The One who Fought against the Jury

Changing your opinion on an idea is common, “you’re marching ahead, confident in your decision, and then bam, you’re side winded by these questioning and conflicting thoughts.” (Why We Can Change Our Minds at the Last Minute, Psychology Today). This is what happens to Walter Cunningham Sr. in Harper Lee’s book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Mr. Walter Cunningham is proven wrong and chooses to change his opinion on page 222 when Atticus tells Scout and Jem that Mr. Cunningham, who was voting against the jury showing support for Tom Robinson.

Though at first Mr. Cunningham was with the jury, he weighed his thoughts and changed his mind. After reading that Mr. Cunningham changed his decision on the jury, I realized that it is okay to make a decision that goes against what others might think.

For instance, there are many reasons to change your opinion on an idea. People change their opinion on an idea because they did not fully understand what was happening the in the situation (Why People Change Their Mind and Why You Should Too, Dan Waldschmidt). I believe that in To Kill a Mockingbird Mr. Cunningham did not know exactly what his own opinion was, so he was just going off the community’s opinion at first. In fact, some people change their opinion once they get all the information from both sides (Why People Change Their Mind and Why You Should Too, Dan Waldschmidt). Mr. Cunningham changed his opinion on the Tom Robinson case after he got all the information. I find it hard to change my opinion. For example, when I was little I always thought I hated cauliflower, but my mother made me try it.

I was sure I was not going to like it, but once I tasted it, it was like a whole new world for vegetables. Although this was not as dramatic as Mr. Cunningham’s opinion change, I still think it is hard to change your opinions. Even though Mr. Cunningham voted for Tom Robinson on the jury, his thoughts were not always clear to him. For example, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Mr. Cunningham came to the jail house with his Old Sarum friends to kill Tom Robinson. Their task was not accomplished because Atticus was sitting on front of the jail house. Although Atticus did have help from Scout because she stopped Mr. Cunningham in his tracks when she asked him about how his entailments were going. With having Scout catch everyone off guard, the Old Sarum gang soon forgot what they came for and went on their way. In other words, Mr. Cunningham agreed with the community’s opinion about Tom Robinson, that he was guilty, and that he should be punished for what he had done.

At first, Mr. Cunningham had a bad streak, but he changed a little. I think people who have a bad side have good inside of them, but they are afraid to show it. Once Mr. Cunningham voted for Tom Robison, I think it made the people in the town evaluate their previous opinions. Mr. Cunningham’s decision on the jury affected the way the town members thought about the Robison vs. Ewell case. I think it made the people think about how they should treat the African Americans with respect and that they are good people and that some white people, are not always good. Atticus knew he would be treated with disrespect for helping Tom. Atticus himself did not even believe he would win the case, but he knew it was the right thing to help Tom Robinson. With having Mr. Cunningham on the jury I think he realized that Tom Robinson hadn’t done anything wrong and that he was truly a good person. I think Mr.

Cunningham’s decision infected the town with thoughts, like that we should have believed Tom. The town should have gotten the full story before judging Tom for who he wasn’t. Getting the full story makes a big difference. In conclusion, “you’re marching ahead, confident in your decision, and then bam, you’re side winded by these questioning and conflicting thoughts.” (Why We Can Change Our Minds at the Last Minute, Psychology Today). This is shown by Mr. Cunningham because he was confident in his decision on going against Tom Robinson. This was shown when he went to the jail house with his old Sarum friends to kill Tom. But in the end, he surprised us with the vote for Tom to be innocent. So in conclusion, Mr. Cunningham was shown to make a difference for Tom and in the community

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