Tim Lauro Heather TimmonsHonors English 2June 11, 1999Scouting out RacismHarper Lees novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, focuses on the maturation of a brother and sister in the tired old town of Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930s (Lee 3). Maycomb, a classic southern town full of gossip, tradition and burdened with a legacy of racism, seems a strange place to stage a drama which encourages equal treatment and non prejudice (Metheny 5). However, the narrators fresh outlook on the sleepy town furnishes the reader with a multitude of viewpoints on civil rights. The traditional Southern racism of Maycomb is looked at through the eyes of our young narrator, Scout Finch. Scouts innocent perspective compels her to ask questions about why whites treat blacks the way they do (Astin 24). These questions are crucial in Scouts search for her own identity (Burka 70). Scout must come to terms with the racism of her town and how it affects the people in her life. She must find her own position and what role she will play in the whole racial game. A number of people greatly influence Scout. The two major role models in her life, her Aunt Alexandria and her father Atticus, pull Scout in two opposing directions. Through their dealings with Calpurnia, the Finchs black housekeeper, both the reader and Scout are able to distinguish what path each individual wants Scout to follow (Anderson 124). Lauro 2Brought into the Finch household to teach and act as a female role model for young Scout, Aunt Alexandra begins by demonstrating to Scout Calpurnias inferior position. For Aunt Alexandra, Calpurnia will not do as a role model for Scout. Aunt Alexandra from the beginning shows Scout who posses the power. Put my bag in the front bedroom, Calpurnia, was the first thing Aunt Alexandra said(Lee 127). The first time Aunt Alexandra appears in the novel, we instantly see the lack of respect she has for Calpurnia. Aunt Alexandra does not say p...
