There are two views of what “Fine Folks” are that are mentioned in To Kill A Mockingbird. The first is that Fine Folks are those with long family histories, i.e. how long one family has been in a particular area. The other view is that Fine Folks can be defined as those that did the best they could with the sense they had. This means that no matter how little a family had, as long as they tried their hardest and did their best, they were considered Fine Folks.
Aunt Alexandra holds to the first view of Fine Folks. She believes that the longer one family has lived in a particular spot, the Finer they are. Although this would make the Ewells Fine Folks, she still stands by her opinion. But this also makes a lot of the other people in Maycomb Fine Folks, and this is how it should be. Personally, if a family is rude, unkind, unfriendly, and generally disagreeable, no matter how long they’ve lived in a particular place, they should not be considered Fine Folks.
I do believe Scout was one person who thought that Fine Folks were defined by the second opinion. She believed that as long as the family tried their hardest, even if they were poor or hadn’t been around too long, they were Fine people. With this view, this would not make the Ewells good people, which is right. But it would make people like the Cunninghams Fine Folks, which I think is understandable. After all, they do try to get by on what they have, and are a trustworthy, honest, and hard-working family. I would have to agree with this view of what Fine Folks are more than the first one.
In my personal opinion, Fine Folks should be defined individually, not as a family, not by length of family history, and not by prejudices. Anyone that has earned respect and doesn’t shrug responsibility should be considered Fine. A person should be judged by their accomplishments, not by things their family may have done in the past. Anyone who has tried their best, despite failure, success, or otherwise; and has always worked with what they have towards a respectable goal should be considered a Fine person. It is not family history that make Fine Folks, it is the people who make up the family that are important.
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