Aunt Alexandria Quotes In To Kill A Mockingbird

People say you should be proud of where you come from or who you come from. And that everything you do will reflect on your family. But what if you do something to offend your family. Suddenly you’re a disgrace and an embarrassment to the family. Aunt Alexandria believes that your family background proves your status in society. But Atticus had different beliefs. Although many characters in, To Kill a Mockingbird, base their self-worth off of their family of origin, the truth is that the most admirable people in the novel, “are the people who did the best they could with the sense they had,”

Nobody denies that Aunt Alexandria is old-fashioned and proper, and often refers to the people of Maycomb in light of their family history. She seems to believe that behaviors and character traits are hereditary, passed on from one generation to the next - one family might have a Gambling Streak, or a Mean Streak, or a Funny Streak. She also judges families on the basis of how long they have been settled in the same place.

"If Uncle Atticus lets you run around with stray dogs, that's his own business, like Grandma says, so it ain't your fault. I guess it ain't your fault if Uncle Atticus is a nigger-lover besides, but I'm here to tell you it certainly does mortify the rest of the family-" "Francis, what the hell do you mean?" "Just what I said. Grandma says it's bad enough he lets you all run wild, but now he's turned out a nigger-lover we'll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb agin. He's ruinin' the family, that's what he's doin'." (Lee pg ) Family: the world's oldest excuse for telling people what to do. There's no real reason why Atticus's behavior should reflect on anyone but himself and perhaps the parents who raised him, but Aunt Alexandra seems to think it's her business, too. To be fair, given Maycomb's obsession with family, she has a