To Kill a Mockingbird - Character Analysis of Calpurnia and Scout

Calpurnia acts as a mother to the children since Scout was only 2 years old. She is disciplined and firm towards the children. Scout describes her as a “tyrannical presence” with a “hand as wide as a bed slat and twice as hard” – we see her use this hand to deliver scout a “stinging smack” when she comments on Walter Cunningham Jr’s eating habits. She is indispensible to the finch household and is always supported by Atticus who says they couldn’t “operate a single day” without her.
She imposes stricter discipline on the children than a mother ...