Aunt Alexandra Flashcards
“I can’t say I approve of everything he does, Maudie, but he’s my brother, and I just want to know when this will ever end.” Her voice rose: “It tears him to pieces. He doesn’t show it much, but it tears him to pieces.”
Aunt Alexandra may be hard on Atticus at times, but ultimately she care for his well-being more than she lets on.
Shows how she’s his sister and although she disapproves of him, it doesn’t get in the way of her familial love.
“Just what I said. Grandma says it’s bad enough he lets you all run wild, but now he’s turned out a nigger-lover we’ll never be able to walk the streets of Maycomb again. He’s ruinin’ the family, that’s what he’s doin’.”
This shows how to Aunt Alexandra, family is one of the most important things. This is not only from a caring perspective but also, through her criticising of Atticus, from a perspective of reputation. To her, family defines you and the Finches are, in her opinion, at the top so, for Atticus to behave in a certain way reflects negatively on the whole family.
throughout my early life, she was cold and there
Aunt Alexandra is very concious of Maycomb’s social expectations and restrictions and chooses to live within them. She is contemptuous and disdainful and represents the Southern States idea of what a woman should be. Even her clothing is restrictive and tight.
Everybody in Maycomb, it seemed, had a Streak: a Drinking Streak, a Gambling Streak, a Mean Streak, a Funny Streak.
To Aunt Alexandra, family is what defines you and there’s no escaping it, something which is very much reflected in Maycomb’s treatment of the Ewells. Reflects the beliefs that lead to racism- that because someone is black, they are unable to behave anything like a white person and also shows the theme of Social injustice. It shows the almost caste-like system that Maycomb has in place.
Aunt Alexandra’s vision of my deportment involved playing with small stoves, tea sets, and wearing the Add-A-Pearl necklace she gave me when I was born; furthermore, I should be a ray of sunshine in my father’s lonely life.
This quote shows how Aunt Alexandra represents the restrictive, traditional Southern view of womanhood. She believes that to be a woman you must behave a certain way, whereas in fact it is so much more than that.
This quote shows how Scout, at first, sees womanhood and femininity as both a restrictive and negative thing; however, throughout the novel we see her maturing and realising that to be a woman is so much more than the social boundaries and expectations set.
