To Kill a Mockingbird Essay
To kill a Mockingbird is a classic novel that displays the prejudice of society in a small sleepy town, Maycomb county, during the great depression in thirties. The book identifies sexism to be ones of the biggest problems alongside racism. In To Kill A Mockingbird, author; Harper Lee creates some characters and assigns them to be a symbol for different elements of society; Scout, a girl who is seven, is shown as a feminist.
Scouts viewpoint on society, particularly on female rights are quite intriguing for, not only a girl in this era; but also for a girl of her age. Her thoughts widely resemble ones that a feminist would have. When Scout learns that a lady could not be a part of the …show more content…
These changes make her more of a feminist. It is Christmas time during this part of the novel, and like every Christmas; Scout and Jem’s uncle, Uncle Jack, is staying with them for a week. While eating at the dining table Scout uses inappropriate words like “Damn” and “Hell”, although Atticus is amused by this and tells Jack to brush it aside, Uncle Jack takes it into his own hands and reprimands Scout for using such language. Jack says that a girl who wants to be a lady should not use such language, Scout counters this by saying that she doesn’t want to be a lady, which Jack brushes aside. Jack continues by saying that if he hears such language throughout his stay he will be very disappointed, and that she will be punished. “‘You like words like damn and hell don’t you?’ I said I reckon so. ‘Well I don’t’ said Uncle Jack, not unless there’s extreme provocation connected with them.’ ‘I’ll be here for a week, I don’t want to hear any words like that while I’m here, Scout you’ll get in trouble if you go around saying things like that.’ ‘You want to grow up and be a lady, don’t you?’ I said not particularly.” (Lee 105) Scout is only cursing to provoke Atticus and Uncle Jack into giving a reaction, and so that she can go against the convention of society about where girls should act like girls, and not curse, and stay at home and cook. Scout is not the typical girl, nor is she the type of girl that …show more content…
This goes back to prove the statement that Scout is a feminist, as Scout does not feel obliged to an elder just because of their age; this makes Scout different, and because of the things she does differently she can be classified as a feminist. Another time when Scout was shamed for her sense of clothing is when Aunt Alexandra shames Scout for wearing “Unlady like clothes”. Scout, however, is not baffled by the barking Aunt Alexandra, and simply chooses her dressing what she wants to wear, not what society expects her to wear. “‘I could not 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 require pants” (Lee 108) Throughout the novel it is shown that Scout wears “Boyish” clothes because she feels more comfortable in them, and feels like it shouldn’t matter if she wears them. That is a thought of a feminist, whether she knows it or not. This quote is another example of sexism that occurs in Maycomb County, and how Scout does not adhere to
To kill a Mockingbird is a classic novel that displays the prejudice of society in a small sleepy town, Maycomb county, during the great depression in thirties. The book identifies sexism to be ones of the biggest problems alongside racism. In To Kill A Mockingbird, author; Harper Lee creates some characters and assigns them to be a symbol for different elements of society; Scout, a girl who is seven, is shown as a feminist.
Scouts viewpoint on society, particularly on female rights are quite intriguing for, not only a girl in this era; but also for a girl of her age. Her thoughts widely resemble ones that a feminist would have. When Scout learns that a lady could not be a part of the …show more content…
These changes make her more of a feminist. It is Christmas time during this part of the novel, and like every Christmas; Scout and Jem’s uncle, Uncle Jack, is staying with them for a week. While eating at the dining table Scout uses inappropriate words like “Damn” and “Hell”, although Atticus is amused by this and tells Jack to brush it aside, Uncle Jack takes it into his own hands and reprimands Scout for using such language. Jack says that a girl who wants to be a lady should not use such language, Scout counters this by saying that she doesn’t want to be a lady, which Jack brushes aside. Jack continues by saying that if he hears such language throughout his stay he will be very disappointed, and that she will be punished. “‘You like words like damn and hell don’t you?’ I said I reckon so. ‘Well I don’t’ said Uncle Jack, not unless there’s extreme provocation connected with them.’ ‘I’ll be here for a week, I don’t want to hear any words like that while I’m here, Scout you’ll get in trouble if you go around saying things like that.’ ‘You want to grow up and be a lady, don’t you?’ I said not particularly.” (Lee 105) Scout is only cursing to provoke Atticus and Uncle Jack into giving a reaction, and so that she can go against the convention of society about where girls should act like girls, and not curse, and stay at home and cook. Scout is not the typical girl, nor is she the type of girl that …show more content…
This goes back to prove the statement that Scout is a feminist, as Scout does not feel obliged to an elder just because of their age; this makes Scout different, and because of the things she does differently she can be classified as a feminist. Another time when Scout was shamed for her sense of clothing is when Aunt Alexandra shames Scout for wearing “Unlady like clothes”. Scout, however, is not baffled by the barking Aunt Alexandra, and simply chooses her dressing what she wants to wear, not what society expects her to wear. “‘I could not 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 require pants” (Lee 108) Throughout the novel it is shown that Scout wears “Boyish” clothes because she feels more comfortable in them, and feels like it shouldn’t matter if she wears them. That is a thought of a feminist, whether she knows it or not. This quote is another example of sexism that occurs in Maycomb County, and how Scout does not adhere to