ipl-logo

Gender Roles In To Kill A Mockingbird

1223 Words5 Pages

In “To Kill a Mockingbird,” there are many different ways people treat others, and associate reputations with people. One certain factor is gender, like how Aunt Alexandra thinks Scout should be acting “like a lady.” The rights and roles of women in the South during the early twentieth century were often biased and based societal gender roles. Women were judged on and placed in certain positions in the South during this time. Now for the most part women were not involved in or part of government. Only men had positions in government. Voting and serving on juries, for example, was only for men. In the To Kill a Mockingbird Atticus explains to the kids that only men were on the jury by saying “ ‘I guess it’s to protect our frail ladies from …show more content…

Scout’s roles include minding her brother and going to school. Which she hates. But in the book chores were not really mentioned for Scout or other little girls except of course those who are apart of farming families like Walter Cunningham. As for what young girls wore they normally wore dresses like adult women. Scout although doesn’t wears britches. As said before that was frowned upon. Women’s family roles were also different than men’s too. Women in the South typically stayed at home and took care of the children. A woman’s purpose in life was to “become a wife and mother.” There is an absence of this in Scout and Jem’s lives since their own mother died. This all started to change for women during the war and Great Depression. With little income or men away, women stepped up to the plate and took many jobs especially the ones mentioned before. The Great Depression is mentioned many times and is said to really hurt families like Walter Cunningham’s.
The rights and roles of women in the South during the early twentieth century were biased and discriminatory. During this time many brave women fought for equality because of that reason.. We should thank them for that. In conclusion, women in the South were prejudiced upon by being expected to be a certain figure during the early twentieth century, but progress was also being made during this time to close the gap between gender inequality by many brave

Show More
Related

  • How Did Nellie Mcclung Treat Women In The 1920s

    593 Words  | 3 Pages

    Women were treated very unfairly and wrong up until 1920 but are still somewhat mistreated today. Women pushed very hard to be seen as equal to men for things such as jobs, the right to vote and daily life. Nellie Mcclung played a huge part on womens path to equality especially the right to vote. Men treated women like objects instead of human beings and greatly mistreated them. Today there is the #metoo movement which stands for people who have been sexually assaulted or harassed in a workplace or other places, but it stands for much more than that.

    Read More

  • Essay On Chesapeake Women

    1071 Words  | 5 Pages

    In the seventeenth century Chesapeake women had different roles than other colonial women. Chesapeake women were expected to work in the house, raise their kids and work with their husbands in the “tedious care of tobacco plants.” (page 13) Unlike in the English society, they lacked a sense of “housewifery” due to the fact that they had the lack of spinning wheels and churns. (page 13) Since mortality rate was so high it was excepted of not just men but especially women to marry multiply time.

    Read More

  • Roaring Twenties Dbq

    1139 Words  | 5 Pages

    Factories and defense plants needed workers, so women were available to take those jobs. Not only did jobs in the labor force open, but also positions in office as well. “As white women, many of whom had been in the workforce before the war, moved into these highly paid positions, African American women… took over white women’s lower-paying position in factories.” Responsibilities of women changed because of this as well. Not only did women have to do the cooking, cleaning, and supporting the children, they had to also do their responsibilities at work.

    Read More

  • How Were Women Treated In The Late 1800's Essay

    1193 Words  | 5 Pages

    The late 1800’s were a crucial time for women in America. Typically, during this time women were discriminated against in every aspect of day to day life. However, men already had the basic rights that women all around the world during the late 1800’s were fighting for. As well as this , women were mostly stereotyped and were not given the same opportunities as men in everyday life.

    Read More

  • Stereotypes Of Women During The 1800's

    919 Words  | 4 Pages

    During the 1800s women faced many different types of discriminations and stereotypes. Women didn’t have an education which they couldn’t pursue a career. After they would get married they were still not able to vote or even own their own property. They were seen as second-class citizens because their rights were always inferior to the men that were actually dominant in the society. Their responsibilities were just to keep their home under control and their family.

    Read More

  • Essay On Women In The 1800s

    483 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1860 women were mistreated, especially black women. Women in the 1800s were treated unfairly compared to white men. Men saw women as angelic creatures and that they shouldn't be/ capable of being voters, legislators, free traders, divines, physicians, and lawyers. Until 1837, no college in the United States accepted women as regular students. Some women teachers were underpaid.

    Read More

  • Societal Expectations Of Women In To Kill A Mockingbird

    106 Words  | 1 Pages

    He wants Scout to change who she is to fit his idea of what being a woman is about. In Jem’s mind, women and girls should not be opinionated and “rough”, they must be feminine and frail.

    Read More

  • Examples Of Adversity In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1759 Words  | 8 Pages

    Scout learned to ignore what others said to her about becoming more like a “proper“ girl. Scout does not allow the society to influence her at the beginning of the book she acts and dresses the way she wants too. Scout does not care what other people think of her, she

    Read More

  • Breaking Social Norms In To Kill A Mockingbird

    766 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ultimately, Scout overcomes the social norms placed upon women when she punches Francis in the face, picks a fight with Cecil Jacobs and chooses to spend most of her time playing with Jem and Dill. First and foremost, Scout escapes the restrictions imposed upon women by continuing to play with Jem and Dill instead of indulging herself in learning how to cook or drinking tea with other women. Although she will sometimes sit with Calpurnia in the kitchen and drink tea with her aunt

    Read More

  • Women Discrimination In The 1800s

    1622 Words  | 7 Pages

    Throughout history discrimination has had a negative impact on people and has cause certain groups of people to suffer. Discrimination can be against people of different race, religion, gender and sexuality and in the late 1800’s women were one of the groups that were discriminated. Women had to fight hard to obtain the rights they now have in the 21st century and many of the women who fought for equal rights didn’t get to experience those rights since laws in their favor weren’t passed until years and years of fighting. In the late 1800’s American women were discriminated because they were not granted the same rights as men in the workforce, women had to be obedient to their husbands in their marriage and society had certain norms that women

    Read More

  • Examples Of Sexism In To Kill A Mockingbird

    803 Words  | 4 Pages

    To Kill A Mockingbird portrays many types of prejudice such as sexism, lifestyle and racism. Sexism is represented through respect and roles of genders. Women were considered weak, they were expected to be elegant and ladylike. It was expected that women stay home and care for the house and children. Jem would often tease Scout for being a girl.

    Read More

  • Sexism In To Kill A Mockingbird Analysis

    712 Words  | 3 Pages

    Especially in that time, women were not treated as equals in many circumstances. Women are also set a standard to be ladies, doing things such as wearing dresses and not playing outside like males are allowed to. A quote in To Kill a Mockingbird states, “Miss Maudie on a jury would be impressive. I thought of old Mrs. Dubose in her wheelchair- ‘Stop that rapping, John Taylor, I want to ask this man something.’ Perhaps our forefathers were wise.”

    Read More

  • Southern Womanhood In Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird

    730 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird”, the issue of Southern Womanhood is brought up many times throughout the novel. Lee uses many different characters to help show how she viewed Southern Womanhood. Specifically she uses, Scout, Mayella Ewell, and Scout’s Aunt Alexandra. In "To Kill A Mockingbird", Harper Lee uses specific characters to show how negative of an impact Southern Womanhood used to have. Harper Lee uses Scout in many cases to show how she thought Southern Womanhood used to have a negative impact.

    Read More

  • Theme Of Gender Inequality In To Kill A Mockingbird

    849 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ever since human existence was known, women weren’t treated the same as a man. They were told to stay inside, care for the kids, and look pretty, as a paying man’s job was considered “too hard” for them to accomplish. But, during the years leading up to 1920, women had enough of this, they rallied and marched with a simple message, to be treated equal to a man. Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird, set in a 1930’s Alabama, covers women issues at various lengths. From Scout’s tomboyish attitude, gender inequality, and gender roles, Harper Lee’s novel

    Read More

  • Women In To Kill A Mockingbird

    727 Words  | 3 Pages

    She is teaching Scout to be a lady as she grows older and matures. Society's idea of women's roles in Maycomb county remain the same through the story According to the book every lady has a job within their household. An example of this would be Aunt Alexandra doing her clubs and begging scout to come speak with the ladies rather than play outside; "Jean Louise come speak to these ladies." (Lee 134).

    Read More

More about Gender Roles In To Kill A Mockingbird

Open Document