Character Analysis Of Calpurnia In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

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Calpurnia is considered to be an essential asset to the Finch family’s household. Besides being a maid and doing all the cooking, cleaning, and caring of the house, she has many other responsibilities. She acts as a maternal figure and a disciplinarian in the lives of Scout and Jem. When Scout and Jem both leave to go to school, Calpurnia feels their absence and had to turn on the radio to distract herself. Calpurnia has always told Scout what to do and how to behave properly, to the extent that Scout finds it annoying. Scout even states that she “felt her tyrannical presence as long as I could remember” (page 7). Calpurnia is also a teacher, primarily to Scout as she is the youngest sibling. On rainy days, Calpurnia would set writing tasks for Scout to do to keep busy. …show more content…
The reward would be an open-faced sandwich of bread and butter and sugar. However, Calpurnia is seldom impressed and Scout is rarely rewarded. Due to this activity, Scout is pushed to improve her writing abilities and thus is well educated prior to starting first grade. When Walter Cunningham was invited by Jem to have dinner (lunch) with him, Scout, and Atticus, Scout criticizes Walter for covering his food with syrup. Calpurnia then drags Scout into the kitchen to have a word with her. There, Scout learned a very valuable lesson. Calpurnia taught her that she should treat everyone as an equal and that there is no reason to act high and mighty. A person may live better than another, but that is no excuse to disgrace them. Calpurnia plays a very important role in the lives of Scout and Jem. She is not just a maid, but also a mother figure, disciplinarian, and
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