In Harper Lee's coming-of-age novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, a number of citizens in the town of Maycomb are forced to live double lives. In order to fit in to the social norms of the town of Maycomb, they must hide their true selves and conform to ways that are not their own in order to be accepted. Calpurnia, the hired help in the Finch home, is an educated black woman. However, she tends to mask her intelligence within the Negro community. The next character is Mr. Dolphus Raymond. Mr. Raymond is a white male who associates with black folk, and in doing so he portrays a false sense of who he is to the white community. Similarly, Mayella Ewell, a young girl defaultly given the role of mother in her home, longs for companionship. Unfortunately,
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Jem and Scout are shocked to hear Calpurnia speak in what they they call "nigger-talk". Calpurnia explains, "folks don't like to have somebody around knowin' more than they do". Her last bit of wisdom is "and when they don't want to learn there's nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language" (Lee 167). This line proves that she has given up on trying to express herself. She claims that there is nothing she can do. Nothing is a strong word, and it means not anything, no single thing. Calpurnia was blessed with the gift of education, but due to the hostility her community portrays towards people who know more than they do, she can not share that gift. She has a very consulting nature, and does not hesitate to help and teach others. Yet, she keeps her head down and blends in to the crowd, in order to be accepted by others. All in all, Calpurnia is one of many clear examples of social …show more content…
Raymond, Mayella Violet Ewell too suffers to find her footing in Maycomb. The Ewells are considered the lowest white family in the town of Maycomb. Replacing her dead mother, Mayella is isolated from the rest of town and lives next to the town dump. She may be white, but fellow white folk refuse to accept her due to the quality of life she has no choice but to live in. But she can not converse with Negroes, because of their contrast in skin. Tom Robinson is one of the only people who had shown her kindness, and as he begins to help her more and more, an idea of an affair with him begins to grow in her mind. This leads her to begin to make small advances towards Robinson, and they start to parcel out meager amounts of power within her. However, in her attempt of seeking a companion, her pursuits result in the cost of an innocent man's life. In the book the Ewells take Thomas Robinson, their negroe neighbor to trial. In Mayella's testimony she proclaims that Robinson "chunked [her] on the floor an' choked [her]'n took advantage of [her]" (241). Robinson counters her testimony by claiming that she "jumped on [him]" (259). He provides more detail about the day and testifies that "she hugged [him] round the waist" and then proceeded to "[reach] up an kissed [him] 'side of th' face" (260). It is revealed that all she craved was a feeling of want from another human being. No white man would think of taking her for a wife, and it would be extremely
Jem and Scout are shocked to hear Calpurnia speak in what they they call "nigger-talk". Calpurnia explains, "folks don't like to have somebody around knowin' more than they do". Her last bit of wisdom is "and when they don't want to learn there's nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language" (Lee 167). This line proves that she has given up on trying to express herself. She claims that there is nothing she can do. Nothing is a strong word, and it means not anything, no single thing. Calpurnia was blessed with the gift of education, but due to the hostility her community portrays towards people who know more than they do, she can not share that gift. She has a very consulting nature, and does not hesitate to help and teach others. Yet, she keeps her head down and blends in to the crowd, in order to be accepted by others. All in all, Calpurnia is one of many clear examples of social …show more content…
Raymond, Mayella Violet Ewell too suffers to find her footing in Maycomb. The Ewells are considered the lowest white family in the town of Maycomb. Replacing her dead mother, Mayella is isolated from the rest of town and lives next to the town dump. She may be white, but fellow white folk refuse to accept her due to the quality of life she has no choice but to live in. But she can not converse with Negroes, because of their contrast in skin. Tom Robinson is one of the only people who had shown her kindness, and as he begins to help her more and more, an idea of an affair with him begins to grow in her mind. This leads her to begin to make small advances towards Robinson, and they start to parcel out meager amounts of power within her. However, in her attempt of seeking a companion, her pursuits result in the cost of an innocent man's life. In the book the Ewells take Thomas Robinson, their negroe neighbor to trial. In Mayella's testimony she proclaims that Robinson "chunked [her] on the floor an' choked [her]'n took advantage of [her]" (241). Robinson counters her testimony by claiming that she "jumped on [him]" (259). He provides more detail about the day and testifies that "she hugged [him] round the waist" and then proceeded to "[reach] up an kissed [him] 'side of th' face" (260). It is revealed that all she craved was a feeling of want from another human being. No white man would think of taking her for a wife, and it would be extremely