According to Jem, what four kinds of folks are there in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Jem says there are ordinary folks, people like the Cunninghams and Ewells and Negroes.

Part of growing up is learning how the world works.  After the trial, Jem decides that he was worked out the class system in Maycomb that defines the level of power each person has.

There’s four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there’s the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods,...

Jem says there are ordinary folks, people like the Cunninghams and Ewells and Negroes.

Part of growing up is learning how the world works.  After the trial, Jem decides that he was worked out the class system in Maycomb that defines the level of power each person has.

There’s four kinds of folks in the world. There’s the ordinary kind like us and the neighbors, there’s the kind like the Cunninghams out in the woods, the kind like the Ewells down at the dump, and the Negroes.” (Ch. 23)

By “ordinary” he means people of the middle and upper class of Maycomb who have enough money to live comfortably and avoid the contempt of the rest of society.  The Finches are part of this group, an old family.  The Cunninghams are also white, but they are poor yet respectable farmers.  This leaves the Ewells on the lowest ladder of the white people.

They were people, but they lived like animals. “They can go to school any time they want to, when they show the faintest symptom of wanting an education,” said Atticus. “There are ways of keeping them in school by force, but it’s silly to force people like the Ewells into a new environment-” (Ch. 3)

The Ewells are the cause of the problem with the trial.  They consider themselves superior to African Americans like Tom Robinson, even though they are the lowest rung on Maycomb’s ladder.  Just being white makes them superior to even the most dignified African American.

Scout comments that the Cunninghams are superior to the Ewells, because Walter is "not trash."  This is an understanding of the difference between working for a living like the farmer Cunninghams and living off of welfare and hunting like the Ewells.  The Cunninghams make an attempt to be a part of society, but the Ewells don't.