Much like Atticus Finch, Miss Maudie sets an example of
fortitude, integrity, and charity through her words and actions. When her house burns in
the night, she does not whine about her loss:
"Always wanted a smaller house, Jem
Finch."
Charitably, she tells
Scout not to worry about her, also, and is concerned that others in the neighborhood
could have been injured:
Only thing I worried about last night was all
the danger and commotion I caused....Mr. avery'll be in bed for a
week....
When Mrs. Merriweather criticizes Atticus
indirectly--"...there are some good but misguided people in this town"--and disparages
her maid, Sophy, Miss Maudie comes to the defense of Aunt Alexandra wrily asks her about
her husband,
"His food doesn't stick going down, does
it?"
"Maudie, I'm sure I don't know what you mean," said
Mrs. Merriweather.
"I'm sure you do," Miss Maudie said
shortly.
Never afraid to
speak out against hypocrisy, Miss Maudie counters the fundamentalists by quoting
scripture back to them. Whenever the town gossip creates rumors, she stops her with a
cryptic remark. After the Tom Robinson trial, as an anxious Aunt Alexandra mentions how
the events "tear him to pieces," Miss Maudie comforts her and castigates the pompous who
malign Atticus:
"Whether maycomb knows it or not, we're paying
the highest tribute we can pay a man. We trust him to do right...The handful of people
in this won with background, that's who they
are."
Certainly, Miss Maudie
stands with Atticus Finch as one of the "handful of people with background." Of noble
character, Miss Maudie knows the true meaning of charity, love, and
integrity.
No comments:
Post a Comment