Friday, October 17, 2008

Chapter's 1-3 Scout's actions

Why did Scout rub Walter Cunningham's nose in the dirt? Then after the situation Scout said, " He ain't company, Cal, he's just a Cunningham." What did she mean by that, and what was Cal's answer? What does this say about their relationship.

9 comments:

Aub said...

Scout was looking forward to school at first.

"...I would be starting school in a week. I never looked forward to anything more in my life." (15)

She found out later that it wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. Scout rubbed Walter's nose in the dirt because she was angry at him for making her first day at school miserable.

"He [Walter] made me start off on the wrong foot." (23)

Jem felt bad for Walter because he was one of the poor Cunninghams, and invited him over for lunch. At lunch, Scout complained about the fact that Walter was covering his meal in syrup. Calpurnia summoned Scout to the kitchen to have a talk. Calpurnia "was furious" (24) because Scout did not respect the fact that Walter was poor and did not eat much.

"...you ain't called on to contradict 'em at the table..." (24)

After that was when Scout said the quote mentioned in the question. The way I have interpreted it, Scout is saying that because Walter is poor, Scout is still angry at him, and he is different, he should consider himself lucky to be eating with her.

Cal does not really like this response and says, "Don't matter who they are, anybody sets foot in this house's yo' comp'ny... if you can't act fit to eat at the table...you can... eat in the kitchen!" (24 & 25)

Uin Kim said...

I would have written many of the things Aubrey wrote, but he already answered the first two questions, and I agree with his answers. So I will just answer the last question, which is about the relationship between Cal and Scout. I think Calpurnia loves and cares about Scout, since she has been with them for a very long time. That is why Cal wants Scout to not regret her actions later on in life, and wants to teach her why her behaviour was not nice. Scout probably does not understand that Calpurnia cares about her, but I believe that it is so. As for Scout, I think she thinks of Cal simply as a maid and nothing more.

Aub said...

I actually meant to post my response to the last question, but I copy and pasted it wrong (I do my entries in a separate editor). So here it is (thanks Uin):

Obviously, Cal considers herself the authority, but Scout does not really like it. Scout does not realize that Cal is just teaching her how to behave properly. Scout is young after all.

Anonymous said...

Scout rubbed Walter Cunningham's nose in the dirt because of what happened earlier that day in class.
Walter didn't have any money and Mrs. Caroline offered him a quarter and told him that he could pay back later. But since the Cunningham's were the poorest family in Maycomb, he could not pay her back. Mrs. Caroline got angry because he wouldn't take the quarter, so Scout tried to explain to the teacher. At the end Mrs. Caroline ended up getting mad at Scout and punished her. Later, she went to beat up Walter.
Later, when Walter came to dinner and Scout told Cal " He ain't company, Cal, he's just a Cunningham." Scout meant that since Walter was so poor, he wasn't considered real company. Cal got very upset and told her that she needed to respect the Cunningham's.

Anonymous said...

I have to agree with everything that was already said. The only answer where I disagree slightly with Aubrey, is about the relationship between Scout and Calpurnia. I don't believe that it is like that because Calpurnia is bossy but because she doesn't want Scout to grow up as racist and descriminating as many other white people. She loves Scout and wants her to grow up nice which, sometimes, involves getting mad at her. But in the end she does it because she loves Scout and Jem and would hate to see them running around the streets badly mannered.

sora cho said...

I agree with what everyone said. Calpurnia and Scout's relationship is connected. Cal scolds Scout when she said "He ain't company, Cal, he's just a Cunningham." Cal really does like Scout, but has to teach her that that is not a reason to mistreat Walter. She has to be strict to her so that Scout learns that everyone should be treated equally, and that if she starts talking bad about other people just because they are having a bad time, will eventually lead her to the wrong road. Since Cal really adores Scout, she thinks that it is her responsibility to teach her until she understands that what she did was wrong. Cal really does not care whether Scout hates her or not, but she only wants her to become a wise person, just like her father.

yellowtyson said...

The two questions were answered correctly by Aubrey. I agree with the answers he wrote. Cal cared and liked Scout very much and she tried to do the best for her. Scout does not notice this and I believe she does not like Cal much. Cal wants to teach Scout the proper thing so she does not regret anything later on.

andy said...

Because she got in trouble after a long series of events between Walter and the teacher. When she said that about walter, she meant that they were only a poor family that did not deserve to be in the town. Cal's answer was an angry one. She got angry at scout and reminder her that anyone that was a nice person (such as walter) was considered company. This tells us that they are both very different but in the end they both need each other. Afterwards, Scout told Atticus that she didn't want Calpurnia in the house anymore simply because she had told that to her.

adrian said...

Scout rubbed Walters nose in the dirt because he, Walter, got Scout in trouble earlier that day. When the day of school started Miss Caroline tried to offer money to Walter, Scout thereafter told miss Caroline that he was just a Cunningham. Scout got in trouble and beat Walter. Jem felt bad for Walter over for lunch. Afterward when they were at home Scout disrespected Walter. Calpurnia told Scout that it ddnt matter who Walter was he was "comp'ny" and that "comp'ny" had to be treate with respect.