Analysis: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Influence: Where does it come from?
Know the importance of influence in
To kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee

Zainab Salman ENG1D1-07 Ms Gulens 2011-01-20

T.K.A.M.B Essay by Zainab Salman
Scout has a lot of people who influence her but from a womanly perspective from miss maudie which is positive, from aunt Alexandra which is negative and calpurnia which is positive. In To kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee 3 characters influence scout the most. The criteria is miss maudie’s influence on scout , aunt Alexandra’s influence on scout and calpurnia’s influence on scout. Miss Maudie is the friendly neighbour who is very different from other women. Firstly she is friendly. “Jem and I always enjoyed the free run in Miss Maudie’s yard if we keep out of her azaleas” (42). In the book no other character did that she also baked for jem and scout. Secondly she is always there for scout “I spent most of the remaining twilights that summer sitting with Miss Maudie Atkinson on her front porch”(42).Scout was being ignored by dill and jem since they were like best friends so she would be around Miss Maudie. Miss Maudie doesn’t talk to scout like she is seven or eight she talks like an adult with scout. “Maybe they stuffed him in the chimney”(43). She is talking to scout about the violent rumours about Boo Radley. Over Miss Maudie is the best friend/neighbour/role model scout can have. Finally she is a great influence on scout.
Scout basically does exactly the opposite of what aunt Alexandra tells her to do. Aunt Alexandra and scout don’t get along. There have been many situations where aunt Alexandra makes a decision scout is against but doesn’t really say anything because she knows she will get in trouble for it. Aunt Alexandra wins all arguments with scout. “As long as your aunt is in the house you will do as she tells you understand?” Scout asks Atticus if she can go to cals house and aunt Alexandra says no and scout talks back. Clearly scout loses the argument. Aunt Alexandra teaches scout to be ladylike which annoys scout. “This was part of her campaign to teach me to be lady”(229). Aunt Alexandra was having her get-togethers and asked scout to join. For that reason Aunt Alexandra is not a good influence on scout. Calpurnia really has a good influence on scout. Firstly Cal teaches scout to respect other. The evidence of this is on (24) is “yo’folks might be better’n the Cunningham’s but it doesn’t count for nothing”. This shows that Cal teaches scout that it doesn’t matter what the social image of anyone is but that doesn’t give you the right to treat them differently. Another thing cal teaches scout about the different societies.”I felt cal’s hand dig my shoulder”. “She was talking like the rest of them” (119). This is when cal takes scout and jem to the church and when scout realized how different the two societies are. Thirdly Cal is like a surrogate mother for jem and scout. “She’s been harder on them in some ways than a mother would have” (137). Aunt Alexandra was insisting that to fire cal then Atticus snapped at her saying that she is going to stay Atticus only argues because she was a good influence on scout and he equally respects everyone. Therefore Calpurnia is a good influence on scout.
There are a lot of people that influenced scout but Miss Maudie, calpurnia and Aunt Alexandra did the most from a womanly perspective. Finally it’s also people like them influenced scout because she is young and naive.

Work Cited

Lee, Harper To kill a Mockingbird. New York: Warner Books 1982

Cited: Lee, Harper To kill a Mockingbird. New York: Warner Books 1982