In Harper Lee's To Kill a
Mockingbird, at the beginning of the book, we find that the Cunninghams are
poor people, but Mr. Cunningham has a strong sense of pride. He will not take charity.
When he needs legal work from Atticus, he pays with goods, like a basket of nuts or some
vegetables. Atticus accepts these payments
graciously.
Walter Cunningham, the boy in Scout's
classroom, comes to school with clean patched clothes, a clean face, and bare feet,
having no shoes. He has been taught not to accept charity either. When their teacher,
Miss Caroline, tries to lend him money to go to town to get lunch, Walter refuses, very
politely. Someone in the class suggests that Scout explain the situation to Miss
Caroline, who doesn't comprehend Scout's explanation and gets so angry with Scout that
paddles her hands as a punishment. Scout has a clear understanding of the Cunninghams'
situation from discussions with Atticus. The story takes place during the Great
Depression where many people had next to nothing. Miss Caroline cannot understand what
Scout is telling her and takes offense.
The Cunninghams get
by, but it is not easy in this time of a devastated economy, especially in the South not
that long after the Civil War, a war from which the South is still
rebuilding.
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