TKAM Essay

Submitted By ibray
Words: 875
Pages: 4
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Have you ever felt so different, or so out of place that you decided to change what you thought was true and just to try and fit in? Sometimes that's the only option right? Surrender your beliefs at the will of the majority. Give up the things that makes you unique, and assimilate into the crowd. Maybe it's just that you don't want to stand out; you just want to be a part of society shielded from judgement and ridicule. Everyone is faced with these decisions numerous times a day. Most are miniscule and not very important, but few can completely change who you are, and what kind of person you become. Do you yearn to belong so much, that you are willing to put aside what you believe in, and change who you are?

Now I want to start with Mr. Cunningham’s character before I go into the scene. The first thing I want to point out is his status. Mr. Cunningham is a poor man who works very hard on his farm and is probably lonely in his personal life. His character to me seem a little depressed and a little sad. His family has been working the same land for a long time and it doesn’t seem like he’s going anywhere soon status wise. He also has many entailments that Atticus has helped him fix (pg27). He is a hardworking man that always repays his debt in anyway he can. Now knowing all that, we can say that Mr. Cunningham, when given the opportunity to join a group (lynch mob), was very willing to try and be a part of it. I believe that if he were to be given an opportunity to join any group, he would take it. Being a part of a group in is something that everyone longs to have, and when this mob was recruiting members, it was very easy for his to say yes and feel like he belongs (pg202). The fact that scout was able to talk Mr. Cunningham out of getting Tom Robinson just shows that he really didn’t want to be doing what he was doing. He really just wanted to be a part of a group, but sometimes that group can take away what you truly value and believe.

This is reinforced by when Jem asks Atticus “I thought Mr. Cunningham was our friend..”(pg210) to which Atticus replies, “he still is, he just has his blind spots along with the rest.” (pg210) He really is their friend, but what he believed in was clouded by the majority’s believes.

Now when Calpurnia takes the Finch kids to her church, they are approached by Lula, a tall (“she was seven feet tall!” says Scout) black woman with some attitude. We can presume that Lula has been a pain, or a bother times before this, given Calpurnia`s slow turn to face her, and tightened grip on the children`s shoulders. And take note of how she addresses the kids and her own church; “I wants to know why yous bringin’ white chillun to nigger church.”(pg158) So with that in mind, Lula`s confrontation with Calpurnia has probably had some heat before (Lula making fun of her for working for whites, or being `owned` by the Finchs). Now Lula’s yearning to belong is a strange one to work with, given that if she was trying to belong to that black church, then that would probably mean that the
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