Calpurnia and Aunt Alexandra’s beliefs are a major cause of conflict throughout To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This conflict is not only between Calpurnia, Atticus Finch's’ housekeeper, and Alexandra, Atticus Finch’s sister and the aunt of his children. Furthermore, their moral differences create conflict between themselves and other characters involved in the plot. However, these two important characters aren’t only different. Calpurnia and Alexandra have many similarities, as well. Calpurnia and Aunt Alexandra have similarities and differences in their moral beliefs, their role in the Finch house, and their character traits.…
Imagine living in a rural town in Alabama back in the early nineteen hundreds; racism runs wild and social injustices occur frequently, unregulated by law enforcement. This is just what The Finch family in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, has to deal with. This is an appealing story about the Finch family and the problems that they face, especially regarding an instance of racial oppression involving a black man and a white lawyer, Atticus Finch. Besides Atticus Finch, other characters in the town of Maycomb such as Boo Radley, and Scout Finch are all known for their courageous and sometimes defying actions throughout the book.…
A theme of this story is that people are not who they seem they are. Calpurnia has two sides to her in this story. One is the way Calpurnia acts at the Finch’s. Calpurnia talks like a normal citizen of Maycomb. Calpurnia also dresses like a normal citizen of Maycomb. But on Sunday’s she suddenly flips a switch. The way Calpurnia acts on the other side of town across the city borders where she goes to church on Sunday’s. Calpurnia talks a lot different than anyone in Maycomb, the colored people at church say things like “I wants to know why you bringin’ white chillun to nigger church”. Calpurnia and the kids that day dressed up a lot different than the way they dress at home or the way they dress when they go to the store. The morning of Sunday when Scout and Jem woke up Calpurnia had them put on these outrageous clean cuts and perfect clothes. Scout said that when she woke up and say all the starch on her…
Calpurnia is the Finch’s housekeeper who is trusted by Atticus and his family. Atticus says I couldn't have got along without her all these years. She's a faithful member of this family, and another thing, the children love her. She acts as a mother figure for Jem and Scout and disciplines them like her own children. Atticus says she imposes stricter discipline…
Calpurnia consistently demonstrates her belief in the importance of perspective as she teaches Jem and Scout of it and interacts between the black and white community of Maycomb County.…
In “To Kill a Mockingbird”, written by Harper Lee in 1960, racial discrimination is shown as a significant theme, as a result of the time and place setting of the novel- where prejudice towards the Negro community was commonly demonstrated. A character who plays a major part in this issue is Calpurnia, the Negro maid of the Finch family household. “Voice” and “place” are two literary features used to explore Calpurnia’s role in emphasising racial discrimination.…
The Finches' black cook. Calpurnia is a stern disciplinarian and the children's bridge between the white world and her own black community.…
Pg. 182-183: Aunt Alexandra is trying to get Calpurnia to leave, but Atticus explains how she is very important to the Finch family.…
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is a coming-of-age story that takes place in the small town of Maycomb, Alabama. Like any southern town of this time period, Maycomb is filled with scandals and other thieveries, prejudice, and gossip spreading news faster than wild fire. Because of this, many characters are considered outcasts just for being different than other members of society. Throughout the book, Lee recreates a world that segregates/divides black and white communities. This corrupt idea of society unjustly influences the lives of many, like Scout, the innocent protagonist. Amongst all of the misinformed citizens of Maycomb, Scout has an influential role model- her father, Atticus- who teaches her, as well as other town members, what it means to be a truly moral person. In her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee shows how Atticus is the moral compass of the town through his honesty, wisdom, beliefs in racial equality, and his teachings.…
To Kill a Mocking Bird is a classic novel about a young lady growing up in the south during the 1930’s. Calpurnia is a character in this novel that represents the theme of “understanding people who are different”. Throughout the novel, Calpurnia teaches Jem and Scout that being different isn’t all that bad. Cal’s lifestyle outside of the Finch family represents how people are different from others. She also helps break the barrier between blacks and whites in the southern town.…
Do you remember my purpose of coming to Atticus’ place? Well, that is not going the way how I expected. Scout has enough of me, and me too. When she lacks discipline and manner, I would remind her to be more lady-like. She rarely listens to me, she sometimes gets mad and all red when I talk to her. I can’t believe how Atticus taught her, I believe it is because of Calpurnia. She is the black maid in the house, she’s a fair lady, but ain’t a very good female influence for Jem and Scout.…
In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird Calpurnia has become the motherly figure in Scout’s life by teaching her lessons, morals and values. Calpurnia taught Scout to write when she was bored on a rainy day “Calpurnia was to blame for this…then copying out a chapter of the bible beneath” (p24). This shows Calpurnia is not just cooking and cleaning; she entertains her and has a special connection with her. Another thing Calpurnia is doing for Scout is teaching her manners and mannerisms “…that boy’s yo’ comp’ny and if he wants to eat up the table cloth you let him, you hear” (p32). Here Calpurnia shows Scout that she needs to be polite when they have company in their home. Calpurnia is more to Scout than a nanny: she is more like a mother to her. “Perhaps Calpurnia sensed that my day had been a grim one… she knew I loved crackling bread” (p38). Cal has a motherly instinct with the Finch children and she knows when something is wrong in their lives just like a mother. Throughout the novel Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird it shows that Calpurnia is a major part of both Jem and Scouts life. She has taught them both so much from how to write to how they should be acting as they mature and if things were any different Jem and Scout probably would have turned out different due to the massive influence that Calpurnia has had on…
The last person that is like a part of the family, is Calpurnia. She is African American and even though the society considers her as a servant for the household, the Finches never treat her like one. I think that Calpurnia is like Scout and Jem’s mother, she acts to be strict but I can see how much she loves them. Once she even offered us lemonade, which was delicious and I appreciated her for it. In my opinion, Calpurnia is a loyal and loving person.…
In To Kill a Mocking Bird there are two characters that are parental figures to Jem and Scout, these parental figures are there Aunt Alexandra and Calpurnia. When Calpurnia is mentioned in the book she is a clear mother like character. Calpurnia is someone Scout naturally looks up to her for examples of how she is obligated to grow up. Scout even comes out and says how Calpurnia has curtain skills she is interested in and learning from Calpurnia. Calpurnia is a character that is present in times that Jem and Scout need her. In the book Scouts home has started to burn down and Calpurnia is automatically there to comfort the Scout and her Brother “Calpurnia’s hands went to our shoulders” (Lee 158). Scout also states how her go to person for…
“Calpurnia was something else again. She was all angles and bones; she was nearsighted; she squinted; her hand was wide as a bed slat and twice as hard.” (Pg 6) This is how Jean Louise “Scout” Finch describes Calpurnia, a black woman who serves as the Finch family cook and maid in Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird.” Although Calpurnia is employed by a high social class family she is still considered to be at the bottom of that social hierarchy because of her African-American descent. The Finches believe Calpurnia to be a valuable part of their family because she is a very hard working individual, she’s very motherly to the Finch children and she is an educated and intellectual black woman.…