In chapter 12, we learn that Calpurnia has a different
side of her from working for the Finches. Scout and Jem have never heard Calpurnia
talk like she does in her church. Scout asks Calpurnia why she talks like
colored people and Scout says that it isn’t right to do that. Jem thinks that
she doesn’t have to talk like that and Calpurnia replies, "Suppose
you and Scout talked colored-folks' talk at home it'd be out of place, wouldn't
it? Now what if I talked white-folks' talk at church, and with my neighbors?
They'd think I was puttin' on airs to beat Moses” (Lee 167). From hearing Calpurnia talk differently with
colored people, Scout and Jem realize that she has a different life outside of
their house. Calpurnia also acts differently when she’s with her colored
friend. Scout finds out that Zeebo is Calpurnia’s son. She is teaching him how
to read because Calpurnia learned from Mrs. Buford, who taught her how to read.
From finding out about Calpurnia’s different life, Scout really starts to like
her a lot more and he even wants to go to Calpurnia’s house to find out a lot
more about her.
Why do you think Calpurnia acts and talks differently with her
colored friends and to the Finches?
I think that Calpurnia talks to people differently at the church than how she talks at the Finche's house because that is what they are used to hearing. She talks like she talks in the Finch's house because that is what the Finche's are used to hearing.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Stephen that Calpurnia changes the way she speaks based on who she's talking to. If I were to move to Mexico and speak Spanish to most people, that doesn't mean that I would speak Spanish at home. I would just try to make it easiest for whoever I was speaking to, which is exactly what Calpurnia does. Calpurnia knows it's not right to talk "colored" when she knows how to speak correct English, but I believe that what she does is okay because she knows how to handle it.
ReplyDeleteI think that in Maycomb, white and black are two very separate groups, and crossing the line either way makes everyone extremely uncomfortable. In the case of Atticus defending Tom, the citizens of Maycomb see it as a betrayal of their race, which is no different from Calpurnia. I think that when Cal enters her church she feels as if she has betrayed her people by adapting to a more "white lifestyle." Although this may not be true, she is most likely a victim to the same name calling that Atticus is, and in order to show that she hasn't changed, she assimilates into her surrounds, which is strange to Scout and Jem who have never seen a defining line between Cal and the rest of their family, most likely because of the maternal role she plays in their lives.
ReplyDeleteI think that Culpurnia talks differently with the Finches and her colored friends because she wants to keep everyone happy. She knows that if she talks like she does with the finches to her colored friends they will think she thinks she is better than them because she is educated. "Folks don't like to have somebody know more then they do," (Lee 167). Also, she knows that if she talks like she talks to her colored friends to the Finches they will think she is not educated and will maybe not listen to her as much as they would then if she talks like she is educated.
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