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.
In conclusion, the tempered Mr. Cunningham showed some citizens of Maycomb did indeed think twice about accusing Atticus. When blatantly accusing someone who wasn't widely ridiculed, one made him/herself stand out from the crowd of thoughts. This would be too similar to what Atticus himself was doing, and the people could not allow themselves to be placed with Atticus. Mr. Cunningham, however, showed himself not to be completely set against Atticus, because of the man he was and the citizen he was. Another reason Mr. Cunningham represents the people of Maycomb is that he also humbles and doesn't non-chalantly accuse Atticus of wrongdoing. He withdraws, uncertain of his own actions. Some citizens in Maycomb are unable to bring themselves to accuse Atticus to his face. Instead, they jeer at Jem and Scout. Mr. Cunningham's son even taunts Scout, calling her father names. However, Mr. Cunningham himself never directs any harsh words towards Atticus. Mr. Cunningham, as well as other citizens, has enough reverence towards Atticus to be ashamed to directly insult him. However, insulting his children is much easier to do, as
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Approximate Word count = 760
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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