In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, the character Calpurnia is a valuable member of the Finch family and is vital to their well-being. The first instance this is seen is when Calpurnia supplies Scout with some much need discipline after she had been rude to Walter Cunningham at the dinner table. Calpurnia tells Scout: “That boy's yo' comp'ny and if he wants to eat up the table cloth you let him, you hear?”
and she seldom rewarded me.” (21) Scout focused on her education and staying driven means Calpurnia will reward for doing a good job helping Scout learn that you must work hard to do other things in life and to not slack off. Calpurnia also believes that manners and hospitality are crucial when having guests and thinks that Scout may need some work in that department. An example of this is shown during an early stage in the book where Walter Cunningham comes to the house for lunch. Walter never has anything fancy for dinner.
Calpurnia is one of the only African Americans in town that is able to read and write. She is concerned with Jem and Scout’s ability to read and write, therefore she blesses them
She had always been too hard on me, she had at last seen the error of her fractious ways, she was sorry and too stubborn to say so” (Lee 3.75). Due to Scout’s childlike perspective she often misinterprets Calpurnia’s softer
To overcome this ignorant state, they must experience something beyond their idealities and their comfort zone. It is better to be aware about an unfamiliar world rather than to be naive of it. Scout is uneducated about the meaning of rape and is not alert about the consequences and the dangers of it. Since Calpurnia did not inform Scout about what rape is, she decides to ask her Father after returning home from Calpurnia's church. Atticus begins to explain a child-friendly version of what rape is.
He's poured it all over-' It was when Calpurnia requested my presence in the kitchen.” (24) Cal continues to inform Scout that she needs to treat her guests with respect, no matter what they do, or who they are. It shows that Calpurnia has a forceful feeling to be respectful to others, and to treat the kids to be respectful. Always treat people with respect no matter what they do.
We are born ignorant, with no knowledge, for a reason. We need to earn it; we need to experience it. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a novel based around a 6 year-old girl named Scout. It takes place in the 1930’s right in the middle of the Great Depression. In the book, Scout turns from an inexperienced child to a mature young lady.
They will learn from these difficult experiences and use this knowledge to better themselves. It’s time to begin to appreciate the challenges, for they will promote growth in the long run. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the protagonist, Scout Finch, initially is exposed to adversity at an exceedingly young age. In her mind, she is living in an intricate world, until she stumbles upon grievous scenarios.
There are many motifs and lessons to be learned from To Kill A Mockingbird. The entire book was written from the point of view of the main protagonist, Scout. The author, Harper Lee, was well beyond the age of an adult at the time of publishing. Throughout the entire book there is a constant motif of symbolism in relation to the title among others, including the injustice of society. Harper Lee chose to write To Kill A Mockingbird through the eyes of a child from the perspective of an adult reminiscing because she wanted to straightforwardly address the injustices of society, justify the reliability of Scout 's accounts, and to implicate the growth and development of Scout first-handedly.
When Calpurnia is scared she is still able to comfort Scout such as a mother would to her child by saying, “‘Don’t you fret,’ Calpurnia whispered to me, but the roses on her hat trembled indignantly,” (Lee, 158). When it is clear that Calpurnia and Scout have no relation, whatsoever, she still is able to reassure her. She continually proves her solicitude towards Scout by teaching her about what goes on in the world and by caring about her well being, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Calpurnia knows that they would not be connected other than the fact that she works for them and has to watch over them. Nevertheless, Calpurnia goes above and beyond when she decided to take their own needs before her own, by comforting them and not letting them worry about something, when she is clearly worried herself.
This will be explored in greater detail throughout this essay. In Chapter 1, the author describes Calpurnia from Scout’s point of view as harsh and unfair, but it is inferred that, because Scout is a small child whom Calpurnia is reprimanding, Calpurnia really does care what happens to the children and how they behave. Lee writes from Scout’s perspective, “ Our
Scout then explains that the Cunninghams are hard workers, they are poor and accept no charity and they can only pay back with hickory nuts and turnip greens. Miss Caroline takes that as an insult towards Walter and punishes her by ordering her to sit in the corner while the other students laugh at her. Scout then pummels Walter to the ground in the playground for embarrassing her in the classroom, but she stopped when Jem pulls her back from Walter. Scout’s father Atticus invites Walter to dinner at the Finch house, and there Scout pulls another disrespectful move on Walter where she explains that he has “ruined” his dinner by pouring all the molasses all over his plate. Calpurnia, Scout’s cook, then calls Scout to the kitchen and says to apologize to Walter and is asked to eat in the kitchen instead of the dinner table as her
Another one of her strengths is that she is courageous. Scout expresses her courage through her strangeness. Scout not once gives up to what others do and withstands the tendency for ‘groupthink’ that is so much a part of Maycomb civilization. When Scout displays this in front of others, it is obvious that there is audacity in her
Her cooking skill, her knowledge, and her love toward Jem and Scout, qualified the standard of becoming a wonderful mother. These characteristics of Calpurnia successfully filled the absence of their mother to Jem and Scout. One pleasant memory that Scout had, appeared when Calpurnia treated her a special meal. After the disappointing first day of school, when Scout gave herself to miserable mood, Calpurnia prepared a surprise for Scout.
What she learns is slowly taught to her by the people around her and the experiences she has. The first life lesson that Scout encounters is not to judge someone until one really knows them. In this novel the first person that starts to teach Scout a lesson is Atticus,