Miss Maudie is a down-to-earth woman who grew up with Atticus and Jack Finch. She treats Jem, Scout, and Dill like adults. She doesn't gossip about or to them. Miss Maudie allows the children to run around and play in her yard as long as they don't harm her azaleas. Scout also says the following in chapter five:
Our tacit treaty with Miss Maudie was that we could play on her lawn, eat her scuppernongs if we didn't jump on the arbor, and explore her vast back lot (42).
The children don't want to upset Miss Maudie in any way, so they obey her rules and don't speak to her without being invited to do so. Miss Maudie also bakes the children little cakes when she is in the process of baking a bigger one. When she is finished baking, she calls all three kids over to eat their little cakes at her house.
Miss Maudie is also clever and witty when Uncle Jack asks her each year to marry him. She always responds by saying, "Call a little louder, Jack Finch, and they'll hear you at the post office, I haven't heard you yet!" (44). But what solidifies the friendship between Scout and the older woman is that she has these gold prongs clipped to her eyeteeth. When they were discussing those prongs one time, Miss Maudie popped them out and showed them to Scout. The little girl was so impressed that she claimed her a loyal friend for life. All of the other neighbors are either too grumpy or gossipy for the children's tastes, but they think Miss Maudie is trustworthy and a solid person.
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