In the beginning of To Kill A Mockingbird, it is quickly learned that Scout, and her family's maid, Calpurnia have always had their differences. Always getting into trouble, Scout blames Calpurnia for being the first to punish her. Up until the middle of chapter three, the relationship between Scout and Calpurnia has been nasty and hostile. "I returned to school and hated Calpurnia steadily..." (33)
Although they do disagree, Calpurnia starts to become more motherly towards Scout after she comes home from her first day of school. "I missed you today, the house got so lonesome 'long about two o'clock I had to turn on the radio." (38) Later, Calpurnia even kisses Scout on top of her head. These drastic changes in their relationship confuse Scout, but happy to not be fighting, she accepts it. Although their relationship has become more civil, Scout doesn't know how to react to the kindness, and still approaches Calpurnia with caution.
I think that Scout has a biased point of view when it comes to Calpurnia since she's not quite used to the caring side of her. It is almost impossible to trust Scout's perspective, since she has such a history with Calpurnia, and she would need to be mature enough to understand Calpurnia's perspective as well. The two would've also had to have maintained a good relationship throughout the years, so Scout couldn't hold any grudges as she does now.
How do you think Scout's relationship with Calpurnia will change as time progresses? Why do you think Calpurnia has had such a sudden change of heart when it comes to how she treats Scout?
The relationship will progress as Scout realizes she starts to think of Calpurnia as a mom more and more. "It was not often she made crackling bread...She knew I loved crackling bread." (38) There we see that Calpurnia bakes a goodie for Scout because she had a bad day. We've all had times where our parents will cook something special for us if we had a bad day.
ReplyDeleteCalpurnia has this "change of heart" because Scout starts school. Calpurnia may guess that since she is so used to playing with Jem, school will be different for her. Calpurnia recognizes that Jem will not hang out with her, so she has to find her own way through first grade.
Looking more carefully, I don't think it's that much of a change of heart. Calpurnia has done many things for Scout that she doesn't realize. Calpurnia taught Scout how to write, pushing her hard. "I seldom pleased her, and she seldom rewarded me." (24) Calpurnia works Scout hard to make her the best she can be. Scout takes this as cruelty, but she is too young to realize what the effect is. Scout, because of Calpurnia, is excelling way beyond what her expectations are in first grade.
What do you think: Does Calpurnia act more as a mother than cook? Does Calpurnia push Scout to hard, or is it right for her to do so?
Calpurnia acts more of a motherly figure than a cook to Scout. She has taught Scout manners and how to write, which a normal cook wouldn't do. "She would set me a writing task by scrawling the alphabet firmly across the top of a tablet, then copying out a chapter of the bible beneath." (24)Calpurnia tries to make Scout give her best effort and rewarding her afterwards.This has definitely succeeded making Scout the most advanced in the class. I also agree with Jeffrey on how Scout is very young, and doesn't realize how the things Calpurnia has taught her would help her in the future. I think Calpurnia is just trying to make sure Scout doesn't make the same mistakes again. Like, on page 32 where she calls Walter Cunningham out for putting too much syrup on his food.(32) So, what do you think: Will Scout finally realize later on as time progresses, that Calpurnia is doing this for her own good?
ReplyDeleteIn response to Leandra's second question, I think that Calpurnia has become more sweet and nice to Scout because Scout has just started school; on page 40 Scout is talking to Atticus about how she doesn't want to go back to school if she can't read. Obviously this is hard for her as her teacher doesn't let her read or write, and while Scout is mad at Calpurnia, Calpurnia is doing what she always has (this time not as subtle), make Scout feel better.
ReplyDeleteNot only is Calpurnia trying to help Scout I think that sometimes when you spend less time with people, you almost become more friendly towards each other. Sometimes when you see somebody everyday and are together all the time, everything they do just gets irritating. "I missed you today, the house got so lonesome 'long about two o'clock I had to turn on the radio." (38) Calpurnia had said. This was such a change of heart from what she was like before. She had probably never said she missed Scout before then! But why all of a sudden? Probably because she was irritated with Scout after constantly being in her presence. When Jem was younger he probably was similar to Scout, maybe Calpurnia and Jem always got on each other's nerves until he started school and their distance created more kindness.
What do you think; Does Calpurnia just want to make Scout feel better, or has their relationship just changed for the better after not seeing each other as much? Will things be like this permanently or just temporarily?