pressure for Scout to become a “female” in the eyes of society, Harper Lee implicates that times were changing for women as early as the 1930s. To further illustrate women's changing roles, Scout also attends school with both genders, but is told that it would be wise to keep her literacy a secret. Harper Lee unusually allows Scout to receive a high amount of education for the time to create a source of conflict, which is an effective reminder of the real gender inequality in the 1960s. Although girls had been attending school for decades, it is not until “Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 broadened the provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and barred gender bias in federally assisted education programs” (“Modern America”) that more concrete equality was reached in this …show more content…
As a white man who properly defends Tom Robinson, a black male, Atticus Finch, like Scout, is an unusual character in a 1930s setting. Following the idea of society wanting and needing strong leaders that are not afraid to challenge societal ideas, the reader sees Atticus Finch as a hero for defending Tom Robinson. John M. Gist, an author and Chair of the Humanities Department at Western New Mexico University, even claims that he is “the most enduring fictional image of racial heroism” (Lannone 250). This is considerable praise, but over time Atticus has captured attention for different reasons. Because Atticus Finch is such a unique character that was originally seen as a hero, critics are constantly reviewing and discussing what occurred with what they believe should have happened. According to Monroe Freedman, a professor of legal ethics at Hofstra University, “Atticus should have done more to advance social justice” (Lannone 254). Freedman goes further to describe his view of Atticus, noting that “Atticus was complicit in the system by patronizing segregated parks and restaurants” (Lannone 254). Freedman’s view is only a glimpse into the wildly different interpretations of To Kill a Mockingbird, but the number of differing viewpoints only serves to emphasize the