Skip to main content

Why is Calpurnia a significant character in To kill a Mockingbird?

Calpurnia is important in the story because she raises the Finch children, and her role in Atticus’s family is an example of an African American treated with respect. 


Since Scout and Jem’s mother is dead, Calpurnia is an important part of the household.  Even though she is African American, Atticus expects the children to treat her with respect. Scout cares for Cal, who has raised her like a mother. 



Our battles were epic and one-sided. Calpurnia always won, mainly because Atticus always took her side. She had been with us ever since Jem was born, and I had felt her tyrannical presence as long as I could remember. (Ch. 1) 



When Alexandra comes, she wants to send Cal away because she is no longer needed.  Alexandra doesn't think it is proper that the children have no white woman in their lives.  Atticus won't hear of it though.  He needs Cal.


As important as Calpurnia is in Scout’s life, she is not in fact an actual member of the family.  This is made clear to Scout when Calpurnia takes them the children to her own church.  Calpurnia is confronted by Lula, who objects to the white children’s presence and Calpurnia’s designation of them as her company. 



“They’s my comp’ny,” said Calpurnia. Again I thought her voice strange: she was talking like the rest of them.


“Yeah, an‘ I reckon you’s comp’ny at the Finch house durin’ the week.” (Ch. 13) 



This incident draws attention to the fact that Calpurnia does not behave like the other African Americans when she is with the Finches, but she does when she is at church.  Calpurnia talks like them, and Scout wonders why.  It is because Calpurnia straddles two worlds.  She is more educated than most of the people at her church.  There are only four who can read, and two of them are Cal and her son Zeebo.  The Finch family taught Cal to read. 


Calpurnia helps the reader understand the lives of African Americans in Maycomb.  She has things better than most, because she is treated well.  However, she is still not equal.  Scout and Jem have never been to her house.  When she sleeps at their house, she sleeps in a cot in the kitchen even though they have a spare bedroom.  As loved and respected as she is, she is still hired help.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

etymology - Origin of the greeting "Sweet dreams".

Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is there a word/phrase for "unperformant"?

As a software engineer, I need to sometimes describe a piece of code as something that lacks performance or was not written with performance in mind. Example: This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. Based on my Google searches, this isn't a real word. What is the correct way to describe this? EDIT My usage of "performance" here is in regard to speed and efficiency. For example, the better the performance of code the faster the application runs. My question and example target the negative definition, which is in reference to preventing inefficient coding practices. Answer This kind of coding style leads to unmaintainable and unperformant code. In my opinion, reads more easily as: This coding style leads to unmaintainable and poorly performing code. The key to well-written documentation and reports lies in ease of understanding. Adding poorly understood words such as performant decreases that ease. In addressing the use of such a poorly ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What are the similarities between the relationships of the characters in The Outsiders and Romeo and Juliet?

At first glance, it might appear as if the characters in  The Outsiders  by S. E. Hinton and  Romeo and Juliet  by William Shakespeare do not have much in common; however, when one isolates the core of the conflicts, it becomes clear that the relationships in both stories are rooted in rivalry and secrecy.  In both  The Outsiders  and  Romeo and Juliet , an overarching theme is rivalry. While   socioeconomic status separates the greasers from the Socs in The Outsiders , last names separates the Montagues from the Capulets, who appear to be relatively equal in terms of socioeconomic status. Due to these rivalries, there are instances of deadly interactions in both stories. In  The Outsiders , Johnny kills Bob (whether his actions were justified or not is debatable). In  Romeo and Juliet , Romeo kills Tybalt and Paris, and Tybalt kills Mercutio. These deaths have profound effects on the main characters. In Ponyboy's case, the Johnny's death and other events in the novel inspire h...
Post a Comment
Read more