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Post by maddymorland on Jul 17, 2016 21:12:39 GMT
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the main character is brought up without a mother. Scout herself says, "... I never felt her absence" however the lack of her mother's presence shaped Scout's life more than she understood. The way she dresses for example, in overalls and boy's clothes could be attributed to the fact that her father is her main role model. Also her relationship with Calpurnia is much closer than it likely would have had she had another female caretaker. Calpurnia opens Scout's eyes to the life of a black person in Maycomb, and if Scout had not possesed this perspective the novel would have been vastly different.
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Post by madisondobson on Jul 18, 2016 1:02:21 GMT
I agree about how she dresses and things like that. Since her dad raised her and she only had a brother, the only thing she knew was to act how they did. That's how she got her personality. Scout grew and matured to become like the boys, not a lady. That's when their Aunt comes to live with them to give her a "feminine influence" to try to change her personality, way of dressing, and masculinity before she goes to live in the real world.
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Post by bekahredinger on Jul 18, 2016 1:33:19 GMT
Personally, I hadn't thought about how the absence of Scout's mother affected her, so I really like this point of view. With Atticus, Jem, and Calpurnia around, Scout had a very different idea of how to act in a way that would have generally been acceptable for a young girl of that time. The reader doesn't know much about Scout's mother, but they can assume that she was probably very ladylike and kind, as Mrs. Dubose says at one point to the children that, "a lovelier lady than [y]our mother never lived". Looking at the influence of a dead mother on Scout, I would like to know what might have been the effects on Jem.
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Post by avery young on Jul 18, 2016 22:11:36 GMT
I agree with this and would like to point out that Scout is so far removed from the notion of femininity that she revolts against it when her aunt comes into play. Later on she gradually accepts it, but from much of the language used we can infer that she is only really taking part due to Scout and Dill abandoning her, leaving her alone with a) nothing to do aside from join Alexandra's party and b) Alexandra's persuasion and willpower. She seems to despise acting "girly", which probably stems from both a lack of a female role model and the misogyny she experiences with the boys and in every day life. In response to Bekah, i feel as if much of the effects of Jem not having a mother resulted in quite a lot of sexist viewpoints on his part, although an important factor to consider is that he grew up in the South in the early 1900's. This being said, Jem doesn't seem to think of Scout as that much of an inferior, and that appears to be mostly due to age.
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Post by miashaeffer on Jul 19, 2016 1:55:35 GMT
I believe that Scout also sort of fears being feminine because she believes that if she becomes more of a girly girl, Jem will resent her or not want to spend time with her. We see Jem's distaste for feminine things many times in the novel, and he often tells Scout to stop acting like a girl. Jem's fear of femininity may also be due to his lack of a mother and female role model, since Jem is not as close with Calpurnia as Scout is. Jem is one of Scout's main role models, so she likely wants to be like him, and since Jem despises feminine things and behavior, so will Scout.
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Post by emorydantzler on Jul 23, 2016 5:27:26 GMT
I also agree, not having a mother has a huge affect on the children. . A mother has a huge impact in someone's life and like you said Scout dressing like a boy is most likely from not having a mother around.
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Post by xavierkinney on Jul 30, 2016 0:47:41 GMT
She begins to act as a boy rather than a girl. This could effect her future and the way people see her. But i have seen in the past that most "tom girls" bond more with friends than "sassy" women/girls do.
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Post by zakpasq on Jul 30, 2016 23:19:28 GMT
I agree that Scout not growing up with a mother affected her. It affected her greatly not having another women around which led her to have trouble with her aunt because she was into the boy things being around Atticus and especially Jem. It would also led to many arguments between Scout and her aunt due to her aunt wanting her to dress and act like a lady but she didn't know what that meant because she didn't grow up with one.
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Post by margaretsundseth on Aug 15, 2016 4:36:29 GMT
As fun as it is to think about how the absence of Scout's mother changed her life, what if Scout's mother survived and nothing about Scout's behavior changed? Scout largely played with boys in her childhood, and while Scout's lack of an elder female figure definitely changed some of her world views, the lack of female peers arguably changed her even more.
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Post by michaelamiles on Aug 15, 2016 5:17:34 GMT
I absolutely love your take on the boy's clothing. I would've never of thought of that. I originally thought that it was to just for discription and such but i agree with you now on your take.
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Post by sassy foods on Sept 17, 2020 0:25:18 GMT
this as great sir
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