To Kill a Mockingbird chapters 1-5

You need to have read thru chapter five of To Kill a Mockingbird to respond to this topic. If you have NOT read thru chapter five, please do NOT read further (as it will spoil/give away information you haven't read yet).

In chapter five we meet Sister Miss Maudie Atkinson. And she is clearly trying to teach Scout something when she shares ideas like "sometimes the Bible in the hand of one man is worse than a whisky bottle in the hand of [someone like Atticus]" and "some men [are] so busy worrying about the next world, they've never learned to live in this one" (Lee 60).
So here is the question: What is the purpose of Miss Maudie Atkinson? What is her role in the story so far? Why does her character exist? And here's another way to look at it: How would the story change--what would it lose--if Miss Maudie was NOT in the book? (Make sure to link your answer to the "big picture" and the central ideas that this book explores.)

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Permalink Reply by Iridescent 9A on April 6, 2017 at 4:13pm

i kinda disagree with you when you say shes "a guide to them" because that's not her role. She was there for Scout when lonely and needed a friend. She's more like company to her. But like yes she gives lessons along the way but that's not her primary purpose. When Dill and Jem started hanging out without her, she fled to Miss Maudie and she was taken care of and they formed this beautiful and unlikely relationship that would have not happened otherwise. She also brings right to the boo radley contradiction and demonstrates the first signs of normality towards Arthur.

Permalink Reply by Cake 9A on April 7, 2017 at 4:32pm

I think "fled" is a too strong word to use in this matter. Scout didn't flee away because she was in danger from something. I feel like she went to Miss Maudie because Scout felt left out, and Scout knew Miss Maudie before, but the main reason Scout might have spent more time with Miss Maudie is because she was a girl. Jem and Dill made Scout feel left out because she was a girl, that's why Scout spent her remaining time with Miss Mauide.

Permalink Reply by Ambitious Philosopher 9D on April 4, 2017 at 7:45pm

I think that the purpose of Miss Maudie Atkinson is to teach the children that they need to love and enjoy life instead of spending all their time worrying about the next life. To build on this idea more, I think that Atkinson is trying to tell the children that they should not take everything literally and they should not be overly concerned about the next life because that will lead them to be very unhappy in their current life. In chapter 5 of "To Kill a Mockingbird", Atkinson says "There are just some kind of men who---who're so busy worrying about the next world they've never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results."(Lee 45). This evidence shows that Miss Atkinson is implying that the Radleys are living a sad life because they believed that if they did anything that gave them pleasure, then they would be sinners and they would be in hell in their next life. Therefore, Miss Atkinson did not want the children to overthink everything they do, so they will not have to live a miserable life.

Permalink Reply by Timid Math Wiz 9B on April 9, 2017 at 6:29pm

Although you have a good point, i don't think her entire purpose is to teach them to love and enjoy life. That was just one detailed lesson she taught them. if that was her purpose, she wouldn't really be important. while scout was talking to Miss Maudie, she tells her she "the best lady i know" (Lee 45). clearly, Scout feels strongly about her. if her purpose was to teach one lesson, she wouldn't be that important to scout and she wouldn't be a main character.

Permalink Reply by Reader 9A on April 4, 2017 at 8:11pm

I believe the purpose of Miss Maude "Maudie" Atkinson in the novel is to provide a voice of reason and wisdom amongst all the craziness that is Maycomb County, and even in a way expresses some of the author's opinions. Miss Maudie also acts as a motherly figure to Jem and Scout when all they have is their father. She also has many of the positive traits that Atticus does, and despite being white, does not seem to possess the racist traits of most other non-colored folks in Maycomb thus far. If Miss Maudie was not in the book, the children, especially Scout, would be without guidance or motherly support. In Chapter 5, after being excluded by Jem and Dill, Scout turned to Miss Maudie for company and says, " She thrust out her bridgework, a gesture of cordiality that cemented our friendship" (Lee 57). Miss Maudie was someone Scout could turn to when there was nobody else, or if she was just lonely. Miss Maudie was a good influence and genuinely enjoyed Scout's company and cared for her. This can also be proven by the above quote on page 60; Miss Maudie was teaching Scout a lesson on religious extremism and Scout subsequently learned a valuable lesson.

Permalink Reply by Infinite 9A on April 4, 2017 at 8:46pm

I agree with you when you say that Miss Maudie provides a voice of wisdom, but what do you mean when you say she expresses some of the author's opinions?

Permalink Reply by Reader 9A on April 4, 2017 at 9:02pm

Nothing really significant, just snarky or sharp comments directed at people, like when she said, "Stephanie Crawford even told me once she woke up in the middle of the night and found him looking in the window at her. I said what did you do, Stephanie, move over in the bed and make room for him? That shut her up a while" (5.48). It gave me an inkling of Harper Lee's attitude personified vicariously through Miss Maudie.

Or it could be just me.

Permalink Reply by Undecided 9B on April 5, 2017 at 11:33am

Reader Dakhlallah, I disagree with you when you said "....and despite being white, does not seem to possess the racist traits of most other non-colored folks in Maycomb thus far." when describing Miss Atkinson. Miss Atkinson is just as racist as the other folks in Maycomb County. If she wasn't racist she wouldn't consider crazy/imaginative talk "three -fourths colored folks and one fourth Stephanie Crawford." (Lee 60). By her saying that speaking of something weird or imaginative is colored folk talk is racist within itself. She is basically saying that anything that someone tells you that isn't "smart" must be from somebody who isn't white. That's why I disagree with you when you say that Miss Atkinson isn't racist.

Permalink Reply by Reader 9A on April 5, 2017 at 11:40am

When I read that part I didn't see it as anything racist, I thought it more as they were more likely to be uneducated or just were prone to having crazy stories, but I can see what your saying. There really was no concrete evidence of Miss Maudie not being racist, but I just kind of got the feel because of her personality; she just doesn't hit me as racist because of her role in the story, which is a voice of wisdom and reason.

Permalink Reply by Cake 9A on April 5, 2017 at 1:51pm

I agree with Reader Dakhlallah that Miss Maudie isn't racist. Personally i think that Miss Maudie is a unique character who seems like someone that Scout would go to whenever she wants to talk to someone or ask about things. For example Scout asked her about Boo Radley, Miss Maudie used the phrase in chapter 5 of "To Kill A Mockingbird" " That is three-fourths colored folks and one-fourth Stephanie Crawford" (Lee 60) as a way to explain to Scout about their discussion, which is why I personally didn't think of that phrase as Miss Maudie being racist.

Permalink Reply by Iridescent 9A on April 8, 2017 at 9:12am

But you guys are forgetting that she has grown up and lives in an (almost) all white community. So of course she will be racist, of course she will have these biases. She hasn't been exposed to particularly any minority group. Thus, she is bound to be racist because any information she gets about them comes from other people's gossip not experience. Additionally, the whole town seems to be racist, they taunted Atticus for defending a black person in court. Even Miss Dubose, who has lived near Atticus for a long time, goes out of her way to say, "[Atticus] is no better than the niggers and trash he works for," implying that Atticus is wrong for his actions (Lee 135). Also, the town is constantly spewing names at hims like "nigger lover" like there's something bad as to liking a person of color. So how can a person whose grown up their entire life in a racist community be any different?

However, Atticus seems to be almost free of this bias. He also seems unaffected by these comments that are encompassing him and tells his children to keep their head held high and not do anything about it. Deep down, Atticus KNEW that what he was doing is the right thing even if everyone else says he's wrong. When discussing this with Scout he tells her , "They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions," going above the level of the towns folk and even giving Scout great advice along the way. He also doesn't care about what the people are saying because, "it's never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows hoe poor that person is, it doesn't hurt you," (Lee 144-145). This implies that he isn't ashamed by these comments because he "loves everybody" even the blacks. This could also be because he has Calpurina working for him and he was exposed to other colored folks and even trusts her to raise his children. However, it is evident that Atticus is not racist.

Permalink Reply by The Authentic Socializer 9B on April 5, 2017 at 5:17pm

The purpose of Miss Maudie Atkinson is for Maycomb County to have an open-minded individual which would guide most of the people of Maycomb County to the right “path.” Miss Maudie also has a Motherly influence to everyone especially Scout. As Scout gets older, she would need more influence even in the simplest things. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee writes “thing is, foot-washers think women are a sin by definition -they take the Bible literally, you know,” she is telling Scout what she believes which would influence her, because most mothers usually influence their children of what they believe which is what Miss Maudie is doing because she is Motherly to Scout (Lee 59). If Miss Maudie were not to be in the book, then Scout might make bad choices and get influenced by the people around her of Maycomb County. Overall, Miss Maudie is such an important character in the book because she has such a great impact to all the people of Maycomb County and would take her advice into considerate.