In Chapter 15 of Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem, Scout and Dill discover Atticus sitting outside of the Maycomb jail on the Sunday night before the Robinson trial is to take place. When a group of Cunninghams show up, Scout runs to her father to check out the situation. Scout doesn't know that the Cunninghams are there to lynch Tom before the trial can even take place. Once she senses trouble, she becomes a...
In Chapter 15 of Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Jem, Scout and Dill discover Atticus sitting outside of the Maycomb jail on the Sunday night before the Robinson trial is to take place. When a group of Cunninghams show up, Scout runs to her father to check out the situation. Scout doesn't know that the Cunninghams are there to lynch Tom before the trial can even take place. Once she senses trouble, she becomes a chatterbox. She identifies Walter Cunningham in the crowd and tells him that she is friends at school with his son. The presence of children in an adult situation, plus the fact that Scout brings up Walter, Jr. in conversation, reminds Mr. Cunningham of what is most important in life--family and the fact that he is a father.
Then, without much to say, Scout unleashes the ramblings of her mind and talks to Mr. Cunningham about his legal problems. Since Atticus has very kindly and patiently helped Mr. Cunningham in the past, Scout reminds him of what Atticus stands for. Atticus is a good father, a kind friend, and a fair and generous lawyer. This might bring to Mr. Cunningham's mind how Atticus has allowed him to pay his legal fees in-kind; that is to say, he is allowed to pay with goods and services rather than money. By reminding Mr. Cunningham first of his son and then of Atticus's goodness and quality of character, Scout helps to soften Mr. Cunningham's heart to the point that he calls off the mob. These topics of conversation help Mr. Cunningham to see Atticus as a father and good person rather than a lawyer standing in the way of him and his plan to lynch a black man. Of this experience Atticus says the following:
"So it took an eight-year-old child to bring 'em to their senses, didn't it? . . . That proves something--that a gang of wild animals can be stopped, simply because they're still human. Hmp, maybe we need a police force of children . . . you children last night made Walter Cunningham stand in my shoes for a minute. That was enough" (157).
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