A New Viewpoint on Race and Gender Roles: To Kill a Mockingbird As Social Commentary (this essay con

Are you fascinated by, engrossed in, or outraged by social problems facing the world today? If you answer yes to this question, you definitely are in good company, and you may have even taken action to address these social problems. One common way that people have taken action in reaction to social problems throughout history is by writing about these social problems. Sometimes, writers use works of fiction as commentary on these problems. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird is an example of a famous work that comments on social problems, specifically in the Southeast USA in the mid 1900's. Harper Lee uses her book To Kill a Mockingbird most importantly as a social commentary on problems regarding race and racism in the Southern USA. However, Lee's commentary on race is more complex than it may seem, and she comments often on the other social problem of gender roles in the Southern USA in her novel.

The commentary on racism in To Kill a Mockingbird is much more specific in what it is in reaction to than it may seem, and it even incorporates elements of commentary on events that take place after the novel's setting in the 1930's. Harper Lee wrote the novel in the 1950’s, as the African-American Civil Rights Movement began to pick up steam. One real-life event that she indirectly mirrors in the novel is the Emmett Till Trial. The trial was of two poor white men accused of the murder of Till, and the two men were acquitted after a very short jury deliberation. There are many parallels between the trials and other events regarding Till and Tom Robinson. Poor white men caused the downfalls of both men, both juries that tried them consisted entirely of white men, and both Till and Robinson were mutilated after being murdered. In addition, most importantly to the message Lee was trying to give through the novel, both Till and Robinson were victims of racism because they allegedly made advances towards white women. Patrick Chura explains further about how making Robinson’s trial a rape case is social commentary: “Gunnar Myrdal’s exhausting 1947 study of southern culture had asked white southerners to choose among six categories in gauging what they believed blacks most desired by asserting their civil rights. First in ranking came “intermarriage and sex intercourse with whites”” (Chura 3). Through her making it clear in her writing that Tom is innocent of raping Mayella Ewell, Harper Lee tries to make the point that not all black men are immediately guilty when they are accused of misdoings against white women. By commenting on the Emmett Till trial in her novel, Harper Lee specifically remarks on the racism of her time.

Harper Lee’s aim in including commentary relating to recent events in her novel was for Southern readers to notice that perhaps men like the ones that murdered Emmett Till were not justified in their views on race. In addition to plot points such as Tom’s clear innocence, she uses plain language to get this point across. Atticus, the defender of Tom Robinson and the moral center of the book, remarks: “Why reasonable people go stark raving mad when anything involving a Negro comes up, is something I don’t pretend to understand” (Lee 101). By using the diction of the word “reasonable”, Lee is stating that even with prejudiced views, Southern readers of her book can still be good people. By making Atticus’ tone more of confusion than of condescension, Lee makes Southern readers think critically about their views and does not make them get defensive. It is clear that she is using clever strategies to convince people with racist views to rethink their opinions on African-Americans. However, she is trying to state this point through her novel without being overly harsh.

The commentary in To Kill a Mockingbird often deals with physical disability and its connection to race relations. Tom Robinson’s disability itself is actually a reference to racism. Scout comments on Tom’s disability during his trial: “His left arm was fully twelve inches shorter than his right, and hung dead at his side. It ended in a small shriveled hand” (Lee 211). Maycomb’s African-American pastor, Reverend Sykes, then explains to her that “[Tom] caught [his arm] in a cotton gin” and “tore all the muscles loose from his bones” (Lee 211). Many slaves had disabilities gained through injuries sustained during agriculture that were similar to Tom’s disability. These disabilities were caused by brutal white masters or, like Tom’s disability, by accidents. Lisa Miller infers in her analysis of this point that: “Tom’s injured arm, disabled in a cotton gin accident, should be read an injury like that of chattel slavery that highlights Maycomb’s unwillingness to part with a history so deeply rooted in a white supremacist hierarchy” (Miller 567-568). Lee making Tom disabled because of an agricultural accident is a comment on how the South had not advanced far from the time of slavery and on how African-Americans still did agricultural work. Lee tries to convince Southerners that stopping racism would lead to African-Americans having fewer gruesome injuries like Tom’s, and therefore would be a positive development. The case is made in To Kill a Mockingbird that Southern white people should rethink race relations in agricultural jobs and as a whole due to disabilities that African-Americans often sustained while working as farmers.

Harper Lee argues in her novel, through Tom Robinson’s circumstances, that having dark skin in the 1930’s was more of a “disability” than actual physical disabilities. Tom Robinson becomes a convicted rapist and then a dead man because of a case held in a racist society. If he had light skin but still a disabled arm while living in this society, he would have most likely become neither a convicted rapist nor a dead man. White disabled people would be overly pitied at the time, and any white person with a disabled arm would likely face some prejudice in this way. However, white disabled people would not be even considered suspects in a rape case, as they would be thought of as too weak. Tom’s disabled arm actually proves to be a quality that Atticus uses often to defend him, and is even mentioned in the lawyer’s closing statement. Despite these facts, Tom is not free from judgement caused by his disability, as Jem calls him “crippled” (Lee 211). But Tom faces harsher and more prejudiced words than “crippled” because of his race, as for example a boy Scout’s age is told by his parents that Tom is a “nigger” who “oughta hang from the water-tank” (Lee 87). Some parents in Maycomb are so racist that they openly tell their young children that a man should die because of unproven allegations against him that are racially motivated. This fact shows that being black is a quality that can easily lead to a loss of reputation in the town. Therefore, being dark-skinned is sadly more of a “disability” that impaired people’s options socially in Maycomb than real disabilities. People in the town who lose their reputations due to their race could easily lose their jobs, families or, like Tom, their lives. Harper Lee’s novel makes the point to Southern readers that race being more of a disability than true physical disabilities is an unfair reality in the South that needs to be undone.

Although To Kill a Mockingbird is heralded as a classic in literature regarding race relations, it is not as profound in its call for racial equality as it may seem on the surface. First off, although the book does strongly criticize racism as morally wrong, it does not directly criticize segregation or advocate for racial reconciliation and integration. In their everyday lives, Scout and Jem rarely interact with the black community in Maycomb, and they only visit the community when Calpurnia takes them to her church while Atticus is away. For most of the novel Calpurnia even “lead[s] “a modest double life,” an existence outside of the Finch household which is entirely “separate”” (Panesar). It is therefore no wonder that Scout states the at first glance strange remark of “after all he’s just a Negro” (Lee 226) when Dill criticizes the poor treatment of Tom during his trial. Scout, although she is taught to be tolerant by her father, has never had an African-American friend of around her age and has been in a culture filled with segregation for her entire life. Her lack of full understanding about being a person of color and her proximity to a large number of racist people makes it very possible that she holds African-Americans to a slightly lower regard than whites. Lee does not make it clear in her novel to chastise this largely tolerant, but still sometimes patronizing, attitude, and her slight prejudice therefore shows. This prejudice is very clear in some of Atticus’ statements during the novel. For example, he thinks that the word “nigger” is bad because it is speech of the common people and not because it is simply racist, and he makes the false assertion that “The Klu Klux’s gone...It’ll never come back” (Lee 167). He clearly has fallen into a lack of understanding of the full picture of racism against African-Americans. He cannot realize the full negative effect a word such as “nigger” can have on a person’s psyche. He also does not see that some of the white people he interacts with everyday at least have ties with the Klan, a group that harasses, injures, and even kills African Americans and needs to be stopped before more innocent people are harmed. The slight prejudice that shows in Harper Lee’s construction of plot and characterization prove that To Kill a Mockingbird is not a radically progressive book regarding racial equality.

It is not a stretch to say that To Kill a Mockingbird comments on many other subjects besides race relations. In fact, Lee herself has expressed this point of view by stating: “‘My book has a universal theme, it’s not a “racial” novel. It portrays an aspect of civilization. I tried to show the conflict of the human soul reduced to its simplest terms...universal in the sense that it could happen to anybody, anywhere where people live together”” (de Fatima Pais 1). It can be easily drawn from Lee’s statement that the “conflict of the human soul” in the novel regards tough social issues that everyone has some experience in living through or studying. These issues include racism but also sexism, classism, and discrimination against people with disabilities. It is important to note that Atticus’ most important moral statements in the novel, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view” (Lee 33) and “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (Lee 103), refer to being non-judgemental in all regards and tolerant in all regards, respectively. They do not just refer to being accepting of people of other races. Lee has a much more broad vision for her classic novel than for it to just be a commentary on racism. To Kill a Mockingbird provides insightful commentary on the broad theme of leading a moral life, and it can be proven that the novel provides extensive and equally insightful commentary on another major social issue as well.

The second most prominent type of social commentary present in To Kill a Mockingbird regards gender roles, as the novel deals extensively with how women in Maycomb are encouraged to conform to their gender’s traditional place in society. Women in the 1930’s were expected by traditional gender role norms to work inside the home and take care of the house while bearing and raising children. These expectations applied especially to middle and upper class women, who did not need to work outside of the home to keep bread on the table. Conformity to these expectations leads to “[Calpurnia, Aunt Alexandra, and Miss Maudie being] particularly significant because they function as Scout’s mother figures” (Hakala 41). Calpurnia, a poor black woman, works as a domestic servant for the Finches in order to conform while still making a living. The other two women are wealthier and do not have payed jobs at all. These adult women not being able to work outside domestic life is subtle social commentary by Lee, as Scout realizes the lack of opportunity for these women through observing them and learning from them. Calpurnia, even though she did not go to school, is well-educated for a black woman, as she was taught how to read and write well by Miss Maudie’s aunt using the Bible and Blackstone’s Commentaries. She could have easily been hired for a job as a secretary or teacher at the time if racism and sexism were not in play. Miss Maudie herself could have also easily landed a job outside of a house for her gardening or cooking skills if sexism was not rampant in Maycomb. Scout must feel disheartened because these role models to her cannot use their talents to make a living. Lee criticizes expectations regarding gender roles in Southern society by showing that multiple talented adult women in Maycomb have to conform to being limited to work in homes. She continues this criticism by showing how Scout’s relationship with another one of her mother figures, Aunt Alexandra, leads to tension and conformity.

Scout is the character in To Kill a Mockingbird who most strongly defies traditional gender norms, and Lee uses much of her story to comment on popular societal views regarding tomboys. Scout is definitely a tomboy, as she often plays with her brother Jem and their friend Dill instead of staying inside like a conforming girl would. She has much fun and some coming of age experiences while playing with the two boys. The three get themselves dirty and in trouble by rolling in tires, making mock plays about the life of Boo Radley (the town’s recluse), and trying to invade Boo’s privacy. The fact that Scout still engages in these behaviors when she begins her proper schooling clearly angers Aunt Alexandra, who thinks that it would be best for Scout to start “playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave [Scout]” (Lee 93). Aunt Alexandra often scolds Scout for her “unladylike” behavior, and even decides to move in with Scout’s family to help the young girl conform when her relationship with her husband sours. Scout’s aunt’s devotion to the traditional gender norms of the time is social commentary by Lee that criticizes these norms. This statement is true because Alexandra’s devotion to the norms and how this devotion rubs off on Scout shows how tomboys can be hurt by conforming. Scout slowly conforms to Alexandra’s expectations by going to Alexandra’s tea parties. She is negatively affected by them as she becomes less friendly with Jem and is introduced to the racist views about Africans expressed by many of her aunt’s friends. It makes sense for Lee to comment about how being a tomboy is a positive trait that can be retained as a girl gets older as “Although nineteenth-century culture held somewhat positive views towards tomboys, society still emphasized gender stereotypes in the notion that tomboyism could not continue beyond adolescence” (Hakala 14). Lee hopes to show young Southern girls that being a tomboy could be an acceptable alternative to being a “ladylike” girl through Scout’s insightfulness and adventures. In addition, she warns those of these girls who happen to be tomboys that mother figures that want them to conform to traditional gender norms might not hold moral views. Evidence Lee adds to the text that backs up this warning includes the racist views of Aunt Alexandra and her friends. In her classic novel, Harper Lee comments on contemporary gender relations by discussing Scout’s tomboyism and how Scout is affected by a challenge to it from her aunt.

At its core, Harper Lee’s social commentary in To Kill a Mockingbird criticizes race relations and racism present in the Southern USA during the mid 1900’s. However, Lee comments on race in the novel through the interesting means of the Emmett Till trial and how race and physical disability are related while still not advocating for full racial integration. The novel also includes commentary on gender roles made specifically in reaction to traditional expectations for women to not work outside the home and not to remain tomboys once they reach adolescence. To Kill a Mockingbird is an important example of a novel with a clear but important theme on the surface and equally important specific commentary seemingly hidden deep inside of it. Next time you read a classic novel, try to think about what specific commentary inside of it can be applied to current social problems.

Works Cited

Chura, Patrick. “Prolepsis and Anachronism: Emmet Till and the Historicity of To Kill a Mockingbird.” The Southern Literary Journal. JSTOR. Vol. 32 no. 2. University of North Carolina Press: Spring 2000. Chapel Hill, NC. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20078264 seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents. Accessed May 8th, 2017.

de Fatima Pais, Maria. “The Lawyer That Mattered, the Girl That Did Not Comply – Aspects of the Plight for Human Rights and Gender Issues in Harper Lee's Novels To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman.” Estudo Culturais. http://estudosculturais.com/congressos/vcongresso/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/the-lawyer-that-mattered-the-girl-that-did-not-comply.pdf. Accessed May 21st, 2017.

Hakala, Laura, "Scouting for a Tomboy: Gender-Bending Behaviors in Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird.” Electronic Theses & Dissertations. Spring 2010. http://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/176. Accessed May 21st, 2017.

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. HarperCollins Publishers: 2006. New York. Print.

Miller, Lisa D. ““Enable us to Look Back” : Performance and Disability in To Kill a Mockingbird”

OverDrive. In “To Kill a Mockingbird: New Essays”. Scarecrow Press, Inc: 2010. Lanham, MD. https://ofs-e20ad0b2be7eed8a25ebf245b9aa05e6.read.overdrive.com/? p=KxKL8kndJd0VC6RP35rPGQ. Accessed May 21st, 2017.

Panesar, Gurdip. "Mockingbird in Context." Critical Insights: To Kill a Mockingbird.

SalemPress. Hackensack: 2009. Salem. http://online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do? bookId=225&articleName=CIW_Mockingbird_1005&searchText=to%20kill%20a %20mockingbird&searchOperators=any&category=Literature. Accessed May 21st, 2017.