The idea of an "outsider" is not hard to develop in a
small town; it seems to be human nature to be suspicious of those who haven't been
around for awhile. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee begins the novel
with some exposition about the townspeople of Maycomb, including the Haverfords, "in
Maycomb County a name synonymous with jackass", and Scout's ill-fated attempt to
explain to her teacher, who is new in town, the reason Walter Cunningham doesn't have
any lunch:
"Walter's one of the Cunninghams, Miss Caroline.
. . .They never took nothing off of nobody, they get along on what they have. They don't
have much, but they get along on
it."
These kind of
descriptions, found throughout the novel, reinforce the idea that in a small town,
everyone knows everyone, causing the arrival of an outsider to register suspicion; an
outsider doesn't fit into any pre-determined categories, and is therefore someone to be
feared.
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