 Calpurnia is one of the few black characters in the novel who is able to read and write, and it is she who taught Scout to write.She learned how to read from Miss Maudie's aunt, Miss Buford, who taught her how to read out of "Blackstone's "Commentaries", a book given to her.Aunt Alexandra despised Calpurnia because Alexandra believed that Calpurnia was not a "maternal figure" for Jem and Scout, especially for Scout.