Theme of Gender Inequality in To Kill A Mockingbird Essay Example

Gender inequality was prominent in the 1930s; it took away opportunities from many women. In some ways, it still affects society today. To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, follows a young girl named Scout, in a time of prejudice, racism, and gender inequality, with many socio-economic problems. Scout’s father, Atticus, needs help parenting because of the harsh days the  trial is bringing him, so Aunt Alexandra comes to help. Aunt Alexandra tries to enforce her rules on how women should behave such as dressing and remaining indoors. Scout Finch is a little girl who already feels the pressure of society on her to be more feminine. Yet she still finds the courage to rebel against many of the older generation's teachings.Gender inequality is shown a lot in the novel through Scout, who is constantly ridiculed because she is a "tomboy", or doesn't act her gender, and her Aunt Alexandra, who is the one enforcing these expectations on Scout. It is very clear that Aunt Alexandra is expressing that children need a woman figure in their life so that Scout can be more ladylike.Scout is told many times by her Aunt Alexandra what she can and can't wear and has also had many gender stereotypes enforced on her.When Scout has to wear a dress she claims it feels like a prison on her like “starched walls of a pink cotton penitentiary,” (Lee 138). When Scout compares the dress to a prison, it demonstrates her perspective on how gender inequality affects her and prevents her from doing what she wants.When thinking about prison, a confined room and feeling alone comes to mind. The dress symbolizes her feeling imprisoned in a world of standards that she does not want to meet. When Scout was wearing a dress, she was left out and was not able to play with the boys. This exemplifies how women were excluded from certain jobs and activities that were exclusively for men. Nonetheless, Scout never lets the strict standards of the time influence who she is and she won’t let the feeling of confinement control her.Another example of gender inequality appears when Scout's Aunt, Alexandra comes to visit and sees that Attiuce is not teaching Scout how to be a proper lady, and say’s “that it would be best for you to have some feminine influence,” (Lee, 170). Despite Scout already having a feminine figure Calpurnia in her life as well as having a loving father, Attucis, Aunt Alexandra believes Atticus is not instilling how important it is to be a proper lady. This quote indicates that Aunt Alexandra’s is agaisnt Scout not behaivng more ladylike and that it’s affecting the family’s image of how all ladies in their family act and doesn't want that to reflect on her.  Despite Aunt Alexandra’s opinion, Scout continues to rebel against the feminine stereotypes put on her, and wears what she feels is most comfortable. Aunt Alexandra is strongly opinionated  on how a woman should behave; she even takes it as far as to despite her niece.Aunt Alexandra even takes it a step farther by putting Scout to a missionary with other ladies and Scout is bombarded with questions that are secretly making fun of her clothing. “Where are your britches today?,”(Lee 307).Aunt Alexandra wants to change Scout to be the niece she dreamed of. By putting Scout in a dress and parading her around the missionary with the ladies mocking her because she doesn’t fit society's standards of what a girl should present herself as, they are making a fool out of her to make themselves feel they are better than Scout because they do fit in with the gender stereotypes.Once again  this shows that Aunt Alexandra has the  confidence and forcefulness that she knows how a woman should act and is going to make Scout act how she wants her to act even if it hurts her.