To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was instantly successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature, widely read in U.S. high schools.[1] The story takes place during three years of the Great Depression in the fictional "tired old town" of Maycomb, Alabama. This is a list of characters from the novel.
Main article:
Atticus FinchAtticus Finch is the father of the protagonist of To Kill a Mockingbird which is Scout. Atticus is Scout and Jem's father who is a well known attorney in Maycomb. He is wise and teaches the children lessons throughout the novel. Atticus believed in equality and thought of no one to be different prior to their circumstances. He defended Tom Robinson and foresees many things. His children call him by his name, rather the paternal "Dad." He was originally known as "One-Shot Finch" because of his skill with the rifle. There are many other things that Atticus represents in the book. Throughout the novel Atticus shows courage regardless of where he finds himself in life.
Jean Louise "Scout" Finch is the narrator and protagonist of To Kill a Mockingbird. She is considered smart for her age, because she is literate. She is also a tomboy who spends majority of her time with her brother. She gets in trouble with her teacher, Ms. Caroline, because she wants Scout to learn reading and writing her way. She matures from age 6 to age 9 as the novel progresses but still retains the childish ways that are appropriate to her age. The novel is written from the point of view of an adult Scout describing how she viewed things as a child, and she often comments about how she didn't understand something at the time, but now, having grown up, she does. She is the only one of the novel's primary three children (Dill, Jem, and herself) to see and speak to Boo Radley during the course of the novel. Scout was terrified of the Boo Radley, but once she actually sees him, she realizes that he is harmless. She learns the true value of getting to know someone before judging them, by "getting in their skin and walking around in it". By the end she is sad that she never gave Boo anything back, as he gave them treasures and saved their lives. She is an innocent child and has not yet been able to understand the concepts of racial discrimination or hate. Scout is confused by some of the words and names she has heard people directing towards her father, Atticus Finch, since many of her classmates call Atticus a "nigger lover". Being only six, Scout does not know how to handle such situations so she tries to resolve her problems by fighting. Scout is also engaged to Charles Baker "Dill" Harris. She is also an inspiration to her father. She saves the lives of others when a mob is trying to hang Tom Robinson, while Atticus guards him. Scout informs Mr. Cunningham about inviting his son over for dinner and that he was a nice boy. Mr. Cunningham then tells the other mob members to get back in their cars and leave them alone. The members listen, and Scout unintentionally saves Robinson's life.
Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch is the brother of Scout, and is four years older that her. Jem represents the idea of bravery in the novel, and the way that his definition changes over the course of the story is important. The shift that occurs probably has as much to do with age as experience, although the experiences provide a better framework for the reader. He sees bravery from Mrs. Dubose's addiction, from Atticus and the mad dog, and from Scout's confrontation with the mob, among other incidents. Along the way, he grows from a boy who drags his sister along as a co-conspirator to a maturing young man who helps Scout understand the problems and events around them. Jem and Scout both learn throughout the novel to look at the good in human nature, as well as the bad. He is also the best friend of Dill and the son of Atticus Finch.
Charles Baker "Dill" Harris is Jem and Scout's best friend who lives in Maycomb only during the summer. His goal throughout the novel is to get the reclusive Boo Radley to come out of his house, which he hasn't left in years. For the first few summers the children concoct many plans to lure him out, until they are finally reprimanded by Atticus. Dill promises to marry Scout, and they become "engaged". One night Dill runs away from his home in the city, because he feels like he is being replaced in the family by his stepfather. He gets on a train and goes to Maycomb County, then hides under Scout's bed until she finds him.
Unlike Scout and Jem he lacks the security of family love. He is unwanted and unloved by his parents; "They do get on a lot better without me, I cannot help them any". As Francis, another Finch from the novel, says, "He hasn't got a home, he just gets passed around from relative to relative." Even Miss Rachel, with whom he stays over the summer, is not a woman deserving of a child's trust and love. He is well aware of her drinking habits. He is described as not having a father—he doesn't know where he lives or when he'll come back, if he does.
This character is believed to be based on author Truman Capote, a childhood friend of Harper Lee.
Calpurnia is the Finch family's housekeeper, whom the children love and Atticus deeply respects (he remarks in her defense that she "never indulged [the children] like most colored nurses"). She can be described as a strict mother figure. In Scout's early life she provides discipline, instruction, love, and essentially fills the maternal role for them after their mother's death. Calpurnia is one of the few black characters in the novel who is able to read and write, and it is she who taught Scout to write. She learned how to read from Miss Maudie's aunt, Miss Buford, who taught her how to read out of "Blackstone's Commentaries", a book given to her by Jem & Scout's grandfather (Atticus' father).
Living in Maycomb's African American and Caucasian communities, Calpurnia has two different perspectives on life, and Scout notices that she speaks and acts differently among her black friends than at their home. Because of her unique status, she can relate to both sides of stories.
While everyone in the novel is filtered through Scout’s perception, Calpurnia in particular appears for a long time more as Scout’s idea of her than as a real person. At the beginning of the novel, Scout appears to think of Calpurnia as the wicked stepmother to Scout’s own Cinderella. Furthermore, at the start of the novel, when Scout disrespects a child from her class, Walter Cunningham, Calpurnia yells at Scout for criticizing his ways, ones very different from her own. However, towards the end of the book, Scout views Calpurnia as someone she can look up to and realizes Calpurnia has only protected her over the years.
Arthur "Boo" Radley is one of the more mysterious characters to understand in To Kill a Mockingbird, and slowly reveals himself throughout the novel. Arthur Radley (also known as Boo Radley) appears as a very quiet, reclusive character, who only passively presents himself, until the children's final interaction with Bob Ewell. Most of Maycomb believes he is a horrible person, due to the rumors spread about him, and a trial he underwent as a teenager. It is implied during the story that Boo is a very lonely man, who attempted to reach out to the children for love and friendship. Throughout the novel, he is shown as kind and generous. It was not until the end of the book, when he saved Jem and Scout Finch's lives from Mr. Ewell's assault, that he was paid notice. It wasn't until hours after the attack, when the family was in Jem’s room watching over him, that Scout finally realizes that it was Boo Radley who had saved them, and was watching over her all along. When Heck Tate attempted to avert blame from Jem, stating that Bob Ewell simply "fell on his knife", after Atticus clearly thought Jem had murdered Bob Ewell, Tate indirectly revealed the truth: Boo Radley killed Bob Ewell in order to defend the children. Scout described him as being sickly white, with a thin mouth and hair and grey eyes, almost as if he was blind. During the same night, when Boo requests that Scout walk him back to the Radley house, Scout takes a moment to picture what it would be like to be Boo Radley, while standing on his porch. Boo doesn't talk much, but Scout describes him as being very soft spoken and quiet.
Boo Radley's heroics and the subsequent "coverup" by Atticus, Sheriff Tate and Scout can be read as a wise refusal of fame. As Tate notes, if word gets out that Boo killed Ewell, Boo would be inundated with gifts and visits, something that would be calamitous for him. The precocious Scout recognizes the danger. Renown would "kill the mockingbird." Boo Radley is a ghost that haunts the book yet manifests himself at just the right moments in just the right way. He is, arguably, the most potent character in the whole book and as such, inspires the other key characters to save him when he needs saving.
Miss Maude "Maudie" Atkinson lived across the street from the Finch family. She had known the Finches for many years, having been brought up on the Buford place, which was near the Finch's ancestral home, Finch's Landing. She is described as a woman of about 40 who enjoys baking and gardening; her cakes are especially held in high regard. She is also considered by some to be a symbolic Mockingbird, as she is frequently harassed by devout "Foot-Washing Baptists", who tell her that her enjoyment of gardening is a sin. Miss Maudie befriends Scout and Jem and tells them about Atticus as a boy. During the course of the novel, her house burns down; however, she shows remarkable courage throughout this (even joking that she wanted to burn it down herself to make more room for her flowers). She is not prejudiced, unlike many of her Southern neighbors. Also, she is one of the few adults that Jem and Scout hold in high regard and respect. She does not act condescendingly towards them, even though they are young children. It is important to note that Miss Maudie fully explained that "it is a sin to kill a mockingbird", whereas Atticus Finch initially brought up the subject, but didn't go into depth. When Jem gets older, and doesn't want to be bothered by Scout, Maudie keeps her from going mad.
Robert E. Lee "Bob" Ewell is the main antagonist of To Kill a Mockingbird. He has a daughter named Mayella, and a younger son named Burris, as well as six other unnamed children. He is an alcoholic who poaches game to feed his family, because he spends whatever money they legally gain (via "relief checks" from the government) on alcohol. He accuses Tom Robinson of raping his daughter and eventually has him thrown in jail, where Tom is subsequently killed while allegedly trying to escape. Though everyone in the town knows the Ewells are not to be trusted, it is made clear to the jury that Tom Robinson is to be convicted because he is black, and not because of Bob Ewell's testimony. Upon hearing about Tom's death, he is absolutely gleeful, gloating about his success. After being humiliated at the trial, however, Bob Ewell goes on a murderous rampage for revenge, becoming increasingly violent. He begins by spitting in Atticus' face, followed by a failed attempt at breaking into Judge Taylor's house, and finally menacing Tom's widow. He then attempts to murder Jem and Scout Finch with a knife to complete his revenge. However, Arthur "Boo" Radley arrives, and is able to save Jem and Scout. Heck Tate, the sheriff, then puts in the official report that Bob Ewell fell on his own knife and died after lying on the street for 45 minutes. They decided upon saying that Mr. Ewell fell on his own knife not due to fears that Boo Radley would be convicted of murder, but because "It is a sin to kill a mockingbird".
Mayella Violet Ewell is Tom Robinson's 19-and-a-half-year-old accuser and the daughter of Bob Ewell. She is the oldest daughter of Bob Ewell and has to take care of her siblings (such as Burris Ewell) since her father is an alcoholic. She was continually physically and sexually abused by him; Atticus politely and indirectly proves this by mentioning the bruises concentrated on the right side of her face during Tom Robinson's trial. He mentions this because Mayella was accusing Tom of raping her, but Tom's left hand is mangled and useless, and Bob Ewell is left handed. When Atticus Finch asks her if she has any friends, she becomes confused because she does not know what a friend is. During her time in court, she is confused by Atticus' polite speech and thinks that his use of "Miss Mayella" is meant to mock her. She wants a better life for herself and lovingly grows red geraniums to create some form of beauty in her unsanitary, somewhat dirty life. Although they are in slop jars this shows she is at least trying to improve her living conditions and this shows that she is trying and cares, but a change in her situation is unlikely. To get the human contact that she so craves, she attempts to seduce a black man, named Tom Robinson. Through the window, her father sees this action, and calls her a whore, causing Tom Robinson to flee the scene, worried that he may be put on trial. Bob Ewell then finds the sheriff, Heck Tate, and tells him that his daughter has been raped, even though there is no evidence. By testifying against Tom Robinson, she was also trying to destroy the evidence suggesting that she had attempted to seduce him, most likely due to the extremes of racism in Maycomb. To get rid of her own guilt and fear of breaking a ' rigid and time- honoured code', Mayella wrongfully accuses Tom Robinson.
Tom" Robinson is a 25-year-old black man who is accused of assaulting and raping Mayella Ewell. In the novel, he has three children with his wife, Helen. He is employed as a field worker by Link Deas. He is defended by Atticus Finch in his trial. As Atticus notes, his left arm is "hardly nothing," because it was caught in a cotton gin at age 12; his exclusive right-handedness is the basis of Atticus's defense: since Mayella's bruises were only on the right side of her face, someone who leads with his left must have beaten her. Tom is polite and frequently helped Mayella out of compassion and kindness. Tom states, during his testimony, that he felt sorry for Mayella, shocking the jury, as it was unheard of that a black man could feel sorry for a white woman. Despite Atticus's skillful defense, Robinson is declared guilty by the jury. Later, Tom is killed when he tries to escape from prison, shot 17 times by guards.
Alexandra "Aunt Alexandra" Hancock (née Finch) is Atticus' and Jack's sister, married to James "Uncle Jimmy" Hancock. She has a son named Henry and a very spoiled grandson named Francis. Her husband, James, remains at Finch's Landing, the Finch family homestead, and, as she told Jem upon her arrival that, "he'll keep the place going." She stays with the Finches because she does not find the black Calpurnia a satisfactory maternal figure, and because she wants to make Scout into a Southern belle. She disapproves of Scout being a tomboy and unsuccessfully encourages her to act like a "lady".[2] This is the cause of many conflicts between Scout and Alexandra throughout the course of the novel. She feels guilty and partially responsible when Scout and Jem are attacked by Bob Ewell, then after she gives up on making Scout a lady and even gives Scout back her overalls, (although she is in a shocked daze whilst she does so, apparently not aware she even is giving back Scout her overalls. Scout herself doesn't even notice the implications at that time, being in shock herself, as she notes that if she were, she'd never let Alexandra forget it.)
John Hale "Uncle Jack" Finch is Atticus' and Alexandra's brother. Uncle Jack is youngest of the three of them, and is said that he and Alexandra have the same features. He is 10 years younger than Atticus; he is about 40. Uncle Jack is described as smelling like alcohol and something sweet. Scout and Jem love him. He is a doctor who has a good sense of humour, and makes Scout and Jem laugh while performing small services for them. He and Maudie Atkinson are close to the same age; he frequently teases her with marriage proposals, which she declines. He also has a pet cat named Rose Aylmer, and did not want his niece, Scout, to swear while he was around. He also does not have children.
Francis Hancock was the spoiled grandson of Alexandra. He was the son of her son, Henry Hancock. On Christmas, Henry and his unnamed wife would drop Francis at his parent's place at Finch's Landing, and would go on their own pleasures. According to the story, he lived in Mobile, Alabama, which meant that he couldn't tell on Scout to school officials, but he would tell his grandmother, who would tell Atticus who would either punish her or even forgot about it, whichever fit the situation. Francis got along well with Jem, but often sparred with Scout. One Christmas, Francis called Atticus a "nigger-lover" which infuriated Scout and caused them to get into a fight. Francis lied about his role in it, telling Uncle Jack that Scout started it and called him a whore lady causing Scout to be punished. However, Scout explained the full story, and charitibly persuaded her uncle not to punish him about it, but to let Atticus think they had been fighting about something else (although Atticus later figured out the truth). He is also considered to be a cousin of Scout, due to their closeness in age, although he is biologically Scout's cousin-once-removed. He is also 8 years old.
Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose is an elderly woman who lives near the Finch's. She is hated by the children, who run by her house to avoid her. Scout describes Mrs. Dubose as 'plain hell.' A virulent racist, she calls Atticus a "nigger-lover" to his children, and the upset Jem objects and ravages Mrs. Dubose's camellias. As a punishment, Jem is assigned to read to Mrs. Dubose each day for a month. She has a fit each time he reads, and when the alarm rings, Jem is allowed to leave. After a month and a week of reading, Jem is finally allowed to stop. Mrs. Dubose dies shortly thereafter. Atticus informs Jem that Mrs. Dubose had fallen victim to an addiction to morphine. By reading to her, Jem had helped her die free from painkillers, her dying wish. In thanks, she leaves him a candy box with a camellia flower in it. Jem disposes of the box in anger, but is later seen by Scout admiring the flower. Atticus tells Jem that Mrs. Dubose was the bravest person he ever knew, and he was trying to teach Jem the importance of bravery and respect and the importance of true courage and endurance when the situation is hopeless, as in her morphine addiction. Soon after Atticus explains why Mrs. Dubose sent him the flower, Jem learns to admire it.
Judge John Taylor is a white-haired old man with a reputation for running his court in an informal fashion and an enjoyment of singing and dipping, every once in a while he will shoot a spit into his spitoon. He seems to have no views on anything, until he presides over the Tom Robinson trial, in which he shows great distaste for the Ewells and shows great respect for Atticus. Although he agrees on the strong case that Atticus gave to prove that Tom Robinson is innocent, he is unable to pardon Tom because of the ignorant jury that declared Tom guilty. Because of this, he was threatened, when it was alleged that Bob Ewell broke into his house while his wife was at church. After the trial, Miss Maudie points out to the children that had tried to help Tom Robinson by appointing Atticus to the case instead of Maxwell Green, a new, untried lawyer, who usually received court appointed cases.
Heck Tate is a friend of Atticus and also the sheriff of Maycomb County. At the end of the novel he is the one who comes up with the story to protect Arthur "Boo" Radley from being subjected to more negative publication after he killed Bob Ewell to protect Jem and Scout. He also indirectly forces Atticus to reveal his expertise with firearms (which Atticus had previously tried to conceal from his children) by asking him to shoot a rabid dog. Heck is a decent man who tries to protect the innocent from danger. Like Atticus, he seems to be one of the few in Maycomb County who is not viciously prejudiced against the Negro community. He is described as tall as Atticus but thinner, always wearing boots and boot-cut pants with a belt of bullets. He is a static character, holding onto his basic principles throughout the events of the story.
Mr. Braxton Bragg (B.B.) Underwood is a news reporter and a friend of Atticus. He owns and also publishes The Maycomb Tribune. Being a racist, he disagrees with Atticus on principle but has a strong bond with him, as exemplified when he defends Atticus from the Cunningham mob by having his double barrel shotgun loaded and ready to shoot them. He also demonstrates some humanity when he publishes a scathing editorial comparing the killing of Tom Robinson (a cripple) to "the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children".
Mr. Horace Gilmer is a lawyer from Abbottsville, and is the prosecuting attorney in the Tom Robinson case. Mr. Gilmer is between the ages of forty and sixty. Mr. Gilmer has a slight cast with one eye, which he uses to his advantage in trial. Mr. Gilmer appeared to be racist in his harsh cross-examination of Tom Robinson, but it is hinted at that he was in fact going easy on Tom. Mr. Gilmer was defending Bob Ewell, even though he knew that Bob had beaten Mayella.
Dr. Reynolds is the Maycomb doctor. He is well known to Scout and Jem. Scout says that he "had brought Jem and me into the world, had lead us through every childhood disease known to man including the time Jem fell out of the tree house, and he had never lost our friendship. Dr. Reynolds said that if we were boil-prone things would have been different..." (ch. 28). He inspects Jem's broken arm and Scout's minor bruises after the attack from Bob under the tree.
Dolphus Raymond is a wealthy white man who has children with a black woman. He pretends he is an alcoholic, but he only drinks "Coca Cola" out of a paperbag. He does this to put the people of Maycomb at ease, to give them a reason why he lived with a black woman and had mixed children. He knows they will not understand why he lives as he does, so by pretending he is a drunk, he makes life easier for himself (and for Maycomb). Thus, he has all kinds of false rumors spread by Maycomb surrounding his decision. He is also an example of a mockingbird. When Dill and Scout discover that he is not a drunk they are amazed. He shows Scout how sometimes you simply need to pretend you are something when you really are not. He was engaged to marry a woman named Spencer, but she committed suicide on the wedding day. It is said that she shot herself by "pulling the trigger of a gun with her toes, and it blew her head off." He is jaded by the hypocrisy of the white society and prefers to live among black folks.
Link Deas owns cotton fields in Maycomb who employs Tom and later Helen because she does not get accepted by any other employers in the county due to Tom Robinson's legal troubles. He announces to the court (in defence of Tom) at one point in the trial that he hadn't “had a speck o’trouble outa him” even though Tom had been working for him for eight years, and gets sent out by Judge John Taylor for doing so. When Bob Ewell starts threatening Helen after the trial, Mr. Deas fiercely defends her and threatens several times to have Mr. Ewell arrested if he keeps bothering her. He is on Tom Robinson's side during the trial and remains loyal to the family afterwards.
Miss Caroline Fisher is Scout's first grade teacher and is new to Maycomb, Alabama and its ways. She attempts to teach the first grade class using a new system which she learned from taking certain college courses that Jem mistakenly refers to as the "Dewey Decimal System", (which is really how library books are organized.) She is upset that Scout is far more advanced in reading than the rest of her class, and doesn't like that she is receiving lessons from her father, Atticus. In an effort to standardize the class she forbids Scout from reading. Once again Atticus asks Scout to step into Ms. Caroline's skin, but continues to allow Scout to read with him at night so long as she continues to go to school. She has good intentions, but proves quite incompetent as a teacher. When Scout tells Miss Fisher that she shamed a student by giving him lunch money, she raps Scout's palms with a ruler (a punishment unheard of in Maycomb). She is also very sensitive and gets emotionally hurt quite easily, as seen when Burris Ewell yells at her, "Report and be damned to ye! Ain't no snot-nosed slut of a schoolteacher ever born c'n make me do nothin'! You ain't makin' me go nowhere, missus. You just remember that, you ain't makin' me go nowhere!" After the Burris Ewell incident, Miss Caroline is seldom seen and soon forgotten.
Reverend Sykes is the reverend of the First Purchase M.E. African Church in Maycomb County. This is the church Tom Robinson attended. Reverend Sykes forces the congregation to donate 10 dollars for Tom Robinson's family since at the time, wife Helena was having trouble finding work. During the trial, when the courtroom was too packed for the children to finds seats, Reverend Sykes lets the kids sit with him up in the colored balcony. This is an example how the black community accepts the Finches, and they in turn accept the black community. Reverend Sykes also saves the kids seats when they come back at the end of the trial.
Zeebo' is Calpurnia's oldest son. He is one of only four people in First Purchase church who can read, and so he is the vocal leader, leading hymns in the negro First Purchase Church by "lining," reading a line of verse and having the congregation repeat. Calpurnia teaches Zeebo to read through the use of the bible. He is also the garbage man of Maycomb, taking away dead Tim Johnson, the rabid dog. When a fellow church member, a woman named Lula tries to make the children feel bad for attending church with his mother, Zeebo welcomes Scout and Jem with open arms.
Stephanie Crawford is the neighborhood gossip who claimed that she once saw Boo Radley from her bedroom standing outside of her cleaned window one night. Crawford is one of the first on the scene after a loud gunshot is heard behind the Radley house. Because she is the neighborhood gossip, it is unwise to think of anything that she says as true, because most of the time it is not true at all. She is a friend of Alexandra Finch. She lets Miss Maudie live with her when Miss Maudie's house burns down, supposedly in order to steal Miss Maudie's Lane cake recipe. She is thrilled to pass on gossip to the kids about Boo Radley. She witnessed Bob Ewell's threatening Atticus at the Post Office corner as she was returning from the local Jitney Jungle grocery store.
Miss Rachel Haverford is Dill's aunt and the Finch's next door neighbor. She drank neat whiskey heavily (due to her seeing a rattlesnake coiled in her closet, on her washing, when she hung her negligee up.) and was somewhat like her neighbors. Her trademark line is "Doo Jesus!" and even though she can be very hard to deal with, she truly does love her nephew, and eventually got to realizing that he loved to visit her. She was also a close friend of Alexandra. Her family name, in the legends of Maycomb County was that it was synomymous with good for nothing. Two of her relations had murdered the community's blacksmith over one of their mares being wrongfully detained; were imprudent enough to have done so in the presence of witnesses and then insisted that the blacksmith had it coming to him. They tried to urge the court to plead not guilty to first degree murder, but the court refused, and they were then hanged. The Haverford relations were Atticus' first case as a lawyer.
Helen Robinson is the wife of Tom Robinson. She is spoken about many times. She has 3 children. Employed by Link Deas following the death of her husband, she is repeatedly harassed by Bob Ewell when traveling to work. Upon learning of this, Deas threatens Ewell, forcing him to stop. She is an example of how one person's actions can have an effect on a lot of people and she elucidates the hardships that surround the Tom Robinson case.
Nathan Radley is the older brother of Arthur "Boo" Radley and another difficult character to understand in To Kill a Mockingbird. When the children try to catch a view at his brother "Boo", he shoots at them in the yard (albeit thinking he was aiming at a black person), but they escape. Nathan also fills up the knothole in which Arthur leaves little gifts for the children. On the other hand, he helps Miss Maudie by saving some of her belongings when her house is on fire. He is more present than his brother, but not less mysterious
Jessie is Mrs. Dubose's black caregiver. She is the woman who shoos the children out when Mrs. Dubose has her fits, and she seems to care enormously for Mrs. Dubose. When Jem is forced to stay reading to Mrs. Dubose, Jessie kindly leads Jem and Scout to the door when Mrs. Dubose's alarm goes off.
Burris Ewell is a son of Mr. Ewell and a younger sibling of Mayella Ewell as well as the first antagonist of the novel. Burris is described as being chiefly antagonistic of Little Chuck Little and his teacher Miss Caroline Fisher. He comes to the first day of school, but departs just as everyone else in his family does. He has live lice in his hair. Burris also scared his teacher Caroline Fisher and behaves rudely when she tells him to go home, wash his hair, and come back clean the next day, but he refuses, explaining to her that Ewell children don't attend school. All they do is show up for the first day, get marked down on the register, and then they miss the entire school year until the first day of the next year. She later finds out and is explained to more carefully by the children in the class as she weeps because of Burris's rude behavior. His famous quote was, "Report and be damned to ye! Ain't no snot-nosed slut of a schoolteacher ever born c'n make me do nothin'! You ain't makin' me go nowhere, missus. You just remember that, you ain't makin' me go nowhere!" As of Scout's first year of school (the first grade), Burris has repeated the first grade three times.
Lula is a black lady who goes to church with Calpurnia and who does not like white people. She doesn't like the idea of Scout and Jem attending church with Calpurnia, and tries to tell her so. But she is overruled by the other congregants. Lula is said, according to Calpurnia's son, James Zeebo, to be "a troublemaker from way back, with fancy ideas and haughty ways." She is threatened with being "churched" by Reverend Sykes.
Mrs. Grace Merriweather is the producer of the pageant in which Scout plays a ham. She is the most devout lady in Maycomb, married to Mr. Merriweather. She says the "sinners" in the North are hypocrites for setting the negroes free, but not inviting them to eat with them. She complains about her cooks and field hands complaining. She adores J. Grimes Everett and constantly talks about the "poor Mrunas" and their "lack of family mortality." She tells Everett that "the ladies of the Maycomb Alabama Methodist Episcopal Church South are behind him one hundred percent." She is mostly known for her devotion to the church. She is very hypocritical and loves to gossip with all the other ladies.
Walter Cunningham, Jr. is a child who is almost as old as Jem but is in Scout's class. He is too poor to even pay off a 25-cent debt because the Great Depression hit his poor family hard. He is invited over to the Finch's house once, after engaging in a fight with Scout, where he covers up all of his dinner with molasses, much to Scout's dislike. This teaches Scout a lesson in humility and compassion.
Walter Cunningham, Sr. is Walter Cunningham Jr.'s father. He is only displayed twice, once at the beginning of the story when he has to pay off the debt to Atticus (Walter Cunningham Sr. was his client) by giving him driftwood and other supplies. This does not entirely count though, because it is told as part of a flashback by Scout. The second time, he leads the mob who tries to lynch Tom Robinson the night before the trial. Only when Scout comes and talks to him about his son, does he turn his back and leaves with the mob. Scout innocently shames him because Scout reminds him of all the things that Atticus has done for him and for Maycomb County. After the verdict is told in the trial, Atticus tells Jem that Mr. Walter Cunningham had changed his thoughts about Tom. Walter had indeed pleaded that Tom was not guilty to the jury.
Mr. Dick Avery is an overweight neighbor who tells Jem and Scout that the weather only changes because of bad children like them. He is seen by them taking a leak in the street. After it snows, they build a snowman resembling him.[3]
Miss Gates is a teacher at Scout's school who insists that America isn't prejudiced like Hitler's Germany. Despite this, Scout has heard her say that the blacks need to be taught a lesson after Tom's trial.
Little Chuck Little is a student in Scout's first grade class who has the mindset of an adult. He is depicted as chiefly antagonistic of Burris Ewell. He is presented in the novel when Miss Caroline is frightened by Burris' lice. He warned Miss Caroline that if Burris wasn't released from class, he might try something that would put their fellow classmates at risk. When Burris starts advancing on Little Chuck after his warning/veiled insult, Little Chuck's hand moved to his pocket (implying that he was going to pull out a knife) while saying, "Watch your step, Burris. I'd soon's kill you as soon as look at you. Now go home." Scared by Little Chuck's threat and his implied knife, Burris retreated from the classroom. From this we see, through the narrative view of Scout, his gentlemanly attitude and how it calms Miss Caroline down. Little Chuck may be even more intelligent than originally meets the eye, as he easily could have been bluffing about the aforementioned implied knife to scare Burris into retreating.
Eula Mae is Maycomb's most prominent telephone operator. She sends out public announcements, invitations, and activates the fire alarm. She announced the closing of schools when it snowed and announced the rabid dog that entered Maycomb.
Cecil Jacobs is a bully to Scout and Jem at school. Scout almost gets into a fight with Cecil over the trial of Tom Robinson. Scout beats up Cecil Jacobs because he says Atticus is a "Nigger Lover." He gives a current event on 'Old Adolf Hitler', and later, frightens Scout and Jem on their way to the Halloween pageant. He and Scout then pair up at the carnival; at the pageant afterwards, Cecil was a cow. He hints that black people are not as good as white people while talking about Hitler during current events. He also tends to take jokes too far.
Tim Johnson is a dog belonging to Harry Johnson (a character in the book who is mentioned once and seen never). He is infected by rabies in chapter 10 and goes mad, putting everyone in the town at risk. Atticus is forced to shoot Tim Johnson before he reaches the Radley House or attacks anyone. When Atticus shoots the dog, his superb marksmanship is revealed to Scout and Jem (his nickname used to be One-Shot Finch). Tim Johnson is successfully shot and killed. His body is collected by James Zeebo.
Simon Finch is the founder of Finch's Landing. He is only brought up in the first chapter of the book. He is the ancestor of Atticus, Jem and Scout Finch. He is a British born apothecary, who was also a fur trader. He sailed across the Atlantic and, after stints in Philadelphia and Jamaica, ended up in Alabama. After returning to St. Stephens, where he was married, with one son, Welcome; and several daughters, he established the Finch homestead, Finch's Landing. He ended up dying rich, due to his medical practice.
Maxwell Green is the new lawyer in town. He usually takes Judge-assigned cases, but Judge Taylor assigned Tom Robinson's case to Atticus to give Tom Robinson a better chance.
Mr. X Billups was seen only once in the book, at the trial, who is described as a "funny man". X is his name, and not his initial. He was asked repeated times what his name was until he signed it. X was the name he had been given when he was born, because that was what was put on the birth certificate.
The Barber Sisters (Miss Sarah, nicknamed "Tutti" and Miss Frances, nicknamed "Frutti") were maiden sisters who lived in Maycomb. They were originally from Clanton, Alabama; and were rumored to be republicans. Besides their Yankee ways, both sisters were deaf (Tutti completely deaf; Frutti only partially and used an ear trumpet), and had a halloween prank pulled on them by some of the more wicked school children (Scout and Jem were innocent of the prank) who put all of the women's furniture in their cellar. The sisters lived in the only house that had a cellar.
- ^ "What Kids Are Reading: The Book Reading Habits of Students in American Schools", Renaissance Learning, Inc., 2008. Retrieved on July 11, 2008. See also "What Kids Are Reading: The Book Reading Habits of Students in American Schools, Renaissance Learning, Inc. 2010. Retrieved on May 1, 2011. where To Kill a Mockingbird appears at number 2.
- ^ Lee, Harper (1960). To Kill a Mockingbird. United States of America: Warner Books. pp. 81.
- ^ http://www.bookrags.com/notes/tkm/CHR.htm
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