Essential question

The incident that occurred with Walter Cunningham that involved Scout beating him up was a learning experience for Scout. The quote on page 33 three, "He ain't company, Cal, he's just a Cunningham!," shows Scouts early negative views on Walter. However, the later quote by Calpurina, "...anybody sets foot in this house's yo' comp'ny...", changes Scouts attitude towards Walter. This change is essential, because in later chapters Scout even wants to invite Walter over to her house again (Although her Aunt forbids her from doing so). This also shows a contrast in morality between Aunt Alexandra and Scout. I find that Aunt Alexandra's morals are generally pretty easy to follow (It's due to her posh upbringing and condescening demeanor), like how she reacted to Scout's declaration of friendship towards Walter. However, her attitude to the Tom Robinson trial surprised me. I thought she would be on the same side of most of the town (against Tom), but on the contrary, she seemed to show sympathy for Tom.

Moving on from Aunt Alexandra, let's get to the background of Scout's attack on Walter. She initially blamed Walter for her getting on the bad side of her teacher. I believe, though, that Calpurnia and Jem brought a considerable change in her attitude of Walter.

Another question that this begs is if morality comes from within or is from the outside. I believe Scout didn't really disapprove of Walter, but the events that happened (i.e., the "outside") led to her negative attitude to the way she reacted to Walter's different table manners. This shows that morality comes from the outside. However, Calpurnia's belief that everyone should be welcomed and treated equally no matter their social status clearly comes from an inside belief within her.