Cal and Her Community

At the end of chapter twelve, we learn a lot about Calpurnia and the black community she lives in. Cal decides to take Scout and Jem to her church in Maycomb after Atticus leaves and she does not know what to do with them on a Sunday. As soon as Cal presents the idea to the two, they lighten up with happiness, and to our surprise, Cal does as well. This is the first time in the novel that we see Cal brighten up to feel happy and excited about her presence with members of the Finch family. She readily dresses Scout and Jem, being careful to correct their color combination and level of sophistication in their clothing. From this, we can infer that Cal’s community takes much pride in what they have, which we later find out is very little. I believe that dressing with a level of sophistication to formal and informal events is a way that this community shows that they really are proud of what they have both physically and conceptually. As soon as Reverend Sykes began his sermon, he announced to the entire congregation the welcoming of Scout and Jem, and that they were the children of Atticus Finch. The reverend also mentioned to Scout that, “This church has no better friend than your daddy.” He says this because Atticus is defending Tom Robinson in a rape crime, of which Scout and Jem are unsure of which side they feel compelled to be on. Later in his sermon, Reverend Sykes requests a “morning offering”, of which all members of the church are asked to donate pennies, nickels and dimes that will go to Helen Robinson, Tom Robinson’s wife, because she cannot work while her husband is in jail. After collecting less than ten dollars, Reverend Sykes orders the congregation to step up once again to raise ten dollars. “The church was becoming stuffy, and it occurred to me that Revered Sykes intended to sweat the amount due out of his flock.” From this, we can tell that Scout stressed the fact that the congregation was reluctant to donate more. I think this is because they simply did not have any extra money to give besides the money they would keep as a necessity for themselves and their families. Finally, after the congregation adjourns, Scout notices Cal talking to her community in an unusual way. She asks Cal why she is speaking “n----r talk” even though she knows better, and Cal replies by saying that it is not necessary to tell everything you know. Furthermore, she states that when people don’t want to learn how to speak properly, it is not possible to change their mindset, so the best thing to do is to keep your mouth quiet. We know as a reader that Cal is very smart for a black woman in her time period, but her sense of the ability to change a person’s mindset informs us of the extent of her knowledge; to tell what is the right thing to do in any situation. The ethics of Cal’s community rarely affect her when she is working for the Finchs’, but also control the instances in her personal life at the same time.

Tynan