Topic 8: Examine and analyze the character Miss Maudie Atkinson.

Topic 8: Examine and analyze the character Miss Maudie Atkinson. What is her purpose in the novel—why does she exist? How would the story be different without her?

Tags: TKaMB

0 members like this

Replies are closed for this discussion.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Star Who? 9D on May 7, 2017 at 7:25pm

The Wind 9A, I totally disagree with your reasoning that she's there to show the children "the brighter side of everything".Her overall purpose is not to show the brighter side of things but to be a guide like a compass to help them learn about life itself and to help them with difficulties that they have.She is still another important mother figure for the children too because she does everything that a mother does on a daily basis too.In the book "To Kill a Mockingbird", Miss Maudie Atkinson tells Scout Finch,"Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up peoples gardens, don't nest in corn cribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why its a sin to kill a mockingbird." (Lee 90).She is a compass to Jem and Scout because she tells them real life examples that they need to be aware of like a mother does, she tells them what to do and what not to do, so they can be safe at all times.I've realized that Miss Maudie says alot of important qoutes to the children so she is a wise person and Atticus trusts her to give advice and help to the children.I feel like Miss Maudie is not a person who only shows the brighter side of things, but a lady who helps the kids with life and helps guide them in the right direction like a mother would do.

Permalink Reply by Star Who? 9D on May 1, 2017 at 6:38pm

Miss Maudie Atkinson's purpose in the novel "To Kill a Mocking Bird", is to be a mother figure and influence for the children. She is also wise and mature because she provides guidance so that Jem and Scout can be successful in knowing there community and lives. Miss Maudie helps the children to be mature and have a better understanding of life. She is a caring and respectful person to the children because she invites them over to eat delicious foods. To further illuminate this idea, in chapter five of TKAMB, Miss Maudie states "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" she's teaching Scout to care about the people around her and not worry about religion because she's still a kid and needs to experience the world and not focus on something that is still far to come. This goes to show that she gives the children real life lessons so they could be prepared for it in the future. In chapter 22, Miss Maudie tells the children "I've got got all the morning to pass on the porch, Jem Finch, I called to find out if you and your colleagues can eat some cake. Got up at five so you better say yes." Miss Maudie's character is so sweet and she really does act as a mother to them she wakes up in the morning to make them cake and muffins,(how awesome is that!!!). She enjoys having them over everyday because she sees them as family and they do back.If Miss Maudie wasn't included as a character in the book TKAMB it would have an immediate affect on the children and community because no one would see the difference of each other and they wouldn't get to the point where she can teach Jem and Scout life lessons and guiding them in the right way because she is wise and loves to interact with the community.Miss Maudie Atkinson is a character of a mother figure, a guide towards children, a helpful and intelligent lady. Miss Maudie's character can be defined as a lot of helpful things towards people and the community.

Permalink Reply by Dr. Exuberance 9B on May 7, 2017 at 9:43am

Star Who, although miss Maudie shows many motherly characteristics, she lacks some important ones that keep her from truly being a motherly figure to them. she provides the care and affection of a mother, and also shares her wisdom with the kids, but she isn't strict like a mother is. Miss Maudie never really tells Jem and scout no to something. she is really just someone that they can look up to and take advice from. in comparison to somebody like calpurnia, Miss Maudie really isn't a real motherly figure.in fact, the closest she has gotten is probably when she says, " I called to find out if you and your colleagues can eat some cake. Got up at five so you better say yes" (Lee 214). when she says this, she has a slight commanding tone saying they have to come in and eat cake. But then there are people like calpurnia who actually say no to things jem and scout do and scold them when they do something wrong.all in all star who, Miss maudie is'nt a mother, but just a really really good person who is really nice to jem and scout.

Permalink Reply by Athletically Lazy 9B on May 7, 2017 at 12:18pm

I very strongly agree with you on the purpose of Miss Maudie. She is a very important factor in the story. She is always there for the kids and always helping them understand things that they might not understand because they are to small. Miss Maudie is never making fun of the kids or ever mean to them. She is the exact opposite of that. To show you that she always is caring to the kids and always gives them stuff, in chapter 22 Miss Maudie tells this to the kids,"Jem Finch, I called to find out if you and your colleagues can eat some cake,"(Lee 287). This shows us how Miss Maudie cares about the kids but giving the cake. She never gets mad and no matter what happens she will be there for the kids helping them out and giving them stuff. Miss Maudie gives them food just like any mother would do. So that's why I agree with you on how Miss Maudie's purpose in the story is to be a mother figure and an influence for the children.

Permalink Reply by Peace Maker 9A on May 7, 2017 at 4:30pm

I agree with you that Miss.Maudie is always caring and gives the kids stuff as a mother would. As Harper Lee the author of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird writes "Our tacit treaty with Miss Maudie was that we could play on her lawn, eat her scuppernongs if we didn't jump on the arbor, and explore her vast backyard, terms so generous we seldom spoke to her, so careful were we to preserve the delicate balance of our relationship"(Lee pg 42). What this shows is that she basically doesn't care what they do in her backyard unless they ruin something. This is why I agree with you that Miss.Maudie is a caring and a motherly figure to the kids.

Permalink Reply by Athletically Lazy 9B on May 1, 2017 at 6:50pm

Miss Maudie Atkinson's purpose in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird is to help the kids understand and give them another motherly figure. She is always helping Jem and Scout-mostly Scout- understand cause she is small and doesn't really understand. If she wasn't there the kids would have been so lost and confused because Atticus is always busy. She is always there for the kids and when they asked her something she would answer them just like a mother would. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Miss Maudie lives in Maycomb and is one of the Finches neighbors. She and scout were together and scout was talking to her. "Miss Maudie and I would sit silently talking to her on her porch,watching flights of martins sweep low over the neighborhood and disappearing behind the school. 'Miss Maudie,' I said one evening. 'Do you think Boo is still alive'(Lee 57). First of all, Miss Maudie sitting with Scout on her porch almost every evening just like a mother would do. Second of all, Miss Maudie is helping Scout understand when she asks her about Boo Radley. And lastly, when Scout asks her questions about Maycomb she always answers her just like she is doing right now just like a mother would. Without Miss Maudie the kids wouldn't get through life and she is an essential part in the kids life and has an amazing purpose in the novel.

Permalink Reply by Star Who? 9D on May 7, 2017 at 7:52pm

I absolutely agree with your reasoning Athletically Lazy 9B, she is another mother figure to the children.She actually cares to help them, she invites them to her house to eat food, she loves to be a guide for Scout and Jem to help them improve in life like a mother does.She gives them alot of great examples and advice because they are still young and don't know as much as older people do.She's preparing them for the real world and loves to talk to them.Miss Maudie is always there for them when she's in need, she helps the children understand Maycomb and it's people, they both consider each other family.To further illuminate this idea, Miss Maudie asks Scout " I called to find out if you and your colleagues can eat some cake. Got up at five so you better say yes" (Lee 214).She does what a mother does she asks Scout if her, Jem and Dill can come over to eat a delicious slice of cake. She does all this so the kids can enjoy having a motherly type lady next to them at all times, helping them with anything that they don't understand because they are still young.Athletically Lazy I agree with you saying that she is a motherly figure for the kids.

Permalink Reply by Dr. Exuberance 9B on May 1, 2017 at 6:58pm

the purpose of miss Maudie Atkinson in the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper lee is to be somebody that Jem and Scout can look up to and is always there for them (she is like a member of the family to them). The kids (Jem and scout) are very comfortable around Miss Maudie and she supports them multiple times throughout the story. To the kids, she is family, she even bakes them cakes and is always available for their needs. She also helps the kids understand the community, its conditions, and its people. One examples of Miss Maudie teaching the kids about the community (specifically on Atticus) and the effects of the Tom Robinson trial, she says,"... I thought, Atticus Finch wont win, he cant win, but hes the only man in these parts that can keep a jury out so long on a case like that. And i thought to myself, well, were making a step--its just a baby-step, but its a step" (Lee 216) this line displays many things about Miss Maudie, first, she thinks Atticus is a very good lawyer and is quite wise, secondly, she dislikes racism and feels that going away from it is the way to got. when she talks to scout about things like these, she is only helping scout understand her setting and the people around her better. All in all, Miss Maudie's purpose is to be role model that scout learns from and can always look to for help, and without her, scout would have very different views and ideologies.

Permalink Reply by Athletically Lazy 9B on May 6, 2017 at 1:15pm

By saying that Miss Maudie is someone the kids can look up to, can't you also say that she is like a mother to the kids? She isn't just that one friendly neighbor that the kids can talk to, she is someone that the kids know will always be there for them just like a mother would. Miss Maudie is more then just a neighbor that just sits around and talks to the kids. She has a real purpose and that purpose is to be a mother to them because their mother died. To show you that Miss Maudie is more then just someone who the kids can talk to, she talks to the kids and tells them, "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy,"(Lee 119). Miss Maudie isn't just telling the kids about mockingbirds. She is helping the kids understand mocking birds just like any mother would do. Miss Maudie isn't just in the book to keep the kids busy, she is there to be a mother to them and she shows how she is doing that by talking to the kids and helping them understand things about mockingbirds. This is why Miss Maudie isn't just here for the kids to look up to her and have someone to talk to.

Permalink Reply by Peace Maker 9A on May 1, 2017 at 7:39pm

The purpose of Miss.Maudie Atkinson is she is like a friend to Scout and Jem. Miss.Maudie acts the same with children as she does with adults. She treats them as they are mature adults. She lets them play on her lawn as long as they don't destroy things. To help show how Miss.Maudie acts with children the same way she acts with adults Harper Lee explains that "I know he's alive, Jean Louise because I haven't seen him carried out yet"(Lee 43). This evidence shows that she tells scout wgats on her mind and she doesn't try to change words so they fit Scouts age. Here one can see that she is already trying to teach scout how to be an adult. Miss.Maudie is a friendly person to Scout and Jem.

Permalink Reply by Androgynous 9C on May 6, 2017 at 7:35pm

I do agree with you Miss Maudie acts like a friend toward Scout and Jem. Miss Maudie becomes close with Jem and Scout and I think that she truly acts like a motherly figure for them.She teaches them many things that Atticus didn't because he's always busy with his job and is never here for them. She teaches them to be inventive in there society. Miss Maudie is an ideal example of a person of integrity.Shes a respectful and kind person to everybody in Maycomb without any judgments and discernment. She sees everyone as equals, and is very reverent to everyone.shes a very open minded person that tries to teach Jem and Scout to understand society better.Shes a very brave and supportive character toward Atticus and the children. To further explain this idea a quote from the book To kill a mockingbird by Harper Lee says ''your father's right, she said. ''Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. they don't eat up peoples gardens, don't nest in corn cribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why its a sin to kill a mockingbird'''(Lee90). This is explaining that Miss Maudie shows the quality of being delightful and kind. She doesn't judge anyone but believes that everyone is equal.

Permalink Reply by Dr. Exuberance 9B on May 7, 2017 at 5:44pm

i agree peace maker, miss Maudie is clearly a friend for jem and scout, in fact she loves them just as much or even more than her adult friends. she is always very friendly and invites them over for cake and other treats. she also gives them knowledge and wisdom about their neighborhood. she is very protective of the kids and even defends scout when the other women were talking about her (mainly Miss Stephanie); on page 230 scout narrates,"Miss Maudie's hand closed tightly around mine, and i said nothing, its warmth was enough. this shows crystal clear that Miss Maudie is more than just a neighbor for scout, but a friend and somebody who she can count on. it also shows how Miss Maudie doesn't care that scout is just a child, she will still defend scout from people like miss Stephanie. All in all, i find that your claim, Paece maker, is correct and i 100% agree with you.