Gender Roles in To Kill A Mockingbird Literature Essay Sample

If you were to look around in 1937, our crazy world had a bunch of problems. In the play that was based off of a story written by Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, many themes that related to what was happening during that time were explored. The theme that I think is being changed in today's time with all the change in beliefs and acceptance is gender roles. Throughout the play, it has been shown through the means of women cooking, girls not roughing it at home, and talking respectfully in front of a woman.

One big stereotype of women that we see in everyday life is that women know how to cook. We hear it in our lives as jokes, but some believe that women should stay in the kitchen. In the play, we had an example of this when Mis. Moudie was done talking to Jem, Scout, and Dill, and said, "I’m going into my kitchen now, and I’m going to make a cake." And I’d be pleased if you’d all come over later and have some of my cake. " This might be just a generous offer to the children due to what happened that day, but the author showed that it's a common belief that some older women know how to bake. "Boys don't cook." This quote, said by Scout, shows that people thought that men did not cook, but women cooked for men. 

Let’s take a scenario and think of two people roughhousing on the floor. You are most likely thinking of two boys on the floor messing around due to the idea that boys get into more trouble and do not mind getting messy compared to boys. In the play, Scout is more seen as a tomboy, though the play with her actions Scout: "He said some things I didn't like. I rubbed his nose in the dirt. Atticus: "That’s not very ladylike. What did he say? "This shows that Atticus believes that she shouldn’t be rubbing someone’s nose in the dirt, not for the reason that it would hurt them, but that it's not very lady-like.

Nowadays, people don’t fully care what they say, from swearing to saying racial slurs, but never would someone with these ideals worry about saying something in front of a woman. In the past, it was considered disrespectful to swear in front of women and children. It was shown in the play that out of respect the men do not think it's right to say foul language in the presence of a woman. ‘‘ ...so the boy came before the probate judge on charges of disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, assault and battery and using abusive and profane language in the presence and hearing of a woman'’ This shows that people would put someone in jail for saying something foul in front of a woman, which shows how Women were much more innocent and protect than men, as evidenced by the wording and presence of this law in the play.

In conclusion, throughout the play, beliefs and acceptance of gender roles have been shown through the means of women's cooking, girls shouldn’t rough house, and talking respectfully in front of a woman. But all of these beliefs, stereotypes, and acceptances of what one gender should and shouldn’t be able to do compared to the other have changed in today's world. As men become famous around the world for cooking, girls are learning how to do physical sports such as football and boxing, and the respect between both genders is sadly being altered every day. All of this shows that times have definitely changed between 1937 and today’s time.