Unmasking the Mr. Cunningham in Citizens of Maycomb
"I thought [he] was a friend of ours." (Lee 157) The words of Scout Finch in that quote put a worthy question to her father, Atticus. The events that occurred in the second third of the book gave way to many questions of the personalities and beliefs of the people in the little town Maycomb. Their actions seemed to open to changes or prejudices in themselves that caught Scout off-guard. Scout, a young girl of eight years old, was puzzled at the ferocity of people and constantly asked her father about why her familiars acted so unfairly. How was she to know the underlying prejudices of people against Negroes? How could people she had lived with all her life suddenly unmask such an unfair side of their personalities? Mr. Cunningham had been a faithful abiding citizen in Maycomb for as long as Scout could remember, and Atticus had even helped him in a time of need. How was it possible that a man, presumed to be so virtuous, could go to an arrested Negro's jail cell with intentions of hurting the prisoner? Mr. Cunningham is representative of prejudices and personality of the people in Maycomb.
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Scout Cunningham, Scout Finch, Tom Cunningham, Atticus Cunningham, Cunningham Sometimes, Maycomb Scout, Tom Robinson's, Scout Cunningham's, Jem Scout, , jem scout, towards atticus, jail cell, cunningham citizens, accuse atticus, stands atticus, citizens maycomb, people maycomb, atticus cunningham, cunningham appears,
Approximate Word count = 760
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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