To Kill A Mockingbird Gender Bias Analysis
“You sissy! Stop being such a girl! What are you afraid of?” These condescending remarks bounced through out my mind as I looked over the edge of a 30 foot cliff into the cold water. Soon the loud voice of my brother yelled at me from bellow-- “Just Jump.” I knew that I was going to live but I was held back by the harsh remarked thrown at me from my friend. I couldn’t comprehend what they were saying. Girls were afraid? That couldn’t be true, women had jumped off before I had. The misconception that the word “girl” is a symbol of weakness and fear, can only be labeled as gender bias. Equally so, examples of gender bias can be found in in the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. From Scout and Mayela to the missionary society , gender bias sticks out as one of the large underling concept in this book.
In the little town Maycomb the commune mindset of people, tents to put women down as inferior. One young girl named Scout, learns the about gender bias from contently being left behind by her brother. One instance where this takes place is in the court house. “Jem scowled furiously at me, then said to Reverend Sykes, “I think its okay, Reverend, she doesn’t understand it.” (231). The action of Jem clamming that his …show more content…
However, in the new culture of the 20th century, the tides begin to change. Instead of men being privileged women now lead in social superiority. This is a result of overcompensation. A specific place where this new gender bias is illustrated, can be found in chapter 18 of To kill a Mockingbird. Mayella Ewell sits before the judge, and tells her alibi (238-254). Because of her feminine touch to the situation the jury end up letting her go. Mayella lied to the jury, and got away with it. Many would say that this was because she was white, but there may have been a twinge of gender bias in the jury’s decision. The reality that gender bias could hurt both men and women is slowly creping up on
In the little town Maycomb the commune mindset of people, tents to put women down as inferior. One young girl named Scout, learns the about gender bias from contently being left behind by her brother. One instance where this takes place is in the court house. “Jem scowled furiously at me, then said to Reverend Sykes, “I think its okay, Reverend, she doesn’t understand it.” (231). The action of Jem clamming that his …show more content…
However, in the new culture of the 20th century, the tides begin to change. Instead of men being privileged women now lead in social superiority. This is a result of overcompensation. A specific place where this new gender bias is illustrated, can be found in chapter 18 of To kill a Mockingbird. Mayella Ewell sits before the judge, and tells her alibi (238-254). Because of her feminine touch to the situation the jury end up letting her go. Mayella lied to the jury, and got away with it. Many would say that this was because she was white, but there may have been a twinge of gender bias in the jury’s decision. The reality that gender bias could hurt both men and women is slowly creping up on