On page 158, Jem and Scout almost leave the church because of Lula. Why do you think Harper Lee added Lula to the story? How is this foreshadowing? When Calpurnia replays to Lula’s comment by saying “It’s the same God isn't it” What does that tell you about Calpurnia?
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
How does Harper Lee further characterize Calpurnia in chapter 12? What does Harper Lee tell us about her?
Jem and Scout both accompany Calpurnia to a black church on Sunday. The black church is different from the white church, it has no hymn books and the people who attend the church have personalities and qualities that are not what Jem and Scout are used to. When Calpurnia starts to change her way of talking as church goes on, it surprises the children. It surprises Jem and Scout because they have known her for so long, yet she has never revealed her true talk. Jem points this out, showing that along with Scout, he does not yet know the extreme difference between these two groups and how they are told to act. The two races of Maycomb are unalike, one with extreme privileges and one with almost none. Jem and Scout start to realize this after learning about Calpurnia's non-existent birthday and also no school for her son, Zeebo, to learn in. “There wasn’t a school, even when he was a boy. I made him learn, though” (Page 166). Both Jem and Scout have grown up in good neighborhood; everyone knows how to read and write, "talk the right way" and have never really experienced the black side of Maycomb. Harper Lee uses this chapter to show their major step in maturity and foreshadowing the effects of the Tom Robinson trial.
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In response to what you said, I think that "The two races of Maycomb are unalike, one with extreme privileges and one with almost none" is true everywhere and not in just Maycomb.
ReplyDeleteNow to answer some of your questions, I think that Harper Lee added Lula to show the tension between the two races. By adding the tensions between the blacks and whites in Maycomb it adds to the tension in Tom Robinson's case.
When Calpurnia says "It's the same God isn't it" Harper Lee adds courage and authority to Calpurnia. Harper Lee also built some of this courage up when Calpurnia went across the street to the Radley's when the mad dog was on the street.
How did Harper Lee add to the setting of Maycomb by having Calpurnia take the kids to church?
Harper Lee added Lula into the book to show that there are some black people who don't like white people, especially when they are interfering with their lives and not just employing them. Calpurnia, on the other hand, thinks of the Finch's as family. When asked by Lula what they are doing at church Calpurnia responds "They's my comp'ny" and Lula replies to that by saying "Yeah, an' I reckon you's comp'ny at the Finch house durin' the week. (Lee, 158)" Company is a way of saying a friend that I am bringing, but what Lula says is telling Calpurnia that the family is not her friends, just a way of making money.
ReplyDeletehttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/company?s=t
What does Company mean? What did Lula mean by "are you company at the Finch house?" How would you react in a situation like this?
I think that Harper Lee added in Lula as a representation of the black people who are racist against whites as contrast to the whites who are racist against blacks. She is introducing a new type of person to Jem and Scout who had not yet seen a hostile black person. She also exposes the kids to a new way of being treated, because until then they had been treated with respect, at least to some extent, by all the blacks they had met. Until then they had only been disrespected by a couple whites, but only now are they encountering something akin to racism towards THEM. Lula gives the bigger picture of the blacks. Because of her different view, Lula adds more depth to the black community.
ReplyDeleteI do not really see this as foreshadowing, but if it is, it is probably showing how the Finch children might react or sympathize with someone who is being cornered, or feeling threatened.
As for what it tells about Calpurnia, well it just says that she is more optimistic; she sees the similarities and not the differences.
Now to answer your question, Danny, I think it added to the setting of Maycomb by showing the two seperate worlds of white and black. While the activity is the same (going to church), the customs are wildly different. It made the black people seem more human.
I think Harper Lee added Lula into the book because it shows that there are always going to be people that contradict your actions and what you think. This relates to Atticus's trial, which is another reason I think Harper Lee put this Lula and Calpurnia moment at this point of the novel. Atticus thinks defending Tom Robinson is right, but there are many people who disagree and disgrace and insult the Finch family because of Atticus defending a black man.
ReplyDeleteBy having Calpurnia take the kids to church, it added the feeling of separation of race. When Calpurnia was encountered by Lula, Lula says, "I wants to know why you bringin' white chillun to nigger church" (Lee, 158). This quote shows that Lula doesn't like Calpurnia bringing white people to a black church; Lula thinks white people should go to the church for white people. As you can see the feeling of separation between black and white people exists in Maycomb.
Does Calpurnia taking Jem and Scout to church have to do anything with Atticus's trial that's coming up? Does Calpurnia's standing up to Eula change your view on Calpurnia?
Responding to Haley’s comment, “the two races of Maycomb are unalike, one with extreme privileges and one with almost none” has left me with mixed feelings. In general, during this time period, Caucasian people had more rights than black folks. We also have to remember that Maycomb, overall, is a pretty quiet, poor town. Although white individuals had more freedom than black people, it’s not right to say that the white people in Maycomb had an excessive amount of privileges, because of their financial limits. This statement is accurate but there are small details you have to consider when answering this question.
ReplyDeleteBack to Haley’s questions, Lula was an important member of this scene for a few reasons. By adding Lula to the story, Harper Lee is giving us an example of how some black people might think and act towards whites. Lula believed that black folks should have their own church, leaving the white people with theirs. This action in the story is also foreshadowing for the upcoming scene with the trial. It is showing that later during the trial, people in the courtroom will have different opinions on the case. Some might take it more seriously and clearly state their point of view, similar to what Lula did, and others will remain quiet.
At the black church, Lula was the only one who voiced her opinion about Scout and Jem being at the church… do you think there were other black individuals within the church who felt the same way as Lula but didn’t have the courage to act upon it?
In the dictionary definition company means the fact or condition of being with another or others, in a way that provided friendship and enjoyment. When Calpurnia told Lula Calpurnia was trying to say, the kids are here because I want them to be here-they/re my friends. However when Lula retorts 's, she is using the same definition of company…excluding the last part about friendship. Lula implies that at the Finch residence Calpurnia is the Finches “company” because she works there. In her retort Lula also implies that the kids are only Calpurnia’s “company” because it is her job to tend to the children. The rest of the people in church are welcoming to the Finch kids, saying that they respect their daddy and it is a pleasure to meet them. Harper Lee added the character of Lula to show that although the majority of the black communities appreciate Atticus's efforts some will not. There will be a odd handful of unappreciative people because their own prejudices blind them from seeing that Atticus is protecting Tom Robinson out of the goodness in his heart.
ReplyDeleteQuestions: When Scout and Jem see Atticus shoot the mad dog, they saw a new dimension to their father. How did seeing Calpurnia at church add to their understanding of her? What side did the Finch kids see of Calpurnia, that they might not normally see? How and why does Calpurnia juggle "two lives"?
There are many reasons why Harper Lee could have added Lula into the story. One reason could be that she is an example of how differently the black community interacted between themselves and with the white community during the 1930s. You see this when Lula tells Calpurnia she “ain’t got no business bringin’ white chillum here – they got their church, we got our’n. It is our church, ain’t it, miss Cal?” (pg 119). Also, when Lula is first introduced to the story, Scout and Jem notice a difference in the tone of Calpurnia’s voice and Scout thought she “was talking like the rest of them.” (pg 119). I think Lulu’s character foreshadows the Tom Robinson trial by showing the black community’s distrust of the white community.
ReplyDeleteResponding to Margaret, Jem and Scout saw bravery inside of Calpernia for the first time. Of course, Scout also noticed the change in her voice, which was because she feels it's "...not necessary to tell all you know...they've got to want to learn themselves, and when they don't want to learn there's nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their languages." (167) The bravery, though, came from when she stood up to Lulu before entering the church. Scout mentioned that she had never seen Cal act like that. The Finch's have only seen a nice and peaceful side to Cal that I expect that Scout in particular had never thought about how she acted outside of their household. However, in the end, seeing the new side to Cal made the kids open up to her, as they asked if they could come and visit her sometime. Harper Lee wrote this chapter to symbolize the growing relationship between Jem and Scout and Calpernia.
ReplyDelete