How do particular situations and circumstances affect how our identity is perceived? How might Calpurnia’s identity be different in the Finch home from her identity in her own home?
We react to different situations, especially stressful ones. We often act differently around different people. Teenagers, for example, might act differently around their friends rather than they do around their parents. Most of us seek validation from the different people we encounter day to day. Calpurnia had to balance her black identity with her role as house keeper and mother-figure to the Finch children. She straddles the very separated worlds of black and white culture. We get a better understanding of Calpurnia when Scout and Jem visit Calpurnia's church. They get to see firsthand a less refined Calpurnia compared to the more refined and educated Calpurnia that they experience at home.
