Knowing YourselfIn Harper Lee's award-winning novel To Kill A Mockingbird, set in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s, many characters go through different daily struggles. daily life. These storms teach the reader different things about the characters. Walter Cunningham Sr., a farmer, goes through two very difficult struggles, trying to stay afloat during the economic crisis and trying to decide for himself whether the prejudices of the people of Maycomb against African Americans are true. First, one of the storms is Walter Cunningham Sr. trying to provide for his family during the Great Depression. Early in the novel, Atticus, the best lawyer in all of Maycomb, tells his daughter, Scout, and son, Jem, that "if he kept his mouth right, Mr. Cunningham could get a job at the WPA, but his land would be in ruins if he left it, and he [is] willing to go hungry to keep his land and vote as he pleases” (Lee 12). Obviously this shows that Walter Cunningham is very passionate about what he does and cannot bear to let his farm disappear, even if it means he will struggle to provide for his family and he will not might just hurt himself. But Walter, being his strong character, continues to fight putting everything he has into his farm in order to keep his family alive and barely survive with what he has. A little later in the novel, Scout explains to the reader how Walter pays them. "One morning Jem and I found a load of firewood in the back yard. Later a bag of hickory nuts appeared on the back steps...Atticus said Mr. Cunningham more than had it paid” (11). This illustrates the idea that Walter Cunningham is a very responsible individual who makes the most of his situation by paying middle of paper......n. These storms reveal many things about him, such as his passion, sense of responsibility, and ability to take an introspective journey, as well as insight into Mr. Cunningham's mind. Writers create characters in order to teach the reader something, and Walter Cunningham clearly embodies the idea of ​​knowing yourself and being your own individual, as well as proof that a distorted society can corrupt the mind of his innocents. Walter Cunningham shows readers that people can be both passionate and responsible, and can decide for themselves what to believe. Lee invites the reader to undertake their own introspective journey to discover who they are and what they believe. Overall, Walter Cunningham Sr. shows the arduous journey of sticking to what you love and truly knowing yourself. Works CitedHarper Lee, To Kill A Mockingbird