The gang of Old Sarum men led by Walter Cunningham Sr. who congregated at the jail was an old fashioned Southern lynch mob. Their intent was to forcibly remove Tom Robinson from his jail cell and take him to a "necktie party": a hanging. Cunningham and his cohorts had planned well: They had already called Sheriff Tate away into the deep woods on a "snipe hunt"--a bogus report that led the sheriff on a wild goose chase, leaving Tom undefended except by Atticus, who had previously been alerted that there might be trouble. Lynchings were a fact of life in the Deep South, and there were many instances of white men taking the law into their own hands--vigilante justice--by hanging or shooting black victims accused of some sort of crime or misbehavior, usually against whites. Cunningham was prepared: He came with plenty of men already emboldened by the aid of alcohol, and they were prepared to harm Atticus if necessary. But as Atticus pointed out later, "a mob's always made up of people," and Scout's innocent conversation with Mr. Cunningham reminded him that he was human and that maybe he wasn't capable of murder after all.

The mob scene of To Kill a Mockingbird establishes both the historical context and the mob/herd mentality of human nature in Harper Lee's narrative. In an indictment of the social code of the South, Lee loosely bases her character of Tom Robinson upon that of Emmett Till, a black youth who in 1955 had allegedly harassed a white woman and, consequently, was killed as a result of a severe beating by white men. Under the Jim Crow Laws, all that was necessary was the accusation by the white against the black; no proof was required. So, since Mayella Ewell has made an accusation of rape by Robinson, the mob of Walter Cunningham, Sr., forms in a pre-conditioned act and drives into town to the jailhouse where Robinson is being kept. There, they demand that Atticus hand over Tom so they can take him and kill him. This intention of theirs reflects what was done in order to re-establish the fear of the white man and prevent other blacks from talking or interacting with white women.

That there is a mob mentality is exemplified by Scout's singling out of Mr. Cunningham. For, when she speaks to him individually, calling him by name,

"Hey, Mr. Cunningham. How's your entailment gettin' along?"

Mr. Cunningham feels singled out from the safety of the mob/herd, and he also begins to think on his own. As Scout innocently talks to him, Cunningham, who is essentially a decent person, recalls the kindnesses that Atticus Finch has shown him and is overcome with guilt that he would now join in the physical and mental intimidation of this kind lawyer. In a completely different state of mind, Cunningham then stoops to Scout and tells her he will give his son her message.

"Let's clear out...Let's get going, boys," he orders the others, and they depart as the psychology of the mob has been broken and their mindless act of hatred placed into its proper context.