Write about one of the adult women who, in your opinion, has an important effect on Scout. Write about:
• How she is presented to the reader
• How she speaks and behaves
• The importance of her effect on Scout
The key words in this questions are one adult woman, important effect and Scout.
Character Information on Calupurnia
• She is the African American woman who cooks for the Finch family.
• Calpurnia is the surrogate mother in the family.
• Calpurna and Scout have a love-hate relationship that eases when Scout finally starts school. Calpurnia is the source of many arguments between Atticus and his sister, Alexandra, because Alexandra wants Atticus to let Cal go, but Atticus insists that she is part of the family and so she remains.
• She is ‘faithful member of the family’.
• Scout talks of “her tyrannical hand” and conscious of her hand being “as wide as a bed slat and twice as hard”
• She teaches Scout to read and write (and gets her in trouble at school)
• She shows strength, firmness and courage
Her importance
Calpurnia teaches the children. Throughout the novel, Scout is torn between two competing philosophies of how a black person should be treated. Scout has many influencing her on how to treat Southerners; Atticus and Aunt Alexandra pull Scout in different directions. Calpurnia teaches Scout many of the same lessons as Atticus. Since Atticus sees Calpurnia as a member of the family, she is allowed to freely scold and lecture Scout if need be. Cal teaches Scout about treating people with respect and taking time to understand others. Scout watched Cal and even sees that being a girl isn't such a bad thing. Cal, despite being black and the Finch's cook, becomes a kind of mother to Scout in many ways.
Calpurnia sees the children as her own. Calpurnia worries about what others think as well. She is fanatical about Jem and Scout’s cleanliness and attire when she takes them to...