In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, argues that poverty can affect one's whole life and can also affect their surroundings. Character’s that get affected by this and that live in poverty would be the Cunningham family. These characters are very affected by the theme of the story and it shows throughout the book.
One event that shows that poverty can affect one’s life is when Walter Cunningham doesn't bring his lunch on the first day of school. His teacher, Miss Caroline then was confused to why he wouldn’t bring lunch and asked him why he didn’t bring anything to eat. Walter simply said he forgot but then Miss Caroline tried lending him money so he could buy himself some food to eat. Walter then refused to take the money. Scout then tries to explain to Miss Caroline that it’s common that the Cunningham’s won't accept a lend from anyone. He tried explaining who the Cunninghams were and why they’re that way. This scene is on chapter 2. “Miss Caroline, he’s a Cunningham. The Cunninghams never took anything they can pay back, no church baskets and no scrip stamps. They never took anything off of anybody, they get along on what they have”
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It has affected him in a way because it seemed that Miss Caroline was shaming him in front of the whole class. It has affected his surroundings too like Scout. Scout was trying to explain the “Cunningham tribe” to Miss Caroline and ended up getting whipped. Walter and his family don’t accept the money people try to lend them, making people think differently about him like Miss Caroline. They will never accept any favors from anybody unless they can repay it. Since they can rarely afford to pay money, the family repays people in products of their labor, like what Mr. Cunningham did with Jem’s dad. The Cunningham family are a very proud family, they have no shame of their