Table of Contents
What does Calpurnia say about having two different ways of speaking?
Calpurnia’s “double-life” is revealed in the two languages she speaks. The languages she speaks are both English, but one reflects the dialect used by white folks in 1930s Alabama and the other reflects the vernacular of the black community.
How does Cal explain the difference in the way she speaks in the church?
When the children ask Calpurnia why she doesn’t speak at church the way she speaks with them, she explains that she would feel out of place speaking in a manner that wasn’t familiar to those in her church, of which she is a member—the biggest difference is that she is only one of four people in the congregation that …
Why does Calpurnia modify her dialect?
Calpurnia changes her dialect or “code-switches” in To Kill a Mockingbird in order to fit in with her surroundings, whether she is at the Finch’s home or among other members of the African American community.
What do Scout and Jem notice about the way that Calpurnia talks when she is among other African Americans at church?
What do Scout and Jem notice about the way that Calpurnia talks when she is among other African-Americans at church? After going to Calpurnia’s church scout states that Calpurnia let a modest double life never dawned on me.
How is Calpurnia different from other African Americans?
Calpurnia speaks differently to fit in in both situations. She uses slang with her fellow African Americans, so that she is not seen as above them. She speaks more properly at home to not draw attention to the Finches.
What does Calpurnia teach Scout about language and manners in Chapter 12?
What Cal is trying to tell the children, is that you have to speak the language that people understand. You can’t go around acting like you are better than anyone else.
Why does Calpurnia speak differently around other people?
Instead of using proper English, she reverts to “colored talk” when she’s at church so she won’t offend the blacks. She says that she doesn’t want to seem uppity to the other blacks by talking better than they do.
Why does Calpurnia speak differently in to kill a Mockingbird?
Language is a significant part of identity and culture; language is what changes and distinguishes boundaries. Calpurnia speaks differently as she moves across the boundaries so that she can live in dual cultures without dissidence.
Why did scout go to church with Calpurnia?
Going to church with Calpurnia made Scout aware for the first time that Cal “led a modest double life” and, also, that she had taught her son Zeebo to read from the two books she owned, the Bible and a copy of Blackstone’s Commentaries, once given to her by Scout’s Grandfather Finch.
What did Calpurnia say to Moses in the Outsiders?
Calpurnia responds by saying, ” Well, in the first place I’m black— ” (Lee 77). She proceeds to tell the children that it would be out of place for her to speak like white folks around black people. Cal says that if she spoke properly around her community members, they would think she was “puttin’ on airs to beat Moses.”