The+Cunninghams+Honor,+by+Ian+Thomas

 The Cunninghams Honor

 In Harper Lee's book, __To Kill A Mockingbird__, the Cunningham family plays a large role because of their sense of honor and dignity. Even though they have the least money in Maycomb, they are still honorable and more respectful than many of the better off families in the county.

 When Ms. Caroline asks Walter Cunningham if he has any lunch in chapter 2 pages 19 to 20, he tells her he doesn't have any. When she offers him a quarter to buy lunch with, he refuses because he knows he won't be able to repay her. This is the first encounter in the book with the Cunningham's honor.  Scout is seen on page 22 and 23 beating up Walter Cunningham. When Jem comes over and tells her to stop, reasoning that “You're bigger'n he is.” After a short argument, Jem invites Walter to dinner as a kind of apology. Walter is uncertain whether or not he should go, apparently hel back by honor, before accepting. By this point, in the book, the Cunningham's have become more developed in th minds of the reader than many other characters.  No Cunningham's are seen until late in chapter 15, page 153, when Atticus is defending Tom Robinson from an angry mob in front of the jail. Jean Louise tries to stop the mob by engaging Mr. Cunningham in friendly conversation. At first, Mr. Cunningham ignores her, but as she persists, he finally acknowledges her, as does the entire group of mobbers. When Scout becomes aware of this fact, she notices the entire group is amazed by something, apparently her, since she is the one they are looking at. She turns to Atticus and says to him, “ Well, Atticus, I was just sayin' to Mr. Cunningham that entailments are bad an' all that, but you said not to worry, it takes a long time sometimes... that you all'd ride it out together...” Mr. Cunningham turns to Scout, squats down and says to her, “ I'll tell him you said hey, little lady.”  Then Mr. Cunningham waves the mob off, and they disperse.  When Tom Robinson goes on trial, the evidence makes it blatantly obvious that he is not guilty. However, when the jury leaves the court to determine a verdict, it takes them at least 2 hours to come to a conclusion. They declare Tom Robinson guilty as charged.  Later, on page 222 in chapter 13, Atticus points out that one of the people on the jury was a Cunningham, and that was why it took them so long to determine the verdict. Jem's startled response to that statement was disbeleiving. “One of the Cunninghams? One of- I didn't recognize any of 'em...you're jokin'.” When Atticus assuades Jem that there was indeed a Cunningham on the jury, Jem is shocked. “Golly Moses,” Jem said reverently, “ One minute they're tryin' to kill him and the next thy're tryin' to turn him loose... Ill never understand those folks as long as I live.”  Here Atticus mentions the Cunningham's honor. “ Atticus said you just had to know 'em. He said the Cunninghams hadn't taken anything from or off anybody since they migrated to the New World. He said the other thing about them was, once you earned their respect there were for you tooth and nail. Then too, he said, it took a thunderblot plus another Cunningham to make one of them change his mind. ' If we'd had two of that crowd, we'd'v'e had a hung jury.'”  The Cunningham's honor is a notable part of the book, and I enjoyed every scene with one of them appearing or mentioned in it. They are my favorite part of the book.