To Kill A Mockingbird Femininity Quotes

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To Kill a Mockingbird Essay
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, a young girl named Jean Louise Finch, otherwise known as Scout, struggles to fit into a society that strongly complies to gender roles. Scout is reprimanded by other members of her community because she strays from a feminine image that she is expected to maintain. Throughout the novel Scout learns how society views women and she decides to disregard societal expectations. The theme of femininity is not only expressed through Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, but it is also displayed through musical pieces by the artists No Doubt, Lesley Gore, and Go It Alone.
Firstly, the song “Just a girl” by the pop group No Doubt covers the issue of gender prejudices, more specifically, …show more content…
“We succumb to the pressure to conform, to the pressure to fit in to the pressure that our gender traps us in.” The song demonstrates how women were expected to behave a certain way in society. This verse relates to To Kill a Mockingbird since Scout was told to act and dress in a more feminine manner throughout the novel. Scout succumbs to gender stereotypes when she is forced to wear a dress on her first day of school. Despite showing apparent distaste for feminine attire, she was still expected to wear a dress. Scout says, “I felt like the starched walls of a pink cotton penitentiary closing in on me, and for the second time in my life I thought of running away. Immediately.” (Lee 182). Based on this citation, Scout feels trapped in her gender. The dress symbolizes the feminine image that Scout desperately wishes to escape. These examples relate to the theme of femininity because they show how women must act a certain way based on their gender.
In conclusion, the theme of femininity can be displayed through the novel To Kill a Mockingbird and through many influential music artist. The novel relates to generations of music since gender prejudices are still an apparent issue to date. Scout Finch seemed to be a recurring example of femininity as she struggled to conform to society's image of femininity through the novel. Harper Lees To Kill a Mockingbird
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