preview

How Is Miss Maudie Presented In To Kill A Mockingbird

Decent Essays

In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, the reader is introduced to the character Miss Maudie within the first few chapters. Miss Maudie initially appears as a flat character who is friendly to the Finch kids and loves to tend to her garden. However, Miss Maudie has been shaped by the racial and social injustices she both witnesses and experiences, which turns her into a fearless, stubborn defender of the metaphoric mockingbird. Maudie is proven to come to the defense of those who cannot or will not defend themselves. This is proven in the subtle way she cares for Scout; besides being very friendly and sweet to the children, going as far as to bake them her famous cake, Miss Maudie will do her best to make Scout feel most comfortable. When Miss Stephanie Crawford teases and embarrasses Scout in front of a group of women, Scout states that Miss Maudie, “...never laughed at me unless I meant to be funny...Miss Maudie’s hand touched mine...closed tightly on mine, and I said nothing. It’s warmth was enough.” (Lee 307, 308). Scout, so embarrassed she becomes mild, finds comfort in Miss Maudie’s simple yet impactful action. …show more content…

“Your father’s right. Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, the don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” (Lee 119). The metaphorical mockingbirds of the story are Boo, Tom, and, to a certain extent, Scout. Boo and Tom are victims of the circumstances, and their lives are forever ruined but the decisions, or “sins”, other people decided for them and Scout is no longer the innocent six-year-old from the beginning of the book. Miss Maudie has relentlessly protected the mockingbirds of this novel, both literally and

Get Access