Scout Finch Sexism

Words: 1044
Pages: 5

The story of To Kill a Mockingbird, written by Harper Lee, is an award winning novel taking place in 1950’s Maycomb, Alabama. It tells the story of Scout Finch and how she matures throughout the story. With help from her family, Scout learns the best way to understand people is to walk a day in their shoes. It tells the story of young Scout Finch’s southern life and how she matures from the start to the end of the story. With help from her older brother Jem, and father Atticus, Scout learns the best way to understand people is to walk a mile in their shoes. Lee illustrates how sexism presents itself in the day to day life of the women in Maycomb. Sexism is as existent now as it was in the 1930’s, only in different ways. To begin, Lee was one …show more content…
As Martha Gravatt, writer for workers world, explains, the 1930’s served as a great stepping stone for women to enter and accel in the workforce. Although, they still weren't treated equal to men, with different pays and restrictions, many women wouldn’t back down fighting for their cause. They would go on strikes, and march in movements in hopes that they would get better treatment while working. Many of these movements were successful and women started receiving more pay and respect. (1930’s; The women were fearless). This expresses how women found out that they could benefit the community in their own way, and became more confident. Also according to Martha Gravatt, “These women still inspire the women of their class seven decades later. As Workers World leader Teresa Gutierrez wrote in 1999 on the occasion of Tenayuca’s death, ‘Her image—striding in front of a line of marchers or standing at a microphone shaking her fist as she stirred the strikers to struggle on—inspires the oppressed workers of San Antonio to this day.’” The women went from housewife, to working ladies in no time. They also gained more respect and recognition for their …show more content…
According to research, although American Women had the opportunity to work, job options were very limited. Women were still treated as second class citizens, and known only for who they' were married to. They were given small easy jobs like a housekeeper, and could not handle any business transactions (Tavaana E-institute). Research contends, “The 38 percent of American women who worked in 1960 were largely limited to jobs as teacher, nurse, or secretary. Women were generally unwelcome in professional programs; as one medical school dean declared, "Hell yes, we have a quota...We do keep women out, when we can. We don't want them here — and they don't want them elsewhere, either, whether or not they'll admit it." As a result, in 1960, women accounted for six percent of American doctors, three percent of lawyers, and less than one percent of engineers. A woman was expected to follow one path: to marry in her early 20s, start a family quickly, and devote her life to homemaking.” (Tavaana E-institute). This indicates that the women still weren’t getting the fair treatment that men