#1 Gender I. Intro: A.

Harper Lee's book To Kill a Mockingbird reinforces and also refutes gender roles and stereotypes through the characters of Scout, Jem, and Aunt Alexandria II. Scout. A. Defies all of the gender roles that were established in the 30's. B. Doesn't like to dress like a girl, she refuses to wear ladies clothes, and prefers to wear her rather comfortable overalls. C. Hangs out with a lot of boys instead of hanging out with girls and playing with dolls. Instead she likes to play with Jem and Dill and likes to shoot air rifles that she gets for christmas. D. She gets into fist fights with boys at her school and doesn't hold back at all, she even takes a wack at her brother Jem and doesn't do it siftly at that. III. Gender roles. A. Scout doesn't fit into any of the gender roles. B. She is seen as an outcast in the female world at Maycomb because she is a tomboy. C. She is rather independent and doesn't really take offense to what other people have to say. IV. Jem. A. Fits all of the typical gender roles. B. Likes football and acts rather immature when he is at a very young age. C. Wants to hang out with boys his own age. D. Doesn't really care a lot when it comes to anything academic unlike her little sister Scout. V. Gender Roles A. Harper lee doesnt make all of the characters reject stereotypical gender roles or else the story would seem very unreal for the time it is set in. VI. Aunt Alexandria A. is the typical female for the 30's. B. Cares a lot about the way she looks and how she is being perceived by everyone else in Maycomb C. Tries to fix everyone and butts into things that she has no business being in. VII. Tries to fix scout A. Tries to tell scout what to wear and how to act. B. Cares a lot about how the people look at the Finch name, C. Tries to get Scout to act ladylike and wear a dress. VIII. Conclusion. A, Harper Lee through the actions of her characters tries to defy some of the most stereotypical gender roles of the time, especially the female role. Which at the time is something very risky to do. B. Through the character Scout tries to show female independence just like the women of the great depression who were standing up for what is correct.