Walter Cunningham Jr.

Walter is almost as old as Jem but is in Scout’s class at school. On the first day of first grade he lacks both shoes and a lunch, but it’s clear he’s a step up from Burris Ewell, since Walter at least has clean clothes. Scout tries to explain Walter’s lack of a lunch and refusal of a loan to the teacher since Walter himself can’t or won’t, but Walter’s situation (too poor to pay back a quarter) is simply beyond Miss Caroline’s ability to understand. Scout’s own ability to understand is exceeded when Walter pours molasses all over his lunch at the Finches, and she learns from Cal that just because someone’s different doesn’t mean she gets to judge them. Scout gets a lesson in the other direction when she wants to hang out with Walter but Aunt Alexandra squashes that idea because the Cunninghams, in her eyes, are trash. Walter, as a Cunningham at Scout’s age level, serves as her gateway into the complex world of white class relations in Maycomb.