2019 Year 12 IB Extended Essays

Introduction Harper Lee’s renowned bildungsroman To Kill A Mockingbird (1960) alongside Kathryn Stockett’s historical fiction novel The Help (2009) , is seen to be profoundly influenced by the social challenges present during 1930’s to 1960’s America. Throughout this time period, the interactions between races, social classes and genders were determined by definite laws, prejudicial attitudes and communal orthodox beliefs. Lee and Stockett utilise their settings and characters to simulate this era in order to expose these socially apt, for what they believe to be, boundaries of acceptance created by the institutionalised prejudices of society. However, while reading the novels, it becomes apparent that some characters purposefully defy these boundaries. This then leads to question, to what extent do the transgressive behaviours of these characters defy the perceived boundaries of acceptance and how is this achieved? Additionally, how does this fulfil the purpose of the authors? The term ‘transgression’ refers to the act of undermining certain codes of conduct. Generally, the time period in which a transgressive fiction was written upon “contains characters unhappy with social expectations and conventions” (Christianson, 2019). Hence, they seek to break free from their socially dictated lifestyles. With respect to the context of both novels, Lee and Stockett aim to position the reader to admire the transgressive behaviour of its characters against the perceived boundaries of acceptance. One of the boundaries highlighted is that between white and black members of the community – exposing the racism steeped within the towns. This is further explored in the boundary of the entrenched social stratification – conveying the behaviour of prejudiced society based on one’s social class. Additionally, the boundaries faced by characters regarding their gender stereotypes – exposing the gender inequalities.

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