Scout and Jem benefited from Calpurnia's care in many different ways. She made up for the lack of a mother in the family and taught the children basic manners (example: when Walter Cunningham came over to their house and Scout teased him about how he ate his dinner, Calpurnia says "Don't matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house, they are company and don't let me catch you remarking on their ways like you were so high and mighty").
I believe that the most important lesson that Calpurnia teaches the children is the equality of everyone. Since racism was at a peak in the 1930's, society was telling the children the complete opposite of what their father's beliefs were. Calpurnia (being black) was the perfect example of how the black people were absolutely no different then the white people. Her playing the motherly role defined this and shined the light on their father's support of Tom Robinson.
Copyright © 2026 eLLeNow.com All Rights Reserved.