Ms. Maudie

In addition to his curiosity of the children, Boo also demonstrates acts of kindness and concern towards Jem and Scout. This is evident through two scenarios that occur; one involving Jem and the other involving Scout. When Jem leaves the Radley property after retrieving his pants that were stuck the fence, he realizes that the pants were mended and folded, as if someone was waiting upon his arrival. “When I went back, they were folded across the fence… like they were expecting me [...] like somebody could tell what I was gonna do. Can’t anybody tell what I’m gonna do lest they know me, can they, Scout?” (78). Jem’s realization of the situation signifies that Boo Radley does in fact pay attention to the children and wanted to do something nice for them. By mending Jem’s pants and folding them neatly for him, Boo had shown a kindness that they had not seen before. Boo had also shown his concern for the children on the night of the fire, when Miss Maudie's house was erupt in flames. The children were waiting outside for their father, and Boo realized that they must have been cold, so he went and put a blanket around Scout. Scout had not noticed this until she was back at home, when Jem suggested that Boo had put the blanket around her. “‘Someday, maybe, Scout can thank him for covering her up.’ ‘Thank who?’ I asked. ‘Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you’” (96).

While Miss Maudie isn't a particularly fragile character, she is very passionate about her garden and about Jem and Scout. She shows this trait in her response to her house burning down in chapter 9, when she says that she always wanted a smaller house and a bigger yard anyway, and was more interested in whether Jem and Scout were safe and uninjured than her possessions. Another character that is strongly associated with a specific flower is Mrs. Dubose and her camellias. Jem destroys her camellias when he snapped on her toward the beginning of chapter 11, and receives a single camellia as a sort of final gift from her after s he died. Accord ing to the same source given for the

The children’s reaction is different from the reaction of adult’s. While the adults, like Mr. Avery, don’t like change, the children, Scout and Jem, are excited. At the beginning of the chapter, he is identified more a child. The change to Maycomb brings another change as Miss Maudie’s house is burnt down. As the whole situation dies out, Atticus notices an unknown blanket around Scout and Jem concludes that it was Boo who gave the blanket. Scout doesn’t know until Atticus has to tell her it was Boo Radley. When she realizes it’s Boo Radley, “My stomach turned to water and I nearly threw up when Jem held out the blanket and crept toward me” (82). To Scout, it doesn’t matter that Boo Radley had wrapped the blanket around. To her, it’s just important that he was near her and she is terrified. On the other hand, Jem has a different reaction, “Jem scowled, ‘I ain’t gonna do anything to him,’ but I watched the spark of fresh adventure leave his eyes” (82). This is when Jem’s fear and imagination of Boo Radley finally disappears. The spark leaves his eyes because he can no longer scheme like before about Boo Radley as he finally understands that he is not the monster he had thought he was. As a result, with this new understanding and realization of his, Jem is closer to adulthood. One of the final moments of Jem’s stand as a child is his interaction with Ms. Dubose. Seeing the white camelia that Ms. Dubose sent him, Jem,

Scout sees that Miss Maudie does not believe in rumors, and it proves Miss Maudie a very upright person. She also adds later on, “‘No child…that is a sad house. I remember Arthur Radley when he was a boy. He always spoke nicely to me, no matter what folks said he did…’” (61). Scout finds this concept unfathomable, because it contradicts everything she ever heard about Boo Radley. However, because she regards Miss Maudie so highly, Scout begins having a new perspective on things after this point. Even though she still takes parts in various situations when with Jem and Dill attempt communicating with Boo, she thinks more before acting, and participates only so she avoids teasing from Jem rather than with the intention of humiliating Boo. While not participating at all would display greater maturity, the fact that she thinks more before acting and takes more things into consideration shows that Miss Maudie does indeed have an affect on her. It illustrates Scout’s developing character, as she no longer judges Boo Radley, and she learns from Miss Maudie that she should not judge any one, but rather try understanding them before criticizing them.

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.

One of the ways Lee shows that people are essentially good is through the people

One character that was missing from the movie that played an important role was Aunt Alexandra. First of all by having Aunt Alexandra in the film the reader doesn't see the feminine side to Scout instead only Scout's tomboy side is portrayed. Also, not having Aunt Alexandra around means there is no one to challenge Atticus's authority. Without Aunt Alexandra, Miss Stephanie is also left out. Seeing how Jem and Scout act around another family member is impossible when the directors' cut Aunt Alexandra out of the movie. Showing how the children act around another family member could show different sides of their personalities. A good explanation for leaving Aunt Alexandra out could be that the movie would have just been too long with too many extra parts that may have not been necessary. Rachael Haverford, the Finches' next door neighbor, was another character deleted from the book, Dill was not living with .The movie and the book have differences in the overall way the characters appear. For instance, Jem isn't nearly as physically fit in the movie as he is described in the book. Also in the book Scout is the main character and in the movie Scout doesn't really know what's going on. All of the scenes in the movie that present Scout as anything more than the narrator were cut out. In the book, Scout is more of a girl caught in the middle of Atticus and Alexandria. She acts a lot like Alexandria although she doesn't know it.

eyes of Scout and Jem Finch. Scout is a young seven year old girl who is

Scout is worried about Miss Maudie but Miss Maudie tells Scout not to “ worry about [her] Jean Louise Finch. There are ways of doing things you don’t know about (Lee 97). Here we identify Miss Maudie’s selfless personality and that even at a time like this she is trying to stay positive and teach Scout that she isn't obliged to follow one way in life, there is always an alternative. It is important that Scout takes it in this way as it develops her character into a more caring and understanding person, this also helps her separate herself from the sheep in Maycomb conforming to the Maycomb disease. Earlier in the novel, Miss Maudie is telling the kids about Nathan Radley and that he is the “kind of [man] who [is] too busy worrying about the next world they’ve never learned to live in this one” (Lee 46).

Calpurnia often brushes off things the children ask her, because she knows that it isn’t her place, but if she was a true motherly figure she would explain things, like Miss Maudie. When Scout and Jem ask her about rape, her response was “It's somethin' you'll have to ask Mr. Finch about" (165). Miss Maudie, however, isn’t paid to anything, her actions come from her care for Scout and Jem. Miss Maudie helps them understand things about the world they live in, and helps prepare them for what is to come. Miss Maudie isn’t afraid to tell them what they need to hear, but she says it in a way Jem and Scout can perceive it on their

To Kill a Mockingbird, as shown through the imagery from the town, the foreshadowing taking place at the scene of Miss Maudie’s house catching fire, as well as the plot twist that takes place at the end of the book. The first idea is about the imagery from the town about Boo Radley. Jem gives a description of Boo at the beginning of the book, saying Boo “dined on raw squirrels” and that he had a “long jagged scar”(Lee 60). Jem’s description is obviously not true.

I think that Miss Maudie is trying to teach Scout a lesson by telling her not to judge people when you do know the truth and have not been in their position. Scout might be too young to understand what might be happening. I also think that Boo (Arthur) might stay inside his house simply because he wants to. Mr. Radely is a strong Baptist and he can take the Bible too literal.The Bible also influenced the way he treated and raised his son. He kept Boo (Arthur) inside his house as an extreme form of punishment for his youthful pranks.

I agree that Miss Maudie is a good role model for Jem and Scout,to begin with, Miss Maudie helps the children get a better perspective of their father Atticus. In the beginning of the story we learn that Jem and Scout don’t quite know everything about Atticus and who he truly is. In chapter 5 while discussing the Radley’s and integrity Miss Maudie says to Scout;“Atticus Finch is the same in his house as he is on the streets”(46) Miss Maudie in the quote is explaining to Scout that Atticus is honest and not misleading, he treats people the same way he does at home to his family, neighbors and maycomb towns people.

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee shows that compassion is important to the story. Throughout the plot, Scout Finch’s father, Atticus, tries his best to prove the innocence of a black man in court who has been falsely accused of rape. There is also Boo Radley, a mysterious figure that Jem, Dill, and Scout wonder about often. As Atticus is preparing for Tom’s trial, Mrs. Dubose talks trash about him to his children and after Jem gives her payback, Atticus makes Jem do what’s right by apologizing. Also, Boo gives Scout a blanket when he sees her shivering out in the cold due to Jem and her watching Miss Maudie’s house burning down in the fire. To Kill a Mockingbird shows that compassion is important to the story with Atticus being

In Harper Lee’s southern drama To Kill a Mockingbird the character, Maudie Atkinson’s purpose is to advance the theme of compassion and forgiveness in the novel. Madie does this by providing a strong feminine role model that the main character scout relates to, she also provides an adult's view on racism in the deep south, furthermore Maudie helps devolop the children in the books into adults. Maudie’s provides Scout with a strong, and relatable feminine role model. During chapter five Scout describes Ms.Maudie as “A widow, a chameleon lady who worked in her flower-beds in an old straw hat and men’s coveralls, but after her five o’clock bath she would appear on the porch and reign over the street in magisterial beauty.