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Scouting out Racism

Scouting out Racism Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, focuses on the maturation of a brother and sister in the “tired old town” of Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930s (Lee 3). Maycomb, “a classic southern town full of gossip, tradition and burdened with a legacy of racism,” seems a strange place to stage a drama which encourages equal treatment and non prejudice (Metheny 5). However, the narrators fresh outlook on the sleepy town furnishes the reader with a multitude of viewpoints on civil rights. The traditional Southern racism of Maycomb is looked at through the eyes of our young narrator, Scout Finch. Scouts innocent perspective “compels her to ask questions about why whites treat blacks the way they do” (Astin 24). These questions are “crucial in Scouts search for her own identity” (Burka 70). Scout must come to terms with the racism of her town and how it affects the people in her life. She must find her own position and what role she will play in the whole racial game. A number of people greatly influence Scout. The two major role models in her life, her Aunt Alexandria and her father Atticus, pull Scout in two opposing directions. Through their dealings with Calpurnia, the Finch’s black housekeeper, “both the reader and Scout are able to distinguish what path each individual wants Scout to follow” (Anderson 124). Brought into the Finch household to teach and act as a female role model for young Scout, Aunt Alexandra begins by demonstrating to Scout Calpurnias inferior position. For Aunt Alexandra, Calpurnia will not do as a role model for Scout. Aunt Alexandra from the beginning shows Scout who posses the power. “Put my bag in the front bedroom, Calpurnia,’ was the first thing Aunt Alexandra said(Lee 127).” The first time Aunt Alexandra appears in the novel, we instantly see the lack of respect she has for Calpurnia. Aunt Alexandra does not say “please” or “thank you,” just a simple command forcing Cal into a subservience. Cal has symbolized strength and authority throughout Scouts childhood, by acting as a mother figure in the Finch household. Scout has never seen Cal in such a “low and submissive position” (Astin 58). Calpurnia has established a respected place in the Finch family through years of dedicated service and through the love she has shown the Finch children. Aunt Alexandra senses the family has closeness to Cal, and fears the bond the family has with Cal. Methany has this to say about Maycomb “Any relationship with a black person that goes deeper than employer and employee causes scandal in Maycomb, and Aunt Alexandra fully understands gossip and scandals” (Methany 40). Aunt Alexandra’s attempt to get rid of Cal results from her understanding of the matter. Shortly after her arrival, Aunt Alexandra councils Atticus. And don’t try and get around it. You’ve got to face it sooner or later and it might as well be tonight. We don’t need her now (Lee 157). Aunt Alexandra clearly wants Cal out of the family. Alexandra sees the respect and love that Scout feels towards Cal and fears Scout will learn to love what she considers “trash.” Alexandra regards herself and the rest of the Finches as the royalty of Maycomb and she tries to make Scout understand this notion. Alexandra attempts to teach Scout how to be a Finch “lady,” and if Scout wants to be Finch “lady” she can’t care for and love people who are not Alexandra’s “kind of folks” (Lee 224). The force pulling Scout in the opposite direction dwells in her father, Atticus. “Atticus through both his actions and his words contradicts everything that Alexandra stands for” (Burka 90). Atticus shows Scout how to act without forcing his part as a role model on her, as Aunt Alexandra does. Atticus leads by example, showing the highest respect for everyone in Maycomb, not distinguishing by color or class. His serious defense for Tom Robinson, a black man accused of raping a white woman, proves his high ideals (Anderson 87). Atticus fights a hopeless battle against the racism in the town. Atticus not only shows his non prejudice through the trial of Tom Robinson, but also through his everyday dealings with Calpurnia. Atticus refutes Alexandras attempts to fire Cal. Alexandra, Calpurnia’s not leaving this house until she wants to. You may think otherwise, but I couldn’t have got along without her all these years. She’s a faithful member of this family and you’ll simply have to accept things the way they are (Lee 157). Atticus directly counters Alexandra’s wish to get rid of Cal, showing the high value he puts on Calpurnia. Atticus even goes as far as to say he regards Cal as a “faithful member of the family” which goes against all that Alexandra has tried to teach Scout (Lee 157). Atticus does not openly tell Scout to follow his lead and reject the racism of Aunt Alexandra, but Scout sees all that Calpurnia means to her family and sees how Atticus respects Cal as an equal. Atticuss respect and dependency on Cal forces Scout to question Aunt Alexandra’s low opinion of Calpurnia and of all black people. “Harper Lee uses the small town of Maycomb, Alabama as a forum for different views on civil rights” (Astin 78). On a smaller scale, Lee uses the relationship between Scout, her aunt, her father, and her housekeeper, to show how racism affects everything. “The question of civil rights plays out not only through the trial of Tom Robinson, but also through the everyday interaction between the Finch family and their housekeeper Calpurnia” (Methany 56). In the process of growing up Scout must chose where she fits into the whole racial scheme, and her relationship with her housekeeper plays a crucial part in deciding this. Atticus and Aunt Alexander show her two different ways of acting and Scout follows the one that she considers right. Scout follows the role of her father and this shows through her actions near the end of the novel. Scout sits in the colored balcony and bursts out in tears when Aunt Alexandra says she can not be friends with Walter Cunningham, a schoolmate of Scout’s, because the Cunninghams are “not our kind of folks” (Lee 224). Lee begins the story with the innocent perspective of Scout and ends the story with a Scout that has changed greatly, but a Scout who still retains her non prejudiced thoughts. Bibliography: Lauro 5 Works Cited Anderson, J. "Racism Over Time." New Republic 204.14 (8 Apr. 1991): n. pag. Online. EBSCO. 29 Dec. 1996. Astin, Alexander W. What Does Color Matter?. Washington: Jossey-Bass, 1985. Burka, Lauren P. "Atticus Finch an Angel in Disguise." Black History. URL: http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/lpb/black-history.html (5 Dec. 1994). Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1960 Metheny, N.M., and W. D. Snively.Relationships of Racism in Books. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1967. "Color." Compton's Precyclopedia. 1977 ed., X, 80-91. Mumford, Lewis. The Highway to the Truth. New York: Harcourt Brace and World, 1963. .

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