Character Relationships (To Kill a Mockingbird)

Miss Maudie and a Calpurnia, are both very similar, and yet different, in several ways.  First of of all, both of these characters are women who openly express their opinions, mainly to Scout.  I feel that both these characters would voice their ideas more to the public, if they had the power freedom, and frankly if they thought that they would actually be listened to.  Whether they're speaking about matters of the Radleys, flowers, manners, or whatever topic, they always have advice or a little something to put in.  Another similarity between Miss Maudie and Cal, is their role in the book when it comes to religion.  Calpurnia took Scout and Jem to an African American church and provided them with a similar, yet different religious experience than what they were used to.  Miss Maudie hosted an extremely symbolic and powerful conversation about religion to different extremities (foot washers).

However, Miss Maudie and Calpurnia have their differences as well.  For example, Calpurnia has more of an affect on Scout as a mother figure when it comes to discipline and manners, such as when Walter Cunningham came over for dinner, whereas Miss Maudie's advice was generally pertaining to life situations or concepts.  In addition to that, Calpurnia's relationship with Scout is more direct and explicit, but Miss Maudie's affect was more passive.

These characters both play an important role in Scout's childhood and process of maturing, as they serve as mother figures.  Both of these important women influence Scout in ways that will alter and guide the sculpting of her character.  Although these two characters aren't the only ones who play as a mother figure to a scout in this book, or attempt to at least, they are probably the most important ones and the ones that influenced her the most.  The changes they made on Scout, or the behaviors they instructed and modeled for her to follow, varied in categories of manners, clothing, respect, and points of views on all kinds of subjects.