On July 11, 1960 Harper Lee published her first novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. To date over 40 million copies of this chart topper have been sold to the public. The story is told from a child’s point of view and how she survives the challenges of racism and growing up. To Kill a Mockingbird also illustrates that challenging the opinions of others can aid in one’s moral improvement; Jem Finch experiences the most developmental progress through expanding his moral ideas and beliefs. Coming from a strong moral figure like Atticus, Jem is expected to become a respectable young adult.
Aunt Alexandra is introduced into the story to turn Scout into society's view of a perfect lady and in the majority of the story that's all she cares about and would hate every little non-lady thing Scout did like wearing her overalls instead of a dress. “ ‘Aunty, is Jem dead?’ ‘No—no, darling, he’s unconscious. We won’t know how badly he’s hurt until Dr. Reynolds gets here. Jean Louise, what happened?’
Aunt Alexandra always wanted Scout to participate and act like a lady. For example, “Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly hope to be a lady if I wore Bree hers; when I said I could do nothing in a dress, she said I was not supposed to be doing things that required pants. ” said Scout (81). A scene that showed Scout growing into her female identity was missing in the movie.
Scout likes to hang out with boys and she does lots of boyish things. Atticus’s sister, Alexandra, hates this; she thinks that Scout should be doing girl things. Scout proclaimed, “Aunt Alexandra’s vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born” (Lee 108). Aunt Alexandra only feels it is right for Scout to be playing with girly toys inside instead of running around outside with the boys. On the other hand, Atticus feels like it is right to give his children a chance to express themselves as they wish.
Only partially aware of the magnitude of the case Atticus is involved in, Scout does understand that many citizens in Maycomb–and now her cousin–disagree with what Atticus is doing on account of racial biases, and, wanting to defend her father’s dignity, she lashes out at her cousin. She allows Francis’s words and actions to influence her emotions, later leading to discipline. While Scout allowed Francis’s words to influence her emotions and actions, the exact opposite occurs when Aunt Alexandra comes to live with her for some time. Puzzled at first by her Aunt’s presence, Scout inquires as to the purpose of her visit, to which Aunt Alexandra replies, “‘We decided that it would be best for you to have some feminine influence. It won’t be many years, Jean Louise, before you become interested in clothes and boys—’”
Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, illustrates how women are restricted by societal expectations. Women and girls are expected to act a certain way, to be feminine and docile. After an argument between Jem and Scout, Jem goes as far to shout, “‘It’s time you started bein’ a girl and acting right!’” (Lee, 153). Jem believes that Scout should be cooperative and malleable to be a typical girl.
Scout said, “"Aunt Alexandra was fanatical on the subject of my attire. I could not possibly 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 required pants. Aunt Alexandra’s vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born; furthermore, I should be a ray of sunshine in my father’s lonely life. I suggested that one could be a ray of sunshine in pants just as well, but Aunty said that one had to behave like a sunbeam, that I was born good but had grown progressively worse every year...." (108). This quote illustrates how Scout pushes against gender stereotypes, and this is the root of conflicts between her and Aunt Alexandra.
Calpurnia is seen both by Atticus and the reader as more than just a housekeeper and a cook; she is a part of the family and fills in the role of a mother to Jem and Scout by helping raise them alongside Atticus. Atticus deeply cherishes Calpurnia’s efforts of taking care of the children. With her doting attitude, yet, strict disciplinary, Calpurnia treats both Scout and Jem as she would her own children. Furthermore, this following quote proves that fatherhood is indeed an arduous and burdensome role as Atticus says these following words. Without Calpurnia by his side, Atticus would have found fatherhood even more of a demanding role without a wife by his side to help support and take care of the family, as well as raise his children to grow
Their aunt and Father thought it would be a good idea for scout to have a feminine influence in the house. As stated by their aunt when she was talking to Scout. “We discussed that it would be best for you some feminine influence . It won't be many years, Jean Louise before you become interested in clothes and boys” (170). What she was saying was that Scout will need another girl in the house instead of two guys to talk to.
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.
Aunt Alexandra, teaches Scout, what a lady is and when it is the appropriate time to be strong and have an opinion and what the family roots are. Aunt alexandra, found out Tom, died while she was attending the missionary circle. “If aunty could be a lady at a time like this,so could I.”(Lee,237)Scout, now understands that sometimes being a lady and understanding the proper etiquette of one at times like that is extremely useful. Alexandra, acting strong proved to Scout, that being a lady is
Aunt Alexandra is the sister of Atticus Finch, she moved into Atticus’s house for a while to help take care of the kids while the trial was about to happen and tries to add femininity to Scout’s life. Aunt Alexandra gives her opinions about Atticus defending Tom, which represents another opinion about the town. In the beginning of the book when she first came, she wanted to change her, “‘We decided that it would be best for you to have some feminine influence. It won’t be many years, Jean Louise, before you become interested in clothes and boys—’”(145). When Aunt Alexandra said this, Scout didn’t care for it at the moment, but maybe she wasn’t old enough to.
Scout was more of a tomboy than a girly girl. Aunt Alexandra didn’t like how she didn’t act like a proper lady, and would ask Scout to act more ladylike. As she grew up, she was able to understand things a lot better. She began acting more grown up in situations like Aunt Alexandra’s dinner party.
Sometimes people don’t realize how much their decisions and choices can effect others around them. Parenting is one of these such cases. The thought of having to raise children is loved by many people, but it is often a feared reality. Many people don’t see themselves as being capable of being a parent, even though they are very capable of being a good parent. Some of the best examples of good parenting fall into the book To Kill a Mockingbird.
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. This saying is true in many cases and happens to be true in To Kill A Mockingbird. Throughout the book you see children of characters start to grow up and act like their father. This essay will be looking at three families in To Kill A Mockingbird, the Finches, the Cunninghams, and the Ewells. These three families are key examples that a father’s influence has a significant influence on the character of his children.
