Lessons About Race and Gender from the Characters in To Kill a Mockingbird

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Part ofwhat makes Harper Lee ’s ToKill a Mockingbird such an important American classic is that it dealsunflinchingly with the theme of social convention – which packs an extra punchas seen through the eyes of an unconventional young girl. One of Scout’s majorepiphanies is discovering that her housekeeper, Calpurnia, not only has a lifebeyond simply raising Scout and her brother, but also switches into theAfrican-American lingo of her peers whenever she’s in their company. Thisstrikes Scout as totally disingenuous, but when she asks Calpurnia why shetalks in a way that she knows is “not right,” Calpurnia explains that herfriends and family would think she were “puttin’ on airs” if they knew shespoke like a white person.   The factthat Calpurnia leads “a modest double life” not only hints at the totalunacceptability of social blending between the white and black communities inMaycomb, but also serves to contrast against Atticus’s absolute constancy; hehas the rare quality of behaving exactly the same way around everyone he meetsregardless of race or social status – or even age. (Seriously, how many adultsresisted the urge to raise their voice an octave to you when you were a kid?)This discrepancy begs the question as to why Calpurnia is expected to conformto her racial environment while Atticus has the freedom to behave as he pleases– and even though race would seem to be the obvious x-factor, the answer isn’tactually that simple.   Take ScoutFinch, for example. Although she is astonished by the existence of Calpurnia’slinguistic alter-ego, she forgets that she herself performs a very similar actat school; since her English teacher worries that any outside studies will interferewith the learning process, Scout has to pretend that Atticus doesn’t teach herat home (and that it hasn’t helped her read or write at an advanced level, bythe way). And then there’s the transformation that happens every time Scout’sprim and prissy aunt comes to visit, and Scout suddenly trades in herfistfights and overalls for teacakes and pink cotton. If being white isn’t whatgives people in To Kill aMockingbird the liberty to be themselves, perhaps it’s being male that doesthe trick?   Once again,no. Just consider the Tom Robinson trial: although it’s obvious that Tom willbe condemned to death regardless of his testimony or Atticus’s defense, one ofthe major mistakes he makes on the stand is admitting that he feels “sorry” forMayella Ewell, the woman he is accused of raping. In forgetting that a blackman should under no circumstances act superior to a white woman in1930’s Alabama ,Tom drops a lot of jaws in the courthouse, helping the jury justify the factthat they reached a guilty verdict long before Tom ever opened his mouth.   Looking atthese and other To Kill aMockingbird characters suggests that the magic combination in Maycombdoesn’t have to do with race or gender alone; Atticus has the luxury of beinghimself in every situation because he happens to be both white AND male at thesame time. But don’t let this convince you that his principles are any lesspraiseworthy; after all, among the many other white males in the story, Atticusstill stands alone.

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