How Is Miss Maudie Different In To Kill A Mockingbird

Scout sees that Miss Maudie does not believe in rumors, and it proves Miss Maudie a very upright person. She also adds later on, “‘No child…that is a sad house. I remember Arthur Radley when he was a boy. He always spoke nicely to me, no matter what folks said he did…’” (61). Scout finds this concept unfathomable, because it contradicts everything she ever heard about Boo Radley. However, because she regards Miss Maudie so highly, Scout begins having a new perspective on things after this point. Even though she still takes parts in various situations when with Jem and Dill attempt communicating with Boo, she thinks more before acting, and participates only so she avoids teasing from Jem rather than with the intention of humiliating Boo. While not participating at all would display greater maturity, the fact that she thinks more before acting and takes more things into consideration shows that Miss Maudie does indeed have an affect on her. It illustrates Scout’s developing character, as she no longer judges Boo Radley, and she learns from Miss Maudie that she should not judge any one, but rather try understanding them before criticizing them.

Maudie is proven to come to the defense of those who cannot or will not defend themselves. This is proven in the subtle way she cares for Scout; besides being very friendly and sweet to the children, going as far as to bake them her famous cake, Miss Maudie will do her best to make Scout feel most comfortable. When Miss Stephanie Crawford teases and embarrasses Scout in front of a group of women, Scout states that Miss Maudie, “...never laughed at me unless I meant to be funny...Miss Maudie’s hand touched mine...closed tightly on mine, and I said nothing. It’s warmth was enough.” (Lee 307, 308). Scout, so embarrassed she becomes mild, finds comfort in Miss Maudie’s simple yet impactful action.

However, the kids are not quick to accepting people most of the time. Without Atticus being there to guide them along the path of righteousness, Jem and Scout would be just like any other kid in Maycomb. When the kids are confused as to why Atticus was trying to do the ethical thing and defend Tom, Miss Maudie has to explain to them that he was making "baby steps in the right direction" (183). When Jem is still absent minded about the ordeal, Miss Maudie says, "I simply want to tell you that there are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father's one of them.' 'Oh,' said Jem. 'Well.' 'Don't you oh well me, sir,' Miss Maudie replied, recognizing Jem's fatalistic noises, 'you are not old enough to appreciate what I said'" (183). The kids are impetuous to judge people, like Boo Radley, and Atticus has to stand up for him against the children. Even if Scout and Jem do a good deed of exemplifying equality, they are following by Atticus' admirable example since he is their father and they live under his influence.

Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird occurs during the Great Depression. Despite the setting taking place fifty years after slavery had officially ended, Maycomb County is depicted as an immensely segregated and prejudiced town. As a result, many of the townspeople assume the characteristics of other residents through town gossip and rumors. Because having a strong opinion on controversial issues in the town could lead to cruel consequences, many of the residents’ opinions and ideas are greatly influenced by others. The fear of being judged and rejected from society causes many of Maycomb County’s people to conceal the truth about the false gossip which hoodwinks the others into misinterpreting and believing the gossip. Miss Maudie Atkinson, a young widow, is one of the few characters in the novel that displays her own individuality and protests against what she does not believe to be true. Miss Maudie's positive trait of bravery makes her an asset to the Maycomb community because through her distinctiveness, she becomes a role model for individuals such as Scout Finch.

What lessons do Jem and Scout learn about courage from Miss Maudie's house fire? In the words of Miss Maudie, "People are more important than things." Miss Maudie makes it clear to Jem and Scout, even though most of her possessions are probably burnt or destroyed, she still stands tall and unmoved because she's alive. Miss Maudie said: "Always wanted a smaller house, Jem Finch. Gives me more yard. Just think, I'll have more room for my azaleas now!" This lesson was meant to teach Scout and Jem to look on the bright side of things and to be brave even in the face of adversity.

I think that Miss Maudie is trying to teach Scout a lesson by telling her not to judge people when you do know the truth and have not been in their position. Scout might be too young to understand what might be happening. I also think that Boo (Arthur) might stay inside his house simply because he wants to. Mr. Radely is a strong Baptist and he can take the Bible too literal.The Bible also influenced the way he treated and raised his son. He kept Boo (Arthur) inside his house as an extreme form of punishment for his youthful pranks.

I agree that Miss Maudie is a good role model for Jem and Scout,to begin with, Miss Maudie helps the children get a better perspective of their father Atticus. In the beginning of the story we learn that Jem and Scout don’t quite know everything about Atticus and who he truly is. In chapter 5 while discussing the Radley’s and integrity Miss Maudie says to Scout;“Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the streets”(46) Miss Maudie in the quote is explaining to Scout that Atticus is honest and not misleading, he treats people the same way he does at home to his family, neighbors and maycomb towns people.

Scout and Jem are woken at night to a horrible scene in the neighborhood, “The men of Maycomb, in all degrees of dress and un-dress, took furniture from Miss Maudie’s house to a yard across the street. I saw Atticus carrying Miss Maudie’s heavy oak rocking chair, and thought it sensible of him to save what she valued most.”(Lee, 92-93) During the middle of the night, Miss Maudie’s house gets caught on fire. Everyone in Maycomb come together to save her furniture and valued items from getting destroyed. They stop the fire from spreading by using teamwork. In this tough time, people in Maycomb come together to solve the

Throughout their lives, Calpurnia constantly influences Jem’s and Scout’s learning; Calpurnia becomes the mother of the household, teaching rights and wrongs while being caring and

1. Scout admires Miss Maudie because she is nice to all of the children and treats them with respect, even though they are just kids. 2. Atticus says that the main reason he defends Tom Robinson is because he wouldn’t be representing the country in legislature.

This quote from To Kill a Mockingbird is pointing out that Miss Maudie thinks that everything happens for a reason. Miss Maudie thinks that Atticus is truly the only person in Maycomb that is fit for the job of defending Tom Robinson. I think that the quote “Atticus Finch won’t win, he can’t win, but he’s the only man in these parts who can keep a jury out so long in a case like that” (Lee 246) is saying that even though there is no way that Atticus will win this trial, only he would be able to make the Jury think about what was right and their decisions longer. This means that Atticus was put in this spot for a specific purpose, the purpose is to begin to change the views on blacks, even if nothing is happening yet. In

Miss maudie had a talent for baking cakes. Every time she made a big cake she would always make three little ones for Jem, Scout, and Dill. She did this to show her love, respect, and kindness towards the kids. Later on she would make a larger cake to show how they have grown up. This is significant towards scout because it showed the relationship both Miss Maudie and Scout had and how much she loved Miss Maudie.

Additionally, these women teach Jem and Scout perseverance and how any challenge can be overcome with effort, essentially helping them deal with the trauma of the lost Tom Robinson case. For example, after Jem read to Mrs. DuBose for the first time, he described her as “so nasty. She has fits or somethin’. She spits a lot” (143). Mrs. DuBose is a sick old lady.

The owner of this quote belongs to Miss Maudie, a neighbor of the Finch’s. The phrase is brought up between her and Scout in a conversation about the Radley’s and their private lifestyle. In this scene, Miss Maudie sheds her wisdom onto little Scout although Scout may never know that she is. She’s comparing Atticus and Nathan Radley to other men she’s encountered during her time being. What Miss Maudie’s point is that even if Atticus drank until he was drunk, he would still continue to be the wise, intelligent individual he is. Other men would most likely just become these obnoxious beings when they drink. The ones who go from alright to worse. Atticus isn’t like that. He stays the same. Even if he did get drunk, he’d still be able to not only

For The first time in all these years that I have lived here I finally saw snow in Maycomb. We all experiences our first winter of Maycomb since 1885. Sitting in my rocking chair in front of my front window I watch as Jem and Scout take snow from my yard to their own yard.Since there wasn’t a lot of snow it looked like they built a small figure out of snow with snow covering it. Seems as though they made it look like Mr. Avery, who is an unpleasant man who lives down the street. It seems as though Atticus doesn’t like that they made it look like Mr. Avery so he told them to disguise it. So, jem takes my sunhat and puts it on it’s head and sticks her hedge clippers in it hands, much to their dislike.