Calpurnia is portayed as an outsider in chapter 12 of To Kill a Mockingbird. Her claim that she ‘doesn’t have a birthday’ shows that she isn’t particularly valued as an individual. The contempt towards her from both the white society, because she’s black, and members of the black community, such as Lula, because she works for Atticus and his children. She wasn’t even acknowledged by her own son. To me, this implies that she is in between two communities and is valued by neither. This generates sympathy for the character.
April 16, 2015 at 8:17 am
Harry,
what you have written is strong and clear (as always).
Target
I think that your prior achievement and your previous posts show that you are capable of more than this.
Try to work in at least two more quotations from this chapter that would strengthen your interpretation of Calpurnia’s character.
Why not compare Calpurnia in church to when we first meet her in the novel? How have Scout’s views on her changed? Why is this?