Theme: There is good in everyone.
”So it took an eight-year-old child to
bring ‘em to their senses, didn’t it?” said Atticus.“That proves something—that
a gang of wild animals can be
stopped, simply because they’re still human” (210).
Response:
In this passage Atticus is talking about how Mr. Cunningham backed down after speaking to Scout. When he looked an innocent child in the eye and was asked of everyday things such as his son, Cunningham was reminded of his humanity. This also characterizes Atticus and how he has irrevocable faith in humanity, and believes that there is good in everyone. There is a continuation of the motif of madness in this passage as well. Mister Cunningham is driven to be angry and loses himself in the madness, but is brought back to his senses by Scout. When with a group of mad people, one can be convinced to go along with things that would not normally happen, but the classic southern courtesy with which an eight-year-old child treated Cunningham grounded him. Everyone has a basic humanity inside them, and Atticus represents that faith in the good of the human kind. This can connect to the overall theme that there is good in every human being, and all people are created with the same rudimentary sense of humanity and innocence within them.
bring ‘em to their senses, didn’t it?” said Atticus.“That proves something—that
a gang of wild animals can be
stopped, simply because they’re still human” (210).
Response:
In this passage Atticus is talking about how Mr. Cunningham backed down after speaking to Scout. When he looked an innocent child in the eye and was asked of everyday things such as his son, Cunningham was reminded of his humanity. This also characterizes Atticus and how he has irrevocable faith in humanity, and believes that there is good in everyone. There is a continuation of the motif of madness in this passage as well. Mister Cunningham is driven to be angry and loses himself in the madness, but is brought back to his senses by Scout. When with a group of mad people, one can be convinced to go along with things that would not normally happen, but the classic southern courtesy with which an eight-year-old child treated Cunningham grounded him. Everyone has a basic humanity inside them, and Atticus represents that faith in the good of the human kind. This can connect to the overall theme that there is good in every human being, and all people are created with the same rudimentary sense of humanity and innocence within them.