In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, the Finches have a maid named Calpurnia who is completely separated socially from the Finches. Calpurnia is an educated woman and speaks very properly, but changes the way she talks around other black people to a less educated version of how she normally speaks. I think she does this to fit in and to not be persecuted in her own community for being an educated person. Many intelligent people don't act as smart as they really are to avoid being harassed by their peers.
Calpurnia talks properly around the Finch household, but when she goes to church she talks in a grammatically incorrect way. I believe that this is because the other black people at her church talk the same way. Calpurnia probably does this to fit in and avoid being disliked for her intelligence. The main character Scout asks her why she talks differently in church and Calpurnia says that "folks don't like to have somebody around knowing more than they do". This shows that she is afraid of being so smart that people don't like her.
Many people have the same problem that Calpurnia does, children especially. Some people feel that they have to hide their smart side to be socially accepted. This is a big problem because when people believe that smart isn't socially acceptable, they hide a good part of themselves. On the other hand, playing dumb can help people avoid being hurt. Should people show their intelligence or hide it in front of people that aren't as educated?
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