Walter Cunningham Quotes

“It matters not what someone is born but what they grow to be”- Albus Dumbledore. When you are born you can’t immediately go and start living your life like an adult. You can’t start driving a car, get a job, or take care of yourself. You will need guidance from your parents to help you grow to be a responsible person. Your parents will try and mold you into the best thing possible or not even care about your future. This quote shows the responsibilities that lie on the parents shoulders. They are in charge of the path leading to your adult life. School teachers will only help with education. The main teachers in your life are your parents. The most influential teachers in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee are the parents in Maycomb.
Atticus’

respect for everybody teaches his kids to hold the same ideals about honor and respect. Atticus has values for African Americans, and does not call them disrespectful names like the n-word. When he was defending Tom Robinson, Scout was being resented by her classmates. Scout asks her father, “ Do you defend n-words, Atticus?” He replies, “Of course I do. Don’t say n-word, Scout. That’s common” (99). Atticus is stopping the dehumanizing of African Americans by not calling them a derogatory name. Scout may not realize why she can not call them the n-word, but she is now a fighting in a battle of stopping the dehumanization of African Americans. In addition, Atticus teaches his kids not to be impolite to someone because they are rude to you. Mrs. Dubose is very rude and strict towards Jem and Scout. The kids have no idea about the huge battle that Mrs.Dubose is fighting, but Atticus knows about Mrs.Dubose’s battle and tells his kids, “Whatever she says to you, it’s your job not to let her make you mad” (133). He tells them to still keep their heads up above all the rotten stuff she says. When Jem cuts off all of Mrs. Dubose’s flowers, Atticus forces Jem to go be an adult and apologize for himself. This shows that Atticus has a lot of respect for Mrs. Dubose and wants Jem to have the same respect and to apologize with honor to her. Most people would have been enraged at the vile things that poured out of Mrs. Dubose’ mouth, but Atticus is able to look above that and see the good in her. Atticus also tried to teach Jem about honor in the courtroom. He says, “ I have nothing but pity in my heart for the chief witness for the state, but my pity does not extend so far as to her putting a man’s life at stake, which she has done in an effort to get rid of her own guilt” (271). Atticus is able to have sympathy for somebody but not let that sympathy cloud his own judgement. He is calm and rational. He tries to show his children to approach any problem with integrity and a rational mind.
Despite their impoverished situation, Walter Cunningham teaches his kids about honor.

The Cunninghams like the Ewells are poor. But the 2 families are really different from each other. The Ewells are white trash and the Cunninghams are very poor people that try to have some honor. An example of Walter Cunningham’s honor is not taking charity. “ The Cunninghams never took more that they could pay back- no church baskets and no scrip stamps...They don’t have much but they get along with it.”(26) Everybody in town knows about the Cunninghams and have some sort of respect for them. Walter comes to school in attire that shows that he wants to try and look his best. Unlike the Ewells Walter doesn’t show up at school only for one day and leave.To save Walter Cunningham from being humiliated in class Scout decides to tell the teacher about the Cunninghams. Walter was refusing Miss Caroline's quarter because his father had taught him not to take anymore than he could pay back. This shows a sign of honor because he doesn’t want people to pity him because they are poor. Mr. Finch was helping Mr. Cunningham with his . Everybody knew that he would never be able to pay him fully in money. “One morning Jem and I found a load of stovewood in the backyard. Later, a sack of hickory nuts appeared on the back steps… That spring… Atticus said Mr. Cunningham had more than paid him” (27). Instead of not paying Mr. Finch at all or taking a lot of time to do it, he paid him as quickly as possible and with what he had. This is a sign of honor in my eyes. He did not expect pity from anybody and did what he could. Another sign that Mr. Cunningham taught his son well was how Walter talked to Mr. Finch. “ Walter and Atticus talked together like men, to the wonderment of Jem and me.” Scout was surprised that someone like Walter could talk like a man with such maturity and respect. This was another sign that Walter’s father raised him right by making him act like a grown man. A little boy

cannot hold the mature act for long, he pours syrup all over his food because he doesn’t get enough sweet things. Walter Cunningham has raised his son with as much honor as a wealthy person could.
The way Bob Ewell lives his life unfortunately teaches his kids to have no honor. Bob Ewell is considered white trash in Maycomb. He chooses to accept that title. His 8 children have no other role models in their lives. Bob can’t even provide a stable home for his children. “... The plot of ground around the cabin look like the playhouse of an insane child: what passed for a fence was bits of tree-limbs, broomsticks, and tool shafts, all tipped with rusty hammer heads, snaggle-toothed rake heads, shovels, axes and grubbing shoes, held on with pieces of barbed wire… a discarded dentist's chair, an ancient icebox, plus lesser items: old shoes,worn-out table radios, picture frames, and fruit jars, under which scrawny orange chickens pecked hopefully” (228). Their house is a complete dump. The Ewell house is not fit at all for children. If Bob Ewell cared about his children he would get a job and try to give his a children a nice home. Bob Ewell knows how to read and write but beyond that his education is not any more advanced. He also doesn’t seem to care about his children’s education. “ He’s one of the Ewells, ma’am… Whole school’s full of ‘em. They come first day every year and then leave...You’re supposed to mark ‘em absent the rest of the year” (36). He only makes them go to school on the first day so they are not breaking the law. These kids have a poor education and they are fine with it because that’s what their father taught them and they have no other people to look up to. The only kid that tries to break the cycle of this life is, Mayella Ewell. She tries to protest the hopelessness of the Ewell household. She tries her best to keep clean, she gardens to make something pretty out of the dump, and tries to be presentable. The rest of the Ewell children sadly succumb to the hopelessness. Education has no value at all to them. Mr. Ewell has no respect for anybody. He treats everyone like trash even though he is considered trash. He yells at anybody he feels like. “This morning Mr. Bob Ewell stopped Atticus on the post office corner, spat in his face, and told him he’d get him if it took the rest of his life” (290). What does his teach his kids? That they have the right to spit at people they don’t like? This is the worst thing he could show his kids. He has no right to treat others like this.
Parents have a lot of influence over your lives. In Maycomb, the most significant teachers are the parents. The children in Maycomb are part of the next generation of the society. The parents want to make the society better through their kids. Soon these kids would be parents and they will try to make the society better. This cycle will repeat itself over and over. Parents should strive to be the best teacher in their child's life. The world has infinite chances to make the next generation better than the first. Don’t be the person that messes up the chain of redemption for the mistakes that were made. Be a mockingbird that molds their children into more mockingbirds, not blue jays.