Harper Lee created the Bildungsroman novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ to expose the historical events of the 1930s and to build awareness of the partiality and segregation between the blacks and the whites through the didactic character of Calpurnia, an African American woman. Lee specifically constructed this intriguing character to combat the social and cultural values of the fictitious town of Maycomb to reinforce particular themes and to assist in the development of the protagonist, Scout Finch. She is parallel to Atticus in her lessons of respect, politeness and compassion and simultaneously exhibits tolerance of society’s hard line approach to segregation. In this time of social turbulence, the state legislature ratified the Jim Crow Laws, discriminatory laws that were heavily entrenched in society to maintain the ascendancy of the whites as they were considered to be biologically and intellectually …show more content…
Upon entrance of the negro First Purchase church, they are confronted with racial discrimination and rejection from Lula, “...the troublemaker from way back.” She refuses to allow white children into their church when they have one specifically made for them .Calpurnia argues “It’s the same God…”, her defence against prejudice and racism characterising her moral integrity and empathic nature, thus depicting the complete opposite of the stereotypical perception of a southern black woman during the 1930s. This experience teaches Scout that racism goes both ways. In light of this, however, she also witnessed the support the African American community gave to Helen Robinson and her children, allowing Scout to see a kind and charitable side that greatly differed to society’s views. Coupled with this and Calpurnia’s egalitarian influence, she was able to see what most people did not - Tom Robinson’s