To Kill A Mockingbird Miss Maudie Character Traits

In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, Miss Maudie Atkinson is depicted as a very influential character and guide in the children’s lives, but above all, she is a strong role model. Initially, Miss Maudie reveals her resilience as she is commonly known to recover from setbacks quickly and effectively. Specifically, when Scout questions Miss Maudie for not grieving after her house being on fire, Miss Maudie replies, “Don’t you worry about me, Jean Louise Finch. There are ways of doing things you don’t know about. Why, I’ll build me a house and take a couple of roomers...” (97). This proves Miss Maudie can take anything thrown her way and still always look on the bright side for the reason that she is strong. Furthermore, Miss Maudie shows her

Jem gets in trouble by Mrs. Dubose and is forced to read to her as a consequence; Scout understands her brother’s begrudging behaviour and tries to help by withstanding the punishment with him even though she’s afraid of the old lady, “You don’t have to go with Jem, you know” (Lee 143). Scout understands why Jem was angered by Mrs. Dubose after she insulted their father since she was upset as well and decided to join her brother through his retribution. During the trial, Scout comes to realize how lonely and sad Mayella must be since she has no friends and has not future because of her father’s ways, “...it came to me that Mayella Ewell must have been the loneliest person in the world.” (256). After thinking about how isolated Mayella must be despite having a sizeable family, Scout compares the alcoholic’s daughter to the utmost introverted neighbour, Boo Radley. After an unsafe circumstance, Scout leads Boo to his house after he saving her and her brother; she stands on his porch and recounts the past 3 years from his perspective, “It was summertime, and two children scampered down the sidewalk toward a man approaching in the distance.” (374). She finally completely understands him by being where he has, watching and enjoying the children’s theatricals. Standing where Boo watches his neighbours carry on with their lives was enough for Scout to understand what he was thinking and feeling. Scout Finch grew up learning to be appreciative of other’s and their

you want to grow up like a lady, don't you?'" (Lee 105). The statement is ironic because instead of telling Scout that it is inappropriate to use such words, she is told that if she wants to be a "lady" she should not. Which proves that if Jem were saying such words, aunt Alexandra would not react the same way. Another bias conversation in the book, is when Atticus talks about Tom Robinson and the case. Miss Maudie is a good friend of the Finch's and when Atticus is  questioned about why she is not on the jury helping the innocent man, Atticus replies with '"For one thing Miss Maudie can't serve on jury because she's a woman.'" (Lee 296). At the time women were not treated the same as men, thus men were considered more dominant and powerful than women. By assessing the way Miss Maudie thought of the case, it is clear that sometimes a woman's perspective maybe more neutral than a man's. Women were not allowed to do any jobs that were mostly male directed and this may have put a different opinion in Scout's mind and may have made her feel more vulnerable, and insecure because she was not allowed to follow in her father's footsteps or do activities that her brother would

“Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between.” (Lee 278). When it comes to the topic of flowers, most of us will readily agree that they represent development, growth, beauty and happiness. For instance, Roses are known for signifying love and deep passion while Lotus flowers are known for purity of the heart. Nonetheless, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee utilizes flowers to symbolize the strength and character that women of Maycomb possess.

Also, one day Scout, Jem, and Dill travel into town against their father’s commands, and behind Calpurnia’s back, to watch Tom Robinson’s trial. They thought that going to watch the trial would be interesting and fun. Disobeying her father is an act of immaturity. A mature child would have listened to their father because he knows what is best for his children. In addition, Scout thinks it is okay to be mean to others. Kellman states, “It is all right to run up to the porch of a recluse, as a game; it is all right to rub a poor boy’s nose in the schoolyard dirt; it is all right to make a snowman in the image of a neighbor; and it is all right to make fun of crabby old ladies” (1472). All of these actions are just every day, normal things in Scout’s eyes. Believing that there is nothing wrong with treating others this way, she continues to do these things. One day, she finally realizes that she cannot treat others that way. Realizing this begins to show that she is maturing. After fighting on the playground at school Scout says, “I was far too old and too big for such childish things” (Lee 99). After this, Scout did not fight anymore. If other characters

Scout experiences a coming of age by developing common traits from her role models. These role models such as Atticus and Miss Maudie spread their wisdom and kindness in many different ways. Scout has examined them and reflected on their teachings. She takes the lessons and applies them personally, creating her own values. As she gets older she finds herself going deeper into life. Looking into her morals and experiences before acting out. If it wasn’t for these role models Scout may have never developed into the lovely young lady she becomes at the end of the

Miss Maudie is responsible for affecting the actions and development of other characters. Miss Maudie teaches Jem and Scout how to be courageous and be bold when needing to defend friends and family. She also helps put things going on in perspective and helps them put their father into perspective. After Miss Maudie’s house burns down, Scout asks her if she is sadden at the fact that her house just burned down. Miss Maudie’s response was, “Why, I hated that old cow barn. Thought of settin’ fire to it a hundred times myself, except they’d lock me up”(97). Miss Maudie is not upset at the fact that her house is broken down, she is being strong and courageous. She also teaches Scout how to be brave or bold when needing to defend family and friends. During the meeting of the Ladies Missionary Circle, Miss Merriweather was criticizing Atticus at his own house eating his food. In which Miss Maudie response was, “His food doesn't stick down, does it?”(pg##) Miss Maudie means that you might not like what Atticus is doing, protecting African-Americans, but you have no problem eating his food. Miss Maudie also helps Scout and Jem put their father more into perspective. After the mad dog incident,which was when a dog named Tim was not alright and Atticus shoots him, Jem is astonished at his father’s shooting abilities because at first, he thought his father couldn’t do anything. Miss Maudie tells them, “Atticus Finch was the deadest shot in

Stephanie Crawford is Maycomb’s busybody, and gossip. She sticks her nose in everyone’s business, even Ms. Maudie thinks so, as shown in the quote "That [Radley House rumors] is three-fourth colored folks and one-fourth Stephanie Crawford." (Lee 45). Stephanie isn’t an especially nice-looking woman, which is shown when Scout says " 'He [the Snowman] looks like Stephanie Crawford with her hands on her hips, ' I said. 'Fat in the middle and little-bitty arms. '"( Lee 70). She is a nosy woman, who is probably lonely. This is most likely why she is such a busybody, because it helps her feel closer to

On the first day of school, the 6-year old was busy ‘rubbing his[Walter’s] nose in the dirt’ for his supposed involvement in Scout’s punishment (Chapter 3, Page 30). She might be seen as an extrovert and rough girl in the book, however it is seen that she is a prudent person too. She even made her older brother into a careful risk-taker who often stopped his shenanigans when her (Scout’s) ‘nagging got the better of [him] (Chapter 5, Page 55). She is also strong-headed and will not hear a single word against her family. When Francis called her father a ‘nigger-lover’, she could not control her rage and ‘split her knuckle to the bone on [Francis’] front teeth’ (Chapter 11, Page 112), an action deemed unethical if Atticus was to

Calprina is another mother figure in scout life, she cook’s for the family, and try to show Scout the right from wrong: “It was then that Calpurnia requested my presence in the kitchen. She was furious, and when she was furious Calpurnia’s grammar became erratic. When in tranquility, her grammar was as good as anybody’s in Maycomb. Atticus said Calpurnia had more education than most colored folks. When she squinted down at me the tiny lines around her eyes deepened. “There’s some folks who don’t eat like us,” she whispered fiercely, “but you ain’t called on to contradict ‘em at the table when they don’t. That boy’s yo’ comp’ny and if he wants to eat up the table cloth you let him, you hear?”Calprina(Lee,13) Scout immatureness got the best of her and was rude to Walter Cunningham’s but did not mean it. Calprina tried showing Scout that if people that were raised differently sitting at the same table then you do not be rude to whatever their doing because you would not understand, you are raised differently. Here is an example of Miss Maudie choice to defend Scout in a group full of women: “That Stephanie’s a card,” somebody said. Miss Stephanie was encouraged to pursue the subject: “Don’t you want to grow up to be a lawyer?” Miss Maudie’s hand touched mine and I answered mildly enough, “Nome, just a lady.”Miss Maudie (Lee,122) Like Atticus Scout father she gives advice and listens to.

The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, was published in the year of 1951. The novel follows 16-year-old boy Holden Caulfield after he was kicked out of a preppy private school, Pencey Prep. Holden travels around New York City over a three-day time span in 1948 during the month of December. We get to read about his experiences and his surroundings from his perspective, learning what he learns as the story progresses. Through the book, Salinger touches on the subjects of relationships, professional and sexual, loneliness, and deception, sometimes having Holden tell us upright or having other characters reflect that, mostly the latter because Holden is quite revealing about his sentiments. Holden, the protagonist, as well as antagonist, and

Calpurnia, Miss Maudie, and Aunt Alexandra served as Scout’s female role models throughout the novel. These extraordinary women were highly influential factors in her coming of age. Calpurnia served as a mother,

Scout herself is an outcast and defies what was considered “normal” for girls at the time. She is drawn to like-minded individuals, such as Dill, who refuses to succumb to the pressures his family places on him. Both of them go against gender roles, which was rare at the time. Even the Finches’ neighbors defy the social code, exposing a double standard and rampant hypocrisy. Boo Radley, Miss Maudie, and Mrs. Dubose all possess small qualities that set them apart from the majority of society. Scout also encounters many people during her journey who fit the description of an “outlaw”. Outside the county courthouse, Scout meets Dolphus Raymond, who has “violated the southern code” by living a life free of discrimination, and having mixed children (Johnson 3). Scout deeply relates to all of these people, and is comforted by by their similar experiences being “just in-betweens” who “don’t belong anywhere” (Lee

Harper Lee uses different role models and characters in Jem and Scouts life to show how a child develops their own degree of prejudice, which affects their future thoughts or actions. Aunt Alexandra

In To Kill a Mockingbird, a young girl named Scout has been through a journey that seemed to be never ending. She’s been through some ups and downs with different adventures she goes through with her brother Jem and their friend Dill. Through all these different encounters of society, Scout has learned a lot. Especially when Scout has been growing up drastically and she has started to understand things more. By looking at what Scout has been through,in To Kill A MockingBird, it is evident that everything she has been told about certain situations don’t seem to add up to the truth. But then Scout learns that the truth isn’t just from first looks, but from the situation itself and learns not to jump to judgment when events