How does Harper Lee symbolize family in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird?

Authors
create symbolism by referring to objects in such a way that the objects take on more than their
literal meaning. Beyond objects, authors will often create symbolism by choosing names forbased
on symbolic meaning. In 's To Kill a Mockingbid, one symbol
representing family can be found in Calpurnia's
name.

Not only is Calpurnia the name of the Finch's cook who
acts as a surrogate mother for the Finch children, Calpurnia is
also the name of Julius Caeasar's third and last wife before his
assassination. Calpurnia became stepmother to Caesar's daughter Julia and is especially
celebrated for her faithfulness. Caesar is known to have been a man
who carried out multiple affairs, yet, despite his infidelity, Calpurnia remained loyal. She was
so loyal that she sought to protect him by begging him not to go to the senate meeting when she
had what she felt was a premonition of his death, a premonition captured in Shakespeare's play
titled Julius Caesar.

Similarly, Harper
Lee's Calpurnia can symbolically be seen as the stepmother ofanddue to how
muchrelies on her to help him raise them. Often, Atticus must leave the children to her sole
care when he is called away on business, especially business with the state legislature.
Throughout the years, Calpurnia has faithfully remained loyal to the Finch family, just as the
historic Calpurnia remained faithful to Caesar. Also, just as the historic Calpurnia is tempted
to disloyalty due to Caesar's infidelity, Harper Lee's Calpurnia is tempted to
disloyalty when Aunt Alexandra joins the household
and, due to her racist beliefs, tries to convince Atticus to let Calpurnia go. Regardless,
Calpurnia remains faithful by remaining, and Atticus shows
his faithfulness to Calpurnia by
telling Alexandra that Calpurnia doesn't leave the household until she wants to:

Alexandra, Calpurnia's not leaving this house until she wants to.
You may think otherwise, but I couldn't have got along without her all these years. She's a
faithful member of this family and you'll simply have to accept things the way they are. (Ch.
14)

The faithfulness symbolized by Calpurnia's name
represents the closeness of the Finch
family. The historic Calpurnia remained faithful to Caesar and her stepdaughter
due to her ability to value family. Similarly, Calpurnia remains faithful to the Finch family
while Atticus remains faithful to Calpurnia because they value family.