Family In To Kill A Mockingbird

The county of Maycomb Created by Harper Lee, while appearing quaint, is bustling with activity. There are three easily recognizable family lines presented in the novel, consisting of the Ewell’s, the Finch’s, and the Cunningham’s. Each family is known for their unique attributes. While some have morals and values that frowned upon, such as the Ewell’s, others like the Cunningham’s are honest people with strong morals. They “never took anything they can’t take back,” for they, “are country folks, farmers, and the crash hit them the hardest” (Lee, pg. 26-27). Scout and Jem befriend Walter, a Cunningham, in their class and invite him over for dinner, to which he hesitantly agrees after much persuasion. In accordance with their family’s morals,

they repaid the Finch’s with things such as “a load of stove wood... a sack of hickory nuts… a crate of smilax and holly… and a crokersack full of turnip greens” (Lee, pg. 26- 27). The description of the Cunningham’s and the way they follow their morals is pertinent to the readers understanding of the novel. Knowing the reasons behind the actions of the different families allows the reader to understand why a character says or does something. Had the reader not known that the Cunningham’s struggled with finances, they would have been confused as to why the family was sending the Finch’s such odd items. Since we know that they are poor people who pay back what they “owe”, we understand that they aren’t able to afford paying them back through money. Instead, they send various items that eventually make up for others generosity. The same thing can be seen with the Ewell’s, a family of filthy, impolite people who live near the dump. Being near definition rednecks, the reader understand the family’s reason for coming to school once a year and horrid public appearance.

Hidden within the lines of To Kill a Mockingbird is a constant message and recurring pattern, not in a particular passage, but throughout the novel.

The mockingbird, a harmless creature that does nothing to hurt anyone, sings songs to bring joy to everyone. Killing one, is an act of cruelty, as the mockingbird does nothing but invoke happiness. In the story the slave, Tom Robinson, devotes his life to serving his master and providing for his own family. He can be seen as a mockingbird, singing his song. Society can be seen as the killer of the mockingbird. In particular, Bob Ewell is the man responsible for wanting to kill the bird as he is the man who claims Robinson raped the young girl. Along with Ewell the other members of the community set out to destroy Robinson with no evidence that the allegations were true. Also, the childlike innocence seen in Scout can be used to associate her with the mockingbird. Having never done anything with evil intentions, Scout sees the world as an equal place because of what her dad taught her. As she matures her eyes open to the meaning behind the cruel words and deeds of society. It finally registers that people aspire to hurt her because she doesn’t conform to society’s norm. She too can be seen as a mockingbird, being destroyed by society. The novel provokes soul searching that causes the reader to examine their own lives and to examine their own role in society. Are they killing mockingbirds themselves? Does the reader live in their own society not paying mind to what effect they have on others? The novel is subtle, but charges the reader to examine their behavior. The novel can also be seen as a challenge to live life as the mocking, bird making sure you do no harm to

others.

When Atticus has a case that requires him to travel to the state capital for an extended period of time, he’s forced to leave the kids at home unable to take them with him. As any good father would do he arranges for an adult to watch the children in his absence. Atticus has Calpurnia, their African American maid and nanny, stay with the children and take care of them. Calpurnia is like a member of their family, having been present in the Finch family before Scout and Jem are born and standing in as their mother figure after the death of their own. With the weekend approaching, the question as to where they should attend church on Sunday is presented. Being a colored woman, Calpurnia is forbidden to attend the white church of which the Finch’s are members. Being a devoted Christian, not attending church is out of the question for Calpurnia. The only is for Jem and Scott to attend the colored church with Calpurnia. She’s criticized by a woman there for bringing white kids to a colored church. Scout’s eyes open as she realizes how oblivious she was to the fact that people of color might have animosity towards white people. Other than the woman, the rest of the church greets the kids with open arms. While attending the service, Scout wonders why the people of the church echo the words of Zeebo, Calpurnia’s eldest son. The reason being that the hymnal he read from was the only one they could afford. Even if they were able to afford more, very few people in the church were capable of reading. This is baffling to her as she was capable of reading her father’s law books at the mere age of four. Scout comes to the realization that the image of equality her dad has instilled in her and taught her to practice was not a reality. While she doesn’t say so, Scout understands now that the black people are not equal, but neglected and misunderstood. What’s not said is society has separated two groups of people and rendered them unequal. Walking down the street it appears that these two groups live harmoniously, but in reality they both go back to “their own corners” after working alongside one another, wanting nothing to do each other. Society masks reality, but Scout realizes that people pretend like everything is okay when in actuality nothing is as it appears.

“He’s nothing but a n*****-lover,” Francis yells at Scout. Infuriated by his remark, Scout lashes out and attempts to beat Francis up. After learning of what Francis said, Atticus educates her as to the meaning behind such words. He explains to her that “n*****-lover is just one of those terms that don’t mean anything—like snot-nose. It’s hard to explain—ignorant, trashy people use it when they think somebody’s favoring Negroes over and above themselves. It’s slipped into usage with some people like ourselves, when they want a common, ugly term to label someone.” Society treats not only the colored people as outsiders, but those who stand alongside them.