As the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is told from the perspective of Scout Finch, the language used is reflective of her rural, Southern upbringing. The manner of speech, colloquialisms, and dialect used in both Chapter 21 and the entirety of Harper Lee's novel capture the spirit of small-town Alabama. Consider the following example:
“I know where they are, Atticus.” Mr. Underwood spoke up. “They’re right up yonder in the colored balcony—been there since precisely one-eighteen P.M. (Lee, Chapter 21).
Mr. Underwood's language reflects the overall setting of the novel: a rural, casual environment. He addresses Atticus Finch by his first name and not as Mr. Finch, preferring informality and familiarity over stiff addresses. Furthermore, he relies on words such as "yonder," which add a Southern flair to his speech. Mr. Underwood's comment also reflects the historical context of the novel, for we see in it themes of racial inequality and segregation.
Turning to another example, consider the following exchange between Atticus and Jem:
"I’ve no idea,” said Atticus shortly. “You’ve been here all afternoon? Go home with Calpurnia and get your supper—and stay home.”
“Aw, Atticus, let us come back,” pleaded Jem. “Please let us hear the verdict, please sir (Lee, Chapter 21).
In the above dialogue, we see Atticus using the tone of a concerned father and Jem acting as a pleading son. One of the more interesting aspects of the Finch children and their relationship with their father is the use of both formal and informal addresses. Scout and Jem refer to their father by his name ("Atticus") but frequently counter this casual address by using the polite, highly traditional "sir."
We see also in Chapter 21 how Calpurnia's language shifts depending on context:
Calpurnia marched us home: “—skin every one of you alive, the very idea, you children listenin‘ to all that! Mister Jem, don’t you know better’n to take your little sister to that trial? Miss Alexandra’ll absolutely have a stroke of paralysis when she finds out! Ain’t fittin’ for children to hear...” (Lee, Chapter 21).
Addressing the children, Calpurnia's language is unguarded. She adopts no affectations, but rather, uses language casually and colloquially. Comparing the above passage to Calpurnia's brief exchange with Judge Taylor, we find that Calpurnia caters her language to the changing demands of her social, economic, and racial situations. To draw from earlier knowledge of Calpurnia's character within the novel, we can return briefly to Chapter 12:
“They’s my comp’ny,” said Calpurnia. Again I thought her voice strange: she was talking like the rest of them.
“Yeah, an‘ I reckon you’s comp’ny at the Finch house durin’ the week.”
A murmur ran through the crowd. “Don’t you fret,” Calpurnia whispered to me, but the roses on her hat trembled indignantly (Lee, Chapter 12).
We see in the above exchange that Calpurnia has adopted a manner of speech that mimics her fellow church-goers and aligns her more closely to the African-American community in Maycomb. Reflecting on the excerpt from Chapter 12 and those from Chapter 21, we find that Calpurnia's language serves as a response to her environment. The language she uses when addressing a white judge is not the same as the language she uses with members of the Finch household, and furthermore, the language she uses in the Finch household is not entirely the same as the language used to address the members of her church.
The language used in Chapter 21 (and indeed, throughout the novel) gives us insights into the characters' social, political, and racial experiences. It informs us of their economic backgrounds, their levels of education, and their geographic past. We can infer, through the use of colloquialism and slang, whether a character might be urban or rural, and further, we can better understand the type of relationships they have to other characters by examining things like tone, formality, and word choice.
(Primary Source: Lee, Harper,To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1960. Print.)
