Calpurnia is the woman we all see as the mother figure at the Finches house. At the beginning of the book the narrator (scout) shows off Calpurnia as a strict but caring woman, who was always there for the kids. As we get to the point of her confrontation with Lula, we learn more about the character. Harper lee uses dialogue to portray Calpurnia with a split personality and also not being prejudiced.…
Some people find it difficult to show their affection for others. Calpurnia, in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, possesses this problem. The black cook loves the Finch children, but she has a hard time expressing that to them. In the beginning of the book, Calpurnia appears oppressive and harsh to the main character, Scout. As the story progresses, however, she reveals her other side. Slowly, Scout comes to realize that Calpurnia is actually protective, mannerly, and above all, an understanding friend.…
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.…
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.…
Innocent people are being targeted for the color of their skin and their social class just like the residents of Maycomb,Alabama during the 1930’s in Harper Lee’s book “To Kill A Mockingbird”. In this book, which is based on a white family and told through the eyes of the youngest child, “Scout Finch”, you learn about her residential city Maycomb, and its many issues with racism and social discrimination. You also learn about Scout's father , Atticus Finch, who is an attorney for a hopeless black man striving for innocence due to being falsely accused of rape. Throughout this essay, you will read about the characters of “To Kill A Mockingbird” and how they mature due to racism and social profiling. Scout changes her racist and social view of Maycomb after her dad talks to her about the various situations and why they happened.…
When Calpurnia takes Jem and Scout to church, some individuals are glad to meet them except one woman named Lula. When Lula decides to approach Cal she questions her about bringing white children to a black church. “You got no business bringin’ white chillun here -- they got their church, we got our’n, it is our church, ain’t it, Miss Cal?”(Lee 158). “It’s the same God, ain’t it?”(Lee 158). This demonstrates that Lula does not approve of the white race coming to places they do not belong to. Calpurnia defends them by reason of her caring for them as she would for her own children. Cal thus far only cares for “her babies” protection seeing that they see her as their only mother…
The people throughout Maycomb see Atticus’s integrity and respect. Miss Maudie explains to scout and Jem how “Atticus Finch is the same behind the doors of his house as he is on the public streets” (Lee 52). Maudie views Atticus as a man with…
the dog, she realizes that the dog is in fact mad, and notifies Mr. Finch of the…
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.…
Books filled with controversy rarely get recognition for shaping people’s lives; however, To Kill a Mockingbird overcomes this stereotype by showing the good in an otherwise not so good community. This community, known as Maycomb, exemplified traditional racial views that southerners held during the 1930’s. Most of the community, and most of Southern America, shared these same racial views, but Atticus Finch’s beliefs differ from those around him. Throughout the book, Atticus stands up for people of all races despite what those around him think. The courage shown by Atticus has greatly impacted all aspects of my life, including my faith, and demonstrates the determination that I wish to possess.…
The Finches went to an all white school with all white friends and in a white neighborhood with a black cook. The Finches were a typical white family, and they looked down on blacks, but back then it was normal, but Atticus Finch was the exception in their family, he was representing a black man in court, by doing this he put his family's life, his life, his job, his career,and everything that was important to him. Their cook was a black lady named Calpurnia, Atticus thought of her as family, but when Aunt Alexandra came to visit, she couldn’t believe the way Atticus treated her, he…
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.…
Characterization: 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. She was always ordering me out of the kitchen, asking me why I couldn’t behave as well as Jem when she knew he was older, and calling me home when I wasn’t ready to come.…
By examining the characters, the reader learns that mistreating or excluding someone can really affect them in many ways physically and mentally. Calpurnia is an African American woman that works as a maid for the Finch’s house. When Aunt Alexandra came to live with them for a while, she told Atticus to fire Calpurnia because she feels like having…
She helps educate Scout on religion as she sees it in the town of Maycomb, explaining she often has regular confrontations with the Baptists, “Foot-washer’s believe anything that is pleasure is a sin. Did you know some of ‘em came out of the woods one Saturday and passed by this place and told me me and my flowers were going to hell” (59). Her perspective is more open-minded without taking religion and what happens in the afterlife too seriously, “There are just some kind of men who—who’re so busy worrying about the next world, they’ve never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the streets and see the results” (60). A negative perspective can be seen through the conflicts between blacks and whites and the segregation of the churches they worship in. Calpurnia tries to break the segregation barrier by bringing white children into a black service, and when told they are not welcome, “you ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillun here—they got their church, we got our’n” (158) she argues, “It’s the same God, ain’t it?” (158). Lee portrays a variety of religious perspectives through warm hearted church goers, judgmental “foot washing” Baptists and those that are somewhere in between. She bases the daily lives of all the different people in Maycomb County on the importance of their religious…