At first, Scout dislikes her Aunt Alexandra. Aunt Alexandra is a cold woman who does not seem to understand how to deal with children. She also criticizes Atticus's child-rearing constantly. Worst of all for Scout, Aunt Alexandra wants to make her into a lady. She tries to get the tomboyish Scout to wear dresses and stop rough-housing with the neighborhood boys.

However, Scout eventually changes her thinking about Aunt Alexandra when she reveals her more emotional side during the trial and even covers for Calpurnia when she has to leave during a tea party. Far from disliking Atticus, Aunt Alexandra cares about him intensely and only criticizes his parenting because she wants what is best for the children, not because she is a tyrant.

In Chapter 9, Scout compares her Aunt Alexandra to Mount Everest because she is "cold and there." Scout does not appreciate her aunt's austere attitude and disagrees with Alexandra's view that she should dress and act more feminine. Scout views Aunt Alexandra with contempt because she is continually criticizing her lifestyle and tries to control her. Scout tries her best to avoid Alexandra, and even attempts to attack her after Alexandra calls Walter Cunningham Jr. "trash." Throughout the majority of the novel, Scout struggles to get along with her aunt. However, at the end of the novel Scout begins to notice Alexandra's soft side. The more Scout matures, the more she begins to realize that underneath Alexandra's hard exterior is a family member who wishes her the best.

How did Aunt Alexandra describe the Cunninghams in To Kill a Mockingbird?

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Aunt Alexandra does not mince words with regard to how she feels about the Cunninghams. She says they are not people with which the Finches associate, and this especially confuses young Scout.

When Scout first begins school at the start of the novel, she has a disagreement with Walter Cunningham because she feels he had gotten her "off on the wrong foot" with her new teacher. At recess Scout is ready to beat him up, but Jem stops her and invites Walter home to have lunch at the Finch house. Scout gets in trouble for pointing out Walter's unusual behavior at the dinner table. She recalls the encounter later in chapter twenty-three, while having a family discussion that begins about Bob Ewell and moves on to the Cunningham family. It is clear, and not surprisingly, that Aunt Alexandra is not as charitable toward Maycomb's lesser folks as Atticus is. While Atticus defends the Cunninghams, noting that once you have them in your corner they always have your back, Alexandra sees things much differently. For example, she says:

Jean Louise, there is no doubt in my mind that they're good folks. But they're not our kind of folks.

Scout recalls her aunt's refusal to allow her to visit Calpurnia's home. Even in her innocence, Scout notices a similarity between that situation and the one she faces now:

This time the tactics were different, but Aunt Alexandra's aim was the same.

So, Scout questions Alexandra, wondering why, if the Cunninghams are good folks, she cannot be nice to them. Her aunt insists there is no difficulty in being nice:

You should be friendly and polite to him, you should be gracious to everybody, dear. But you don't have to invite him home.

It is relatively easy to see that Aunt Alexandra's social values allow one to be civil and "gracious" to someone from the same town. But someone who is not considered a social equal is, in her mind, to be kept in his or her place; one that does not intersect with her place. She points out that the Cunninghams are in no way related and also that no Finch woman would ever be interested in a Cunningham man. And the only way a Cunningham will be allowed at their house, according to Scout's aunt, is if he comes to see Atticus on business.

Scout points out that she wants to play with Walter, and asks why she cannot:

She took off her glasses and stared at me. "I'll tell you why," she said. "Because—he—is—trash, that's why you can't play with him. I'll not have you around him, picking up his habits and learning Lord-knows-what. You're enough of a problem to your father as it is."

Before Scout can react (physically, it would seem) to Aunt Alexandra's edict, Jem steps in and leads her sobbing from the room.

In the same way that Scout cannot see anything wrong with Dolphus Raymond or Tom Robinson, she does not understand the harm in playing with a youngster that is, even by her aunt, deemed from a family of "good folks." The irony, of course, is that at least one Cunningham (on the jury) can see beyond race to Tom Robinson's innocence, while Alexandra's social equals possess no tolerance, or even sympathy, for the wrongs done to the Robinson family.

This incident is at the core of the struggle regarding the racial divide in the imaginary Maycomb, as well as the South in general, at that time. It reflects the battle with and the sometimes disheartening outcome in, as Atticus puts it, "the secret court of men's hearts."

How did Aunt Alexandra describe the Cunninghams in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Aunt Alexandra thinks that the Cunnhinghams are trash, and therefore will not let Scout play with him.

Scout asks to play with Walter Cunningham, Jr., but Aunt Alexandra says “Indeed Not.”  Scout asks her why she can’t play with the boy. After all, this was the same boy that Jem invited to lunch when Scout was in first grade, and Atticus chatted with him like an adult.

"I'll tell you why," she said. "Because- he- is- trash, that's why you can't play with him.  I'll not have you around him, picking up his habits and learning Lord-knows-what. You're enough of a problem to your father as it is." (ch 23)

Jem has to drag Scout away “sobbing in fury.”  She is upset that Aunt Alexandra groups Walter in the same category as the Ewells.  She does not consider them anything alike, and neither does Atticus.  Scout knows that the Cunninghams are decent people, even if they are poor.  Jem tells Scout that he has it all figured out.

“…The thing about it is, our kind of folks don't like the Cunninghams, the Cunninghams don't like the Ewells, and the Ewells hate and despise the colored folks." (ch 23)

Everybody needs somebody to look down on.  There is nothing wrong with the Cunninghams, but they don’t have money and the people who are from good families look down on them.  The Cunningham’s can look down on the Ewells because they do live in a much rougher way.

Scout has learned that people should be judged not by their class, but by their character.  This view of people she got from Atticus, who did not instill class-based values on his children like Aunt Alexandra wanted him to.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, how does Aunt Alexandra view Atticus's family (including Calpurnia)?

Aunt Alexandra is obsessed with heredity and holds her family in high regard. She is extremely proud of her heritage and family history and encourages her brother to teach his children about their esteemed ancestry. Despite her affinity for her family's history, she is upset that Atticus is defending a black man and believes that he is bringing shame on their family. Alexandra is prejudiced, like the majority of Maycomb's community, and is embarrassed by her brother's defense of Tom Robinson. She also believes that he is not raising his children responsibly, which is why she decides to stay with them for a while. She views Scout with contempt for her tomboy personality and attempts to change her into a proper, delicate Southern belle. Aunt Alexandra is also highly critical of Calpurnia and tries to persuade her brother into firing her. However, Atticus challenges his sister by refusing to dismiss Calpurnia and referring to her as a beloved member of their family. Despite Aunt Alexandra's rough exterior and autocratic nature, she wants what is best for her family and tries to positively influence Atticus and his children.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, how does Aunt Alexandra view Atticus's family (including Calpurnia)?

Atticus' sister, Aunt Alexandra views the Finches as a family of high breeding and a leading family in the communiity.  She also feels that Atticus is ruining the family name.  She believes that Atticus is too leanient with the children and that they have no business running all over Macomb like wild children.  She comes to live with Atticus and the children for awhile and tries to change the way Atticus does things.  She also tries to get Atticus to get rid of  Calpurnia.  She says, "we don't need her anymore."  Atticus stands up to Alexandra at this point and tells his sister that Clapurnia is "part of the family and will remain with the family as long as she wants to stay."  Alexandra backs down some after this, but she never stops trying to make a lady and gentleman out of Scout and Jem. 

In To Kill a Mockingbird, what does Aunt Alexandra think about the Cunninghams?  

Scout has always been a tom-boy. She likes doing the things Jem and Dill do. She was raised by Atticus, so really all she knows is how to play with the boys. Walter Cunningham is a school friend who at first she fights with but later enjoys playing with. When Aunt Alexandra comes to stay with them, she tells Atticus that Scout needs to be more ladylike; she needs a good woman's influence in her life. 

Aunt Alexandra wants Scout to be a lady. She doesn't think Atticus has done a very good job of providing her with a good female role model. Of course, Atticus has done the best he can do, but Aunt Alexandra believes that she will be the one to be an influence on young Scout. When Scout wants to play with Walter, Aunt Alexandra absolutely refuses. She thinks the Cunninghams are nothing but trash and not a good influence on Scout. 

Aunt Alexandra has in her mind the way she thinks young girls should be raised. She doesn't think Scout should continue to behave the way she has; she believes that she has come just in time to help Scout. Of course, Scout is furious with Aunt Alexandra interfering with her life, but by the end Scout does come to respect her.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, what does Aunt Alexandra think about the Cunninghams?  

Aunt Alexandra thinks the Cunninghams are beneath her.  She will give them food, but she wouldn't associate with them in public.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, what does Aunt Alexandra think about the Cunninghams?  

Aunt Alexandra refuses to allow Scout to invite Walter Cunningham to their home. Alexandra calls Walter “trash" and Scout begins crying so Jem takes her to her room. Jem explains that their aunt is “trying to make you a lady.” Scout sees no reason to treat others according to their social class just as she doesn't see the reason she has to learn to be "a lady."

In To Kill a Mockingbird, what is Aunt Alexandra's assessment of the Cunninghams?

Like so many of British descent, Aunt Alexandra is extremely class conscious. Shortly after her arrival prompted by her desire to lend familial support to her brother and re-establish the dignity of the Finch name, which has been maligned by the aspersions as those such as Mrs. DuBois. Shortly after her arrival Aunt Alexandra informs the children of the "caste system" in Maycomb, as Scout refers to it.

Later, in Chapter 23, in a discussion with Jem about Tom Robinson's trial, Atticus praises a Cunningham for having enough doubt to hold up the jury's verdict for an hour, adding that if there had been two, there would have been a hung jury. After hearing this, Scout decides that she will befriend Walter Cunningham once school resumes; however, Aunt Alexandra interrupts with "We'll see about that." When Scout asks her, "Why not, Aunty? They're good folks," Alexandra declares, 

"Jean Louise, there is no doubt in my mind that they're good folks. But they're not our kind of folks....you can scrub Walter Cunningham till he shines, you can put him in shoes and a new suit, but he'll never be like Jem. Besides, there a drinking streak in that family a mile wide. Finch women aren't interested in that sort of people."

The Cunninghams, according to Aunt Alexandra, are lower class people, not of the ilk of the Finches. Also, they have alcoholism in their lineage.