“Atticus was related by blood or marriage to nearly every family
in the town.”
Harper Lee shows the incestuous nature of the people showed through in nearly all of the families in Maycomb, and this was because they lived a very insular existence;
“there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing
to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb county.”
Two of the most important families in the story are the Ewell’s and the Cunningham’s, these both have prejudices held against them by the wider community, but a closer look shows that the two families are very different. Both families have very similar financial situations, struggling to survive during the Depression. Although similar in some aspects, both have very different attitudes towards the community in which they reside. The Cunningham’s are portrayed as poor and uneducated, but overall honest, decent, civilised and respectful of the community around them. The Ewell’s are also poor and uneducated, but a total contrast in the other respects, living “like animals,” with little care or respect for the society in which they live.
An example of this difference occurs on the first day when children from each of the families attend the school. Walter Cunningham is described as having “a clean shirt and freshly mended overalls” whereas Scout describes Burris Ewell as “the filthiest human I had ever seen.” Walter Cunningham's parents have evidently tried to make Walter make the best of his education, and have cleaned his clothes and mended his overalls in order for him to make a good impression. Bob Ewell has taken a different approach, as he believes that the children are required at home to work. “They come first day every year, and then leave' 'the truant lady give up tryin' to hold 'em”
Calpurnia is not genetically related to Scout but acts as a mother, teaching Scout to read and even giving her a view of the black community, by taking her to the “First Purchase African ME church.” Calpurnia is influential in Scout's infant life. One of the most important part of the book is when Scout criticises Walter Cunningham, and attempts to redeem herself by saying, “he's just a Cunningham.” Calpurnia replies, “don't matter who they are…don't let me catch you remarkin' on their ways like you was so high and mighty.” This incident shows that, like Atticus, Calpurnia believes that all people should be treated equally, irrespective who they are.
These are just some of the insights into characters that we come across in Maycomb and how they live there lives in this small town.
