"You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb into his skin and walk around in it."How...

The Cunninghams fall into the 2nd of the 4 tiers of
Maycomb society:

1. White Professionals (Atticus,
   Miss Maudie)


2. Poor White Farmers
   (Cunninghams)


3. Poor White Trash
   (Ewells)


4. Blacks (Calpurnia,
   Robinsons)

There is prejudice from nearly every
tier of this list toward anyone who is underneathe.  Not every character fits into the
generality that the entire town is prejudiced, but to make a generalization, the class
system is mostly built on wealth and education, and most are born into a level where
they will always remain.  Not understanding this unspoken societal class system is why
Miss Caroline has such a hard time on the first day of school.  There are unspoken rules
and boundaries that go with it.

This quote applies to
directly to many of the different people Scout must "consider" as she grows up.  There
are not many characters in the book who are similar to the family she knows.  When
Walter comes over for supper for example, in chapter 3, Scout starts to make fun of him
for pouring mollasses all over his food.  Scout doesn't understand the look from
Atticus, nor the fact that she must finish her meal in the kitchen with
Calpurnia.

Scout grows up in the first tier of Maycomb
society, a group that Atticus belongs to by education and perhaps income, but not
necessarily attitude.  Unlike many people in the "professionals" category, Atticus is
not imposing on his children the attitude that they are better than anyone else. 
Therefore, not only does Walter Cunningham relate directly to this most famous "Atticus
Finch lesson," but nearly everyone else in the town does as
well.