Cunninghams
Introduction
From the country and have been deeply affected by the impact of The Great
Depression - live in poverty but refuse to allow themselves to be defined by their
social position.
Direct contrast to the Ewells, family functions effectively and Mr Cunningham instils
the importance of education and goodness in his children.
Throughout bildungsroman, Cunningham’s attitude change from ignorant and
prejudiced to more ‘open’ - Cunningham in the jury struggles with finding Tom guilty.
Marginalised family - Harper Lee shows us that there is hope for desegregation and
change.
Walter Cunningham
• ‘hookworms’ ‘absence of shoes’ – it is evident the family are living in poverty due to
their poor health and environment. Like many farmers at the time, poverty has
forced them to sign an entailment. This is a legal term which means that land is
settled on a number of people so that no one individual is its absolute owner. As a
result, the Cunninghams have very little money, resulting in their children having to
go without certain necessities.
• ‘clean shirt and neatly mended overalls’ – juxtaposition between this and
‘hookworms’ shows how despite their poorness, they have a sense of pride and
dignity and maintain the little amount they have. They are similar to the Ewells in
terms of their poorness, but the likeness ends there because the Cunninghams are a
self-respecting family.
• ‘looked straight ahead’ ‘a muscle jump in his skinny jaw’ – this depicts how Walter is
underfed but also, his agitation at Scout making his unfortunate situation apparent to
everyone reiterates his underlying, dignified manner. Although Scout thinks she is
doing the right thing by explaining his situation, she exposes his poverty to the whole
class which makes Walter uncomfortable and embarrassed about his social standing.
Great Depression and the Cunninghams
• ‘The Cunninghams never took anything they can’t pay back’ – portrays how they
believe in fairness and everybody earning their way; unlike the Ewells they refuse
leech off the country and are determined to earn their keep in Maycomb.
• ‘get along on what they have’ – they are a diligent and resourceful family, and Scout
parroting of this, which must have been said by Atticus, conveys her father’s respect
for the Cunninghams, which immediately outlines them as good people.
• ‘farmers’ ‘crash hit them hardest’ – represents their rural background and explains
how people involved in agriculture were most badly affected by the Great Depression
because they depended on their produce as their livelihood, and when no-one could
afford to buy it anymore because of the 1929 Wall Street Crash, they suffered.
• ‘could get a WPA job’ ‘land would go to ruin’ - The WPA, set up in 1935 was part of
Roosevelt’s New Deal which focused on offering Relief, Reform and Recovery by
Introduction
From the country and have been deeply affected by the impact of The Great
Depression - live in poverty but refuse to allow themselves to be defined by their
social position.
Direct contrast to the Ewells, family functions effectively and Mr Cunningham instils
the importance of education and goodness in his children.
Throughout bildungsroman, Cunningham’s attitude change from ignorant and
prejudiced to more ‘open’ - Cunningham in the jury struggles with finding Tom guilty.
Marginalised family - Harper Lee shows us that there is hope for desegregation and
change.
Walter Cunningham
• ‘hookworms’ ‘absence of shoes’ – it is evident the family are living in poverty due to
their poor health and environment. Like many farmers at the time, poverty has
forced them to sign an entailment. This is a legal term which means that land is
settled on a number of people so that no one individual is its absolute owner. As a
result, the Cunninghams have very little money, resulting in their children having to
go without certain necessities.
• ‘clean shirt and neatly mended overalls’ – juxtaposition between this and
‘hookworms’ shows how despite their poorness, they have a sense of pride and
dignity and maintain the little amount they have. They are similar to the Ewells in
terms of their poorness, but the likeness ends there because the Cunninghams are a
self-respecting family.
• ‘looked straight ahead’ ‘a muscle jump in his skinny jaw’ – this depicts how Walter is
underfed but also, his agitation at Scout making his unfortunate situation apparent to
everyone reiterates his underlying, dignified manner. Although Scout thinks she is
doing the right thing by explaining his situation, she exposes his poverty to the whole
class which makes Walter uncomfortable and embarrassed about his social standing.
Great Depression and the Cunninghams
• ‘The Cunninghams never took anything they can’t pay back’ – portrays how they
believe in fairness and everybody earning their way; unlike the Ewells they refuse
leech off the country and are determined to earn their keep in Maycomb.
• ‘get along on what they have’ – they are a diligent and resourceful family, and Scout
parroting of this, which must have been said by Atticus, conveys her father’s respect
for the Cunninghams, which immediately outlines them as good people.
• ‘farmers’ ‘crash hit them hardest’ – represents their rural background and explains
how people involved in agriculture were most badly affected by the Great Depression
because they depended on their produce as their livelihood, and when no-one could
afford to buy it anymore because of the 1929 Wall Street Crash, they suffered.
• ‘could get a WPA job’ ‘land would go to ruin’ - The WPA, set up in 1935 was part of
Roosevelt’s New Deal which focused on offering Relief, Reform and Recovery by
