Saturday, January 12, 2013

Why did Scout Finch intervene on behalf of Walter Cunningham in the classroom in chapter two of To Kill A Mockingbird?

In essence, Scout takes it upon herself to teach Miss
Caroline about the citizens of Maycomb--in this case, Walter Cunningham.  When Walter
refuses the lunch money that Miss Caroline offers him and doesn't provide a reason for
doing so, Scout replies, "He's a Cunningham."  She feels this answer will provide Miss
Caroline with enough information to know why Walter has refused her offer, since
everyone in Maycomb knows that the Cunninghams won't accept anything they can't pay
back. 


However, Miss Caroline takes exception to Scout's
behavior on the first day of school (Scout is also caught writing a letter to Dill and
already knows how to write in cursive), and punishes Scout by hitting her hand with a
ruler.  As a result, Scout attacks Walter Cunningham because she feels it's Walter's
fault that she has been reprimanded. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Comment on the setting and character of "The Fall of the House of Usher."How does setting act as a character?

Excellent observation, as it identifies how the settings of Poe's stories reflect the characters of their protagonists. Whet...