Her vitalization of two dialects teaches Scout that Calpurnia occupies two worlds.
In Chapter 12 Calpurnia takes the children to her church, the First Purchase African Methodist Episcopalian Church. There Jem and Scout witness a side of Calpurnia that they have not known. For, when she is confronted by a tall, formidable woman who displays Indian features, Calpurnia responds with an indignant tone and in a thick dialect.
"I wants to know why you bringin'...
Her vitalization of two dialects teaches Scout that Calpurnia occupies two worlds.
In Chapter 12 Calpurnia takes the children to her church, the First Purchase African Methodist Episcopalian Church. There Jem and Scout witness a side of Calpurnia that they have not known. For, when she is confronted by a tall, formidable woman who displays Indian features, Calpurnia responds with an indignant tone and in a thick dialect.
"I wants to know why you bringin' white chillun to a nigger church."
"They's my comp'ny," said Calpurnia.
Scout remarks, "Again I thought her voice strange: she was talking like the rest of them."
After the service is over and the children walk with Calpurnia, Scout asks her why she speaks in the dialect of African-Americans in her church. Calpurnia explains that if she were to talk as she does in the Finch home, people would think that she is "putting on airs to beat Moses." Further, she explains that many in the congregation cannot read or write and they do not like someone around them who "knows more than they do" as it shames them. She adds that no one can change someone by speaking properly; the change must come from within the person. Therefore, all one can do is speak as they do, or keep her mouth closed. These words of Calpurnia affect Scout, who learns that people can only change if they themselves desire a change.
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