The episode also demonstrates that Bob Ewell is far from concerned with his children’s education as they are allowed to truant and no “officers could keep their numerous offspring in school”. Scout’s use of the word “offspring” to describe the Ewells, conveys them to be animalistic, feral and dysfunctional. The fact that the older Scout portrays them in this manner implies that they have not changed and will never change as they are still seen as the “trash” of Maycomb. Harper Lee also uses humour in the form of malapropism through the speech of Bob Ewell to show that he is uneducated when saying that he is “most definitely not ambidextrous” and can use “one hand good as the other”. This effectively displays how difficult it is to break the cycle of poverty and inequality as nothing changes with every new generation of the Ewell family.
Despite this, some argue that it is Bob Ewell who should be held accountable for his family’s flaws, as he does not nurture them sufficiently and is “spending his welfare cheques on whiskey” rather than his children. This suggests that Ewell is neglectful as he takes no interest in his children’s needs but rather spends his money on nonessential items such as alcohol. Harper Lee implies that a child who is not properly cared for does not learn to respect others and suggests that bad parenting can have devastating consequences. This makes Bob Ewell the ultimate symbol of evil within the novel lacking all redeeming features.
Bob’s corruption even reaches his daughter Mayella who at first takes care in her appearance by bathing -in contrast to her siblings- and tending to her flowers which are described to be “brilliant red geraniums” by Scout. The older Scout sympathises with Mayella as she was not always “arrogant” like she is illustrated to be in the trial scene. It is hard not see her as that flower, her fragile nature crushed so easily under her father’s oppression. Yet, she is not a symbol of innocence (a Mockingbird) as she is complicit in framing Tom Robinson despite being given every chance to confess the truth that it was infact her father who attacked her. That fact that Atticus questions her gently when saying “I won’t try and scare you but how old are you?” displays that she is more like her father than meets the eye as she has the audacity to lie to the people who show her compassion. The fear that Mayella has of her father overrules whatever moral decency she possesses thus Bob’s aggressive nature has a direct influence on Mayella’s actions.
The Cunningham family act as a contrast to the vile nature of the Ewells; Whereas the Ewells relish their moment in the spotlight, the Cunninghams are much more modest and prefer stay in the shadows. This is emphasized early on in the novel through one of the family’s children, Walter Cunningham who politely declines his teacher Miss Caroline Fisher’s offer of taking a quarter from her in order “go and eat down town”. It is only through Scout’s six year old perspective that the reader understands that the Cunningham family “never took anything they can’t pay back” demonstrating that they are proud and honest. This episode uses humour, but not to undermine Walter; it is used to create sympathy for him and allows the reader to warm to the Cunningham family in contrast to Ewells who are ridiculed by the older Scout’s humorous narration when they are called “guests of Maycomb”. It is crucial to note that it is not Walter who explains his position; he embraces his southern courtesy and defers naturally to the teacher and to the more middle class and articulate Scout. Despite this, it is also clear that they are not very well educated as Walter uses slang terms such as “pizened ‘em” in contrast to Scout’s more formal language.
The Cunningham Southern courtesy is also highlighted in the molasses episode where it is made apparent that the Cunninghams have high moral, as Walter Cunningham (junior) speaks politely to Atticus calling him “sir”. This effectively conveys that the family is close as they are following their father’s example in the practice of high morals.
Furthermore, Mr Cunningham is illustrated to be caring towards his family despite Scout’s initial visualisation of him taking “no interest in his son”. This is exhibited through the dialogue between Scout and Mr Cunningham and his actions which are depicted in the “lynch mob” episode. Here, Scout attempts to make friendly conversation with Mr Cunningham by stating that “entailments are bad” and telling him that his son Walter “was a good boy”. At first, he ignores Scout, giving the reader a sense of ignorance and neglect (thus the preconceived idea of Cunningham taking “no interest in his son”). In response to her sympathetic and sociable dialogue, Mr Cunningham then “squatted down and took” her “by both shoulders” notifying her that he would “tell him you said hey”. The fact that Mr Cunningham squats down to Scout’s level suggests that he can relate to children and is not ignorant like his previously depicted to be. One must appreciate that it is through Scout’s innocence that the reader is able to acknowledge the Cunninghams’ high sense of moral goodness as she is naïve to the towns’ predicaments. Due to Scout being young, Mr Cunningham disperses the mob as he does not want to corrupt her innocent mentality with violence and hatred. This reveals the contrasting family relationships of the Ewells and the Cunninghams as Mr Cunningham handles his relations in a positive manner whilst Bob Ewell is completely lax and ignorant towards his children and his surrounding society.
The warmth emitted from the Cunninghams immediately dissipates upon the initial description of the Radley household. Scout uses conventions of gothic horror and metaphors to depict the house as “rain rotted” and desolate as “oak trees kept the sun away”. These gothic conventions highlight the emotional deprivation of the family as the description of their home shows that they are not social people and “kept to themselves, a predilection unforgivable in Maycomb”.
The owners of the residence, Mr and Mrs Radley are also described to be socially dysfunctional, as they are never seen outside of their home socialising with others. Mr Radley is described to have “walked to town at eleven-thirty every morning… sometimes carrying a brown paper bag that the neighbourhood assumed contained the family groceries”. These assumptions made by the citizens Maycomb suggest that the family is a mystery to the town as Mr Radley does not communicate with his neighbours showing that the Radleys are antisocial
Their self enforced isolation has devastating consequences on their children, specifically Arthur Radley who is seen as a “malevolent phantom” hence his nickname Boo. Through Scout's narration, one ascertains that as a teenager, Boo entangled himself with the “wrong crowd of people”. The group was described to be “the closest thing to a gang that Maycomb had seen” as they had stolen the sheriff’s car, a crime which led Boo to being sentenced to go to a reformatory school. However, Mr. Radley convinced the judge to let him keep his son in the house instead; He saw it as a disgrace to send Arthur to such a place. He was not seen, or heard from for fifteen years until he allegedly plunged a pair of scissors into his father’s leg. This highlights the lack of care from Arthur’s parents as they allowed Arthur to entangle himself with a “gang” and deprived him from contact with the outside world for fifteen years. It is clear that Mr Radley cares about his social status as he reluctant to show the weaknesses of his family (by sending his son to a reformatory school). However, one could argue that social standards are nothing if the family’s’ relationship is inefficient as it is the basis on which others judge you. Furthermore, the fact that the story of the Radleys is being told from the older Scout’s perspective suggests that much like the Ewells, things have not changed thus sympathy is gained for Boo.
As a result of Boo being isolated, he seeks emotional warmth from Jem and Scout as seen when he leaves hand carved “miniatures of two children” within a cavity of a tree for them to play with. This highlights the contrast between Boo and his parents as he is trying to socialise with others on their terms whereas his parents just ignore the outside world. To Arthur, Jem and Scout are substitutes for family symbolised by the carvings and a means of suppressing his cold and bitter home life. As Jem matures, he begins to notice that Boo is not a “monster” as previously described but a “gentleman”. This is something Scout does not realise as she is immature, describing him to be a “squirrel eater” showing her narration to be unreliable.
Despite Boo’s attempts to fraternize with the children, the differences within the families makes it very difficult to do so; Whereas the Finches portray warmth and comradeship which is seen through Scout and Jem, the Radleys show a cold and lonely family life which is displayed when Nathan Radley-Arthur’s brother- “fills their tree” (where the children find presents from Boo) with cement. Nathan’s actions are seen to be morally wrong as he broke his brother’s only connection to the outside world, something that brings Jem to tears when he realises it. Despite the heartbreak of this episode it highlights Arthur’s courage; Whereas the repressive values of his family –much like the Ewells- transfers from generation to generation, Boo rallies against it. This is seen when he saves Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell who was “tryin’ to squeeze” the children “to death”. This defies all that the reader knows about the antisocial Radleys and raises the question, if Arthur Radley can break free from the chains which hold him down, is there really an excuse for Mayella not to do the same?
In conclusion, the reader is given a mixed image of family relations within the “tired old town” of Maycomb. The first image the reader is given is that of Atticus and his close relationship with his family and how good morals can bring a family closer together. In juxtaposition, Lee displays the Ewells as a distant family as they are poorer than the Finches and have lower moral standards which are transferred from the father Bob Ewell to his children as seen when Burris insults his teacher. But, as Harper lee highlights, money is not everything when it comes to family relationships as shown by the Cunninghams who despite being poor uphold high moral values and follow in their father’s example of being kind and honest. The final image is that of neglect and isolation which illustrated through the Radley family who display the devastating effects of bad parenting (seen through Boo Radley). Through out the novel, Lee makes it clear that the Finches are bench mark for the rest of Maycomb and portray a perfect family relationship. The author suggests that if all families were like the Finches and the Cunninghams in the practice of high morals, the surrounding society would be far more stable than a society with families who take no interest in one another and sponge “off of the welfare system”.
