To Kill a Mockingbird

Jem is Scout’s older brother (by four years). Much like Scout, he begins the novel with a childish perspective on the world around him, obsessed with the mysterious “Boo” Radley and eager to absorb any gossip he hears, no matter how absurd. He also cleaves to traditional symbols of masculinity and male heroism, including football and shooting guns. Over the course of the book, however, Jem grows up and develops a strong sense of what it means to be “a gentleman” (113), striving to emulate the more restrained heroism of his father, Atticus Finch.

Jem’s entrance into puberty—at the age of 12—notably coincides with the Tom Robinson trial. Thus, he literally comes into maturity through an incident that dramatically changes his perspective on humanity. Though his interpretation of the trial and the people involved is more cynical than his sister’s—“If there’s just one kind of folks, why can’t they get along with each other?” (259)—Jem also develops a more generous, protective stance toward the vulnerable creatures around him. For example, he refuses to let Scout squash a caterpillar in Chapter 25, explaining that, much like a mockingbird, the insect never harmed anyone.

Atticus is a southern lawyer with a gentlemanly bearing and a strong sense of right and wrong. His family is deeply connected to Maycomb through the industry of his ancestor, Simon Finch, who set up a farm called Finch’s Landing on the banks of the Alabama River. In addition to Atticus, the farm supported his brother—a doctor named Jack—and his sister, Alexandra, a true southern lady who is very aware of her roots.

As a widower, Atticus performs the roles of both father and mother to his children, with the help of their Black cook, Calpurnia. He serves as a model for both alternative parenting and education, approaching every circumstance—including Scout’s anxiety toward school, Jem’s obsession with Boo Radley, and Miss Dubose’s illness—as a teachable moment. He speaks to his children with the same dignifying tone he uses when speaking to adults, maintaining that no idea is too complex to be broken down for a child’s understanding.

Atticus approaches all people as equals, regardless of race or social standing. He encourages his children to think of Calpurnia as family. He urges Scout to “climb into [another’s] skin” (33) and learn to empathize with the different experiences of others. He is averse to demonstrations of power and force that expose “an unfair advantage” (112), only using his considerable skills—including his talent as a one-shot-marksman and rhetorically-gifted lawyer—to defend the more vulnerable people in his community.

When Atticus is appointed to legally defend Tom Robinson, a Black man unfairly accused of raping a White woman, Atticus approaches the case with courage and tenacity. He suspects from the beginning, however, that he will not win the case, and he pursues his defense out of a moral calling that extends beyond professional success. Atticus also worries about the longstanding effect the case will have on his children, knowing that Maycomb’s citizens are known for spreading malicious gossip. He thus allows his sister, Alexandra, to move into their home to help preserve the family name.

With his staunch dedication to social justice in the face of a prejudiced jury, Atticus serves as an ethical role model for both his children and his community. 

Jack Finch is Atticus’ younger brother. A doctor by trade, his medical school was supported through Atticus’ earnings as a lawyer. He was also notably friends with Miss Maudie Atkinson when he was a child at Finch’s Landing. Much like Miss Maudie, Jack is lovable and wryly humorous.

Atticus’s sister, Alexandra, is the greatest traditionalist in the family. Before the Tom Robinson trial, she moves in with her brother’s family to help preserve their reputation. A natural southern society lady, she is immediately welcomed into Maycomb, where she joins numerous philanthropic groups and clubs. Her traditional feminine values, however, have a tendency to conflict with Scout’s tomboyish tendencies. 

Calpurnia is employed as the Finch’s cook, though she fulfills a wide variety of roles, from babysitter to educator to co-parent alongside Atticus. She is strict with the children, though she is also loving and considerate, treating Scout to crackling bread and offering to keep her company when Jem needs alone-time. The Finches think of Calpurnia as a member of their own family.

Hoping to expand the Finch children’s minds and trouble the strict racial boundaries of Maycomb, Calpurnia brings Scout and Jem to her all-Black church, First Purchase. There, they learn that she is one of the few literate Black people in Maycomb. 

Charles Barker Harris—who goes by the nickname “Dill”—is a small, peculiar-looking, worldly boy. He lives in Scout and Jem’s neighborhood every summer when he comes to stay with his Aunt Rachel. The book suggests that Dill has an absentee father and a complex family situation whereby he is passed around from relative to relative.

As a means of escaping his familial disappointments, Dill develops a vivid imagination. He engages Scout and Jem in games of make-believe wherein they act out the plots of books and films. Dill becomes obsessed with Boo Radley and begins to incorporate stories of Boo’s life into their games. He also involves the Finch children in schemes to make Boo come out of his house.

Miss Maudie is one of the Finch’s neighbors. Though she possesses traditional feminine abilities—including a gift for gardening and cake-baking—Miss Maudie also possesses an acid tongue and a formidable command of the Bible. She serves as one of Scout’s first alternative female role models, providing company when Jem refuses to play with girls.  

Miss Stephanie is the neighborhood gossip. Spreading vicious and often bizarre rumors, she serves as an exemplar of the suspicious groupthink that flows through Maycomb.

Boo Radley is a mysterious neighbor of the Finch family and a source of obsession for Scout, Jem, and Dill. A recluse who has not left the confines of his house in many years, Boo’s life is enshrouded in local gossip, some of which is true, but most of which is greatly exaggerated.

According to various local sources, Boo was a polite, intelligent boy who fell in with the wrong crowd—the Cunningham boys—as a teenager. One night, Boo and his friends got into trouble while they were drunk and belligerent. Rather than send Boo to a juvenile reformatory, his strict, conservative “footwashing Baptist” (50) father agreed to keep Boo locked inside the house. Suspicious of people without screen doors who refuse to socially entertain (10), residents of Maycomb began to negatively speculate about Boo’s character. The book suggests that, over the years, Boo became sensitive to the gossip surrounding him and voluntarily chose not to come out of the house (259). The book also strongly implies that Boo has been emotionally damaged—and thereby stunted—by his father’s cruel judgments (12).

Boo does, however, venture out from time to time to check in on the Finch children, whom he seems to perceive as friends. He leaves small gifts for them in a knothole of a tree in his yard, including chewing gum, a pocket watch, and two figures carved in the children’s likenesses. Ultimately, he saves the lives of both Scout and Jem when he defends them against Bob Ewell.

A delicate creature who does no harm, yet faces unjust social violence, Boo Radley is a kind of symbolic “mockingbird” within the novel.

Nathan Radley takes over for his father as Boo’s watchman after his father dies. His most significant appearance in the novel is when he plugs the knothole in the tree on the Radley property, preventing Boo from exchanging gifts (and further communication) with the Finch children.

Tom Robinson is a young Black man who is accused of rape by a White woman, Mayella Ewell. He is characterized as hardworking, generous, and well-mannered, going out of his way to help Mayella with her chores. Ironically, it is his generous spirit that leads to his conviction when the jury resents his sympathy for a White woman (224).

All evidence suggests Tom is not responsible for the crime he was accused of. Rather, he himself was the victim of advances by his accuser. As a vulnerable, innocent figure who receives unjust violence—both in the form of Bob Ewell’s hatred and the jury’s guilty verdict—Tom Robinson is a “mockingbird” figure. This mockingbird resonance is confirmed when the prison guard commits the “sin” (103) of unnecessarily shooting him: not once, but seventeen times (268).

Helen Robinson is the wife of Tom Robinson. She experiences tremendous emotional and financial struggle as a result of the trial. She finds difficulty in obtaining employment due to widespread local prejudice. Her family is sustained by the generous donations of the First Purchase church until Tom’s former employer, Link Deas, offers her a job.

Another mockingbird figure, Helen is visually compared to the caterpillar Jem refuses to let Scout kill. Helen falls down upon the news of her husband’s death, “like a giant with a big foot came along and just stepped on her” (274). 

Bob Ewell is the drunken, presumably-abusive head of one of the poorest families in Maycomb. In the novel, he is described as dirty, rude, lazy, and ignorant. Nevertheless, as a White man, he is still considered to be one rung above Tom Robinson in the social hierarchy of Maycomb (258).

During the trial, he demonstrates little care for his daughter’s condition, expressing that he never summoned a doctor because only cared to “see who done it” (199). After the trial, he acts out vengefully, stalking Helen Robinson on her way to work, appearing at the home of Judge Taylor, and, ultimately, attempting to murder Scout and Jem Finch.

Mayella is the oldest daughter of Bob Ewell. She is the caregiver of seven children, has few friends of her own, and frequently suffers the abuse of her father. She strives, nevertheless, to keep clean, compared to the rest of her family, and she maintains a small patch of red geraniums. In this sense, she is also a kind of (potential) mockingbird, an innocent victim of Bob Ewell’s ignorance and wrath.

The novel suggests that Mayella makes advances toward Tom Robinson out of loneliness and desperation, and that she accused Tom Robinson of rape out of a need to deflect guilt from herself. She is uncomfortable and emotional on the witness stand, and her testimony is very inconsistent.

Heck Tate is the sheriff of Maycomb County and a major witness at the Tom Robinson trial. He is characterized as an upstanding man who strives to protect Maycomb’s citizens, regardless of race, class, and social standing. He has a strong sense of justice and recognizes when it is more fair to bend the law. When Tate suspects Boo Radley of killing Bob Ewell, he protects Boo by falsely declaring that Ewell’s death was an accident.

Link Deas—Tom Robinson’s employer—is one of the few people in Maycomb who is not racially prejudiced. He eagerly vouches for Tom’s character during the trial, offers Helen a job, and defends Helen against Bob Ewell when he threatens her.

Mr. Cunningham is a poor farmer who, lacking the money to pay Atticus for legal work regarding an entailment—supplies the Finch family with farm-grown greens and hickory nuts. He is honest, proud, and stubborn, “willing to go hungry to keep his land and vote as he pleased” (23).

Mr. Cunningham is most notably the leader of a lynch mob that attempts to accost Tom Robinson from prison the night before his trial. He displays humanity and compassion, however, when he is confronted by Scout at the jail. Moved by Scout’s own demonstrations of empathy, Mr. Cunningham calls off the mob.

Mr. Dolphus Raymond is a well-off White man who lives with a Black woman and children of mixed race. He pretends to be a drunk, providing the gossipy residents of Maycomb with an easy explanation for his lifestyle.