Calpurnia
Written by Andrew, Jonathan B., Peter, Anonymous
Did you know there were black maid's working for whites in the 1930s? Well there certainly were, and Calpurnia was one of them. She worked for a lawyer, resident of Maycomb. His name is Atticus Finch, father of Jem Finch and Scout Finch. Calpurnia is a flat character who has strong views and is in conflict with
society.
Calpurnia is a flat character. Her values of life and respect stayed constant. One example is, when Walter Cunningham comes home and pours molasses all over his dinner. She pulled Scout out, into the kitchen, from the diner, and taught her how to respect and be kind towards her guests (24). Another example is when Scout was upset that Atticus had been acting mean towards her because Atticus did not know her side of the story in the fight with her cousin. When this happened Calpurnia was patient and explained the situation to her, and told her to be comprehensive, even though Scout was acting very unpleasant (83). A final example of why Calpurnia was the role of a flat character is the situation is which she took both Scout and Jem to her black community church. Even though one of the women there was being ignorant and unwelcoming to the children, Calpurnia did not lose her values and remained cool and set a good example for Jem and Scout (123).
Calpurnia is a smart black woman who knows what she is doing. One example is when a mad dog was loose on their street Calpurnia called all the neighbors. “Calpurnia’s message had been revived by the neighborhood. Every wood door within our range of vision was closed tight” (94). This shows how she knew to get everyone to close their doors and how the neighbors trusted her word on the subject. She knows when and where to address things in different ways. An example of this is when Jem noticed that instead of speaking normally she was talking like all the black people around her (119). These quotes show how Calpurnia was smart enough to know how to handle situations.
Calpurnia is a fine and loyal maid of the family but her biggest conflict throughout the book is how society views her. One woman, Lula, questioned why she brought the Jem and Scout to a black church. Lula said “You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillum here- they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church, ain’t it, Miss Cal” (119). These quotes show how some blacks viewed white people with hatred and in turn caused conflict with Calpurnia. In Aunt Alexandra’s Missionary Society, “she did not permit Calpurnia to make the delicacies required to sustain the Society through long reports on Rice Christians” (129). This quote shows that though Calpurnia is an excellent cook Aunt Alexandra does not permit her to do anything that might have even a small chance of ruining her reputation. “…you’ve got to do something about her,” (136). This quote shows how Aunt Alexandra wants Calpurnia out of the house even though she is one of the only things that keeps the house running. These quotes show that though Calpurnia is smart and helpful she is still looked down upon by society.
In conclusion, with all the conflicts in which Calpurnia stepped in, she stayed defined as a flat character. When Scout was rude to the little farm boy, when Scout was upset after fighting her cousin, and when Lula was unwelcoming at the church toward the children, she maintained a status of kind, wise, and always setting a good example toward Atticus' children.
society.
Calpurnia is a flat character. Her values of life and respect stayed constant. One example is, when Walter Cunningham comes home and pours molasses all over his dinner. She pulled Scout out, into the kitchen, from the diner, and taught her how to respect and be kind towards her guests (24). Another example is when Scout was upset that Atticus had been acting mean towards her because Atticus did not know her side of the story in the fight with her cousin. When this happened Calpurnia was patient and explained the situation to her, and told her to be comprehensive, even though Scout was acting very unpleasant (83). A final example of why Calpurnia was the role of a flat character is the situation is which she took both Scout and Jem to her black community church. Even though one of the women there was being ignorant and unwelcoming to the children, Calpurnia did not lose her values and remained cool and set a good example for Jem and Scout (123).
Calpurnia is a smart black woman who knows what she is doing. One example is when a mad dog was loose on their street Calpurnia called all the neighbors. “Calpurnia’s message had been revived by the neighborhood. Every wood door within our range of vision was closed tight” (94). This shows how she knew to get everyone to close their doors and how the neighbors trusted her word on the subject. She knows when and where to address things in different ways. An example of this is when Jem noticed that instead of speaking normally she was talking like all the black people around her (119). These quotes show how Calpurnia was smart enough to know how to handle situations.
Calpurnia is a fine and loyal maid of the family but her biggest conflict throughout the book is how society views her. One woman, Lula, questioned why she brought the Jem and Scout to a black church. Lula said “You ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillum here- they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church, ain’t it, Miss Cal” (119). These quotes show how some blacks viewed white people with hatred and in turn caused conflict with Calpurnia. In Aunt Alexandra’s Missionary Society, “she did not permit Calpurnia to make the delicacies required to sustain the Society through long reports on Rice Christians” (129). This quote shows that though Calpurnia is an excellent cook Aunt Alexandra does not permit her to do anything that might have even a small chance of ruining her reputation. “…you’ve got to do something about her,” (136). This quote shows how Aunt Alexandra wants Calpurnia out of the house even though she is one of the only things that keeps the house running. These quotes show that though Calpurnia is smart and helpful she is still looked down upon by society.
In conclusion, with all the conflicts in which Calpurnia stepped in, she stayed defined as a flat character. When Scout was rude to the little farm boy, when Scout was upset after fighting her cousin, and when Lula was unwelcoming at the church toward the children, she maintained a status of kind, wise, and always setting a good example toward Atticus' children.