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Calpurnia In To Kill A Mockingbird

Decent Essays

To begin with, I am characterizing Atticus Finch’s courageous and caring behaviors. First, Atticus is choosing to defend this black man named Tom Robinson, which shows that Atticus is courageous. Any lawyer in Maycomb would not even consider helping a black person in court, but Atticus does. That shows that he is mentally separated from everybody else in Maycomb because he is choosing to help a black man. In that time period, it was rare for a white person to help a black person. Atticus knows that he has no chance to prove that Tom is not guilty, but he helps him because he is courageous. His choices to help a black man in a time of racism shows that he is courageous. It is also important because it shows that Atticus is separated socially …show more content…

First, Calpurnia is relevant to the Finch family. In chapter three she says, “but you ain’t called on to contradict ‘em at the table when they don’t” (Lee 32). That comment confirms that Calpurnia is trying to teach Scout manners and to be polite to their guests. That is important because it shows how Calpurnia is relevant to the Finch family, if she would not have said anything, Walter would have thought that Scout was even more rude than he already did. To illustrate my point, Aunt Alexandra is not a better mother than Calpurnia because she does not teach the kids manners, she just tells them what they are doing wrong in a mean way. Next, Calpurnia does not stress out the Finch family, while Alexandra is best at stressing their family out without even trying. She stressed out the family when she declared her opinion about Calpurnia, “we don’t need her now”(Lee 182). Therefore, Aunt Alexandra and the Finch family are mentally separated, an example of them being mentally separated is that Alexandra thinks Atticus does not need Calpurnia anymore because she is there. The Finch family thinks that they need Calpurnia more than ever in this time of hardship. What Aunt Alexandra said that about Calpurnia caused a great amount of stress and fighting within the Finch family. All that stress that Aunt Alexandra causes proves that she is not a better mom than Calpurnia. Finally, Calpurnia is a better mother then Aunt Alexandra because she is strict. Aunt Alexandra cares way more about appearances and she still is strict in a different way. In chapter fourteen, Atticus says, “ If anything, she’s been harder on them in some ways than a mother would have been... she’s never let them get away with anything” (Lee 183). Her actions display the importance of her strictness with the kids, but only because she wants the best that she can provide for them. Aunt Alexandra on the other hand is

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