I don't believe Atticus makes any personal comments about
the Cunninghams or Ewells during Chapters 19-22. However, he talks with Jem and
Alexandra about Ewell in Chapter 23. He explains to Jem that
he
"destroyed
his last shred of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with. The man had to
have some kind of a comeback; his kind always
does."
Atticus reassures Jem
that Bob "got it all out of his system that morning" when he spit in the attorney's
face.
Concerning the Cunninghams, Atticus only hints that
one of them was on the jury. He did go on to say that
... the Cunninghams hadn't taken anything from
or off anybody since they migrated to the New World... once you earned their respect,
they were for you tooth and nail. Atticus said he had a feeling... that they left the
jail that night with considerable respect for the Finches... it took a thunderbolt plus
another Cunningham to make one of them change his mind. "If we'd had two of that crowd,
we'd've had a hung
jury."
Atticus says that "On
a hunch, I didn't strike him" (the Cunningham "connection") from the jury
selection.
Earlier in the novel, Atticus claims that "the
Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations." As for Walter Cunningham
Sr., Atticus knows he would eventually be paid for his legal services. "... before the
year's out, I'll have been paid. You watch," he told Scout.
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