Main characters
Atticus Finch
Atticus Finch is the father of Jem and Scout Finch. He is a lawyer who appears to supportScout Finch
Jean Louise "Scout" Finch, as an adult, is theJem Finch
Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch is Atticus' son and Scout's older brother by four years. Jem's progression into adult maturity is apparent throughout the course of the novel. He is seen to have a greater understanding of the obstacles thrown their way. Jem explains many things to Scout throughout the novel. Bob Ewell breaks Jem's arm during his assault on the Finch children, subsequently resulting in it being shorter than it had been. He is portrayed by Phillip Alford in the film adaptation of ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. At the beginning of ''Dill Harris
Charles Baker "Dill" Harris is a short, smart boy who visits Maycomb every summer fromCalpurnia
Calpurnia, nicknamed Cal, is the Finch family's African-American housekeeper, whom the children love and Atticus deeply respects (he remarks in her defense that she "never indulged he childrenlike most colored nurses"). She is an important figure in Scout's life, providing discipline, instruction, and love. She also fills the maternal role for the children after their mother's death. Calpurnia is a mother herself and raised her son, Zeebo, to adulthood. 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. Aunt Alexandra despised Calpurnia because Alexandra believed that Calpurnia was not a "maternal figure" for Jem and Scout, especially for Scout. Calpurnia is a member of the First Purchase M.E. African Church in Maycomb. While Scout always hears her speak "proper" English, she is surprised to learn that Calpurnia does not do so at church, especially with the uneducated members of the congregation. While everyone in the novel is filtered through Scout's perception, Calpurnia 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. 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. She is played by Estelle Evans in the film.Aunt Alexandra
Alexandra Hancock (''née'' Finch) is Atticus' and Jack's sister, married to James "Uncle Jimmy" Hancock. Her son, Henry, is married and has a spoiled child named Francis, who lives with her every Christmas. Aunt Alexandra decides to leave her husband at the Finch family homestead, ''Finch's Landing'' to come to stay with Atticus. Aunt Alexandra doesn't consider theJohn Finch
John Hale "Jack" Finch is the younger brother of Atticus and Alexandra. He is about 40. Jack smells like alcohol and something sweet and it is said that he and Alexandra have similar features. Jack is a childless doctor who can always make Scout and Jem laugh, and they adore him. He and Miss Maudie are close to the same age; he frequently teases her with marriage proposals, which she always declines.Arthur (Boo) Radley
The Maycomb children believe that "Boo" Radley, aJudge John Taylor
Judge John Taylor runs his court in an informal fashion with the enjoyment of singing and dipping tobacco. During the Tom Robinson trial, he shows great distaste for the Ewells and considerable respect for Atticus. Because of the judge's sympathies for Tom, Bob Ewell attempts to break into the judge's house while the judge's wife is at church. After the trial, Miss Maudie points out to the children that the judge had tried to help Tom by appointing Atticus to the case instead of Maxwell Green, the new, untried lawyer who usually received court-appointed cases. Judge Taylor knew that Atticus was the only man who would stand a chance at acquitting Tom, or at least be able to keep the jury thinking for more than just a few minutes. By doing this, Judge Taylor was not giving in or supporting racism. He is played byTom Robinson
Thomas "Tom" Robinson is an African-American who has three children with his wife, Helen. He is accused and put on trial for the rape of a white woman, Mayella Ewell. Atticus is assigned to defend him and stands up to aBob Ewell
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, poaching game to feed his family because he spends whatever money they legally gain via government "relief checks" on alcohol. It is implied, and his left-handedness suggests, that he was the one who abused his daughter Mayella, not Tom Robinson (the African American man accused of doing so). It is clear that Tom Robinson was convicted because he is a black man whose accuser is white. Upon hearing of Tom's death, Ewell is gleeful, gloating about his success. After being humiliated at the trial, however, he goes on a quest for revenge, becoming increasingly violent. He begins by spitting in Atticus' face, followed by a failed attempt to break into the home of Judge Taylor, then finally menacing Helen, the poor widow of Tom Robinson. Ewell later attempts to murder Jem and Scout Finch with a knife to complete his revenge. Boo Radley saves Jem and Scout and it is believed that he kills Ewell with the knife. Heck Tate, the sheriff, puts in the official report that Bob Ewell fell on his own knife and died after lying under a tree for 45 minutes. Ewell is played byMayella Ewell
Mayella Violet Ewell, 19, is the oldest of the eight Ewell children. Before the trial, Mayella is noted for growing red geraniums outside her otherwise dirty house to bring some beauty into her life. Due to her family's living situation, Mayella has no opportunity for human contact or love. She eventually gets so desperate that she attempts to seduce a black man, Tom Robinson. She does this by saving up nickels to send her siblings to go get ice cream so that she can be alone with Tom. Her father sees this through a window and punishes her with a savage beating. Ewell tells Heck Tate, the sheriff, that Tom has raped and beaten his daughter. At the trial, Atticus points out that only the right side of Mayella's face is injured, suggesting a left-handed assailant; Tom's left arm is mangled and useless, but Bob Ewell is left-handed. When Atticus asks her if she has friends, she becomes confused because she does not know what a friend is. During her testimony, Atticus' polite speech confuses her and she thinks he's mocking her when he calls her "Miss Mayella." She testifies against Tom Robinson. Mayella is played by Collin Wilcox in the film.Miss Maudie
Miss Maude "Maudie" Atkinson, a widow of about 40, lives across the road from the Finches. She had known them all her life, being the daughter of Dr. Frank Buford, their neighbouring landowner to the Finch ancestral home, ''Finch's Landing''. She enjoys baking and gardening; her cakes are held in especially high regard. However, she is frequently harassed by devout "Foot-Washing Baptists", who tell her that her enjoyment of gardening is a sin. The Foot-Washing Baptists also believe that women are a sin "by definition". Miss Maudie befriends Scout and Jem and tells them stories about Atticus as a boy. It is strongly implied that she and Atticus have a more than platonic relationship. 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. When she suffers a house fire, she shows remarkable courage throughout, even saying that she had wanted to burn it down herself to make more room for her flowers. She is not prejudiced, though she talks caustically to Miss Stephanie Crawford, unlike many of her Southern neighbors, and teaches Scout important lessons about racism and human nature. It is important to note that Miss Maudie fully explains that "it is a sin to kill a mockingbird", whereasOther characters
Francis Hancock
Francis Hancock is Aunt Alexandra's spoiled grandson, the son of her son Henry. Every Christmas, Henry and his wife drop Francis at Finch's Landing, which is the only time Scout and Jem see him. Francis lives in Mobile, Alabama, and is a bit of a tattle-tale. He gets along well with Jem, but often spars with Scout. One Christmas, Francis calls Atticus a "nigger-lover," as well as insisting that he was ruining the family, which infuriates Scout and causes them to get into a fight. Francis lies about his role in it, telling Uncle Jack that Scout started it by calling him a "whore lady", and Jack therefore punishes Scout. However, she explains the full story and charitably persuades her uncle not to punish Francis about it, but to let Atticus think they had been fighting about something else.Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose
Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose is an elderly woman who lives near the Finches. She is hated by the children, who run past her house to avoid her. Scout describes Mrs. Dubose as "plain hell." A virulentMr. Hector "Heck" Tate
Mr. Hector "Heck" Tate, the sheriff of Maycomb County, is a friend of Atticus. At the end of the book, Atticus and Heck argue over whether Jem or Boo Radley should be held responsible for the death of Bob Ewell. Heck eventually persuades Atticus to accept the theory that Ewell accidentally fell on his own knife, thus saving the harmless, reclusive Boo from the public exposure of a criminal trial.Mr. Braxton Underwood
Mr. Braxton Bragg 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 his views on race. He also has a strong belief in justice, as exemplified when he defends Atticus from the Cunningham mob by keeping a shotgun trained on them throughout the confrontation. 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
Mr. Horace Gilmer is a lawyer from Abbottsville, and is the prosecutor of the Tom Robinson trial. 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 was extremely racist when he harshly cross examined Tom. He and Atticus are not rivals and talk to each other during recesses of the case.Dr. Reynolds
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 led 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 Ewell under the tree.Dolphus Raymond
Dolphus Raymond is a white landowner who is jaded by the hypocrisy of white society and prefers to live among black folks. In fact, he has children with a black woman. Dolphus pretends he is an alcoholic so that the people of Maycomb will have an excuse for his behavior, but in fact, he only drinksLink Deas
Link Deas owns cotton fields and a store in Maycomb. He is Tom Robinson's employer and when he announces in court, that he had not "had a speck o' trouble outta him" in the eight years Tom had been working for him, he is sent out by Judge John Taylor for his outburst. When Bob Ewell starts threatening Helen, Tom Robinson's wife, after the trial, Mr. Deas fiercely defends her and threatens to have Ewell arrested if he keeps bothering her. Deas is on Tom Robinson's side throughout the trial and later he employs Helen.Miss Caroline Fisher
Miss Caroline Fisher is the first-grade teacher and is new to Alabama and its ways. She attempts to teach the first-grade class using a new method that she took from a college course that Jem mistakenly refers to as the way library books are classified: theReverend Sykes
Reverend Sykes is the reverend of the First Purchase M.E. African Church in Maycomb County, where most if not all of the African-American characters go to church. Reverend Sykes forces the congregation to donate 10 dollars for Tom Robinson's family since at the time, Tom's wife, Helen, was having trouble finding work. During the trial, when the courtroom was too packed for the children to find seats, Reverend Sykes lets the kids sit with him up in the colored balcony and even saves their seats for them.Miss Stephanie Crawford
Miss Stephanie Crawford is known as the central source of gossip in Maycomb. Other than that, not much is known about her.Miss Rachel Haverford
Miss Rachel Haverford is Dill's aunt and the Finches' next door neighbor. She drank neat whiskey heavily after seeing a rattlesnake coiled in her closet, on her washing, when she hung her negligee up. Even though she can be very hard to deal with, she truly does love her nephew. She is also a Southern Belle. In the film, she is not a character and Miss Stephanie takes her place as Dill's aunt.Helen Robinson
Helen Robinson is the wife of Tom Robinson and the mother of their three children. She is spoken about a few times. 10 dollars is collected for her at First Purchase Church. 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
Nathan Radley is Arthur "Boo" Radley's brother. After discovering that Boo has been leaving small items in a tree knothole for Jem and Scout to find, he seals the hole with cement. He helps Miss Maudie when her house is on fire by saving some of her belongings.Jessie
Jessie is Mrs. Dubose's black nurse. She shoos the children out when Mrs. Dubose has her fits, and does seem to care enormously for Mrs. Dubose. When Jem is forced to read to Mrs. Dubose, Jessie kindly leads Jem and Scout to the door when Mrs. Dubose's alarm goes off.Burris Ewell
Burris Ewell, a son of Bob Ewell, is belligerent like his father. He goes to the first day of school but departs as everyone else in his family has. Burris is scared of Caroline Fisher, his teacher. He behaves rudely when she tells him to go home, wash his hair to get rid of hisLula
Lula is an African-American woman with a dislike for white people. She doesn't like the idea of Calpurnia bringing Atticus Finch's children, Jem and Scout, with her to church and tells her so but is overruled by the other congregants. According to Calpurnia's son Zeebo, Lula's said to be, "a troublemaker from way back, with fancy ideas and haughty ways." She's threatened with being "churched" (subjected to church discipline) by Reverend Sykes.Mrs. Grace Merriweather
Mrs. Grace Merriweather is the producer of the play in which Scout plays as a ham. She tells Everett that "the ladies of the South Maycomb Alabama Methodist Episcopal Church are behind him one hundred percent." She is mostly known for her devotion to the church and is widely held as the most devout lady in Maycomb; however, like many of her peers, she is very hypocritical and loves to gossip with all the other women.Walter Cunningham Jr.
Walter Cunningham Jr. is a child who is almost as old as Jem but is in Scout's class. He lives on a farm. He is too poor to even pay off a 25-cent debt because the Great Depression hit his poor family hard. He doesn't take money because his family can't pay people back in cash. His father paid Atticus for his service for something a while back with some goods. Walter is invited over to the Finches' house once, after engaging in a fight with Scout, where he covers up all of his dinner with molasses, much to Scout's vocal dismay. This teaches Scout a lesson in humility and compassion.Walter Cunningham Sr.
Walter Cunningham Sr. is Walter Cunningham Jr.'s father. He appears only 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 firewood, vegetables, and other supplies. He also leads the mob that comes to lynch Tom Robinson the night before the trial. Only when Scout talks to him about his son and how much he owes to Atticus does he reconsider and call off the mob. Scout reminds him of all the things that Atticus has done for him and how she knows his son Walter Cunningham Jr, which causes Walter to disband the lynch mob and all go home. After the verdict is given in the trial, Atticus tells Jem that one of the Cunninghams had changed his thoughts about Tom and pleaded that Tom was not guilty to the jury. Walter Cunningham Sr. is an honorable but poor man, and after his interaction with Scout, he realizes it is not right to hurt people.Little Chuck Little
Little Chuck Little is a student in Scout's first-grade class who has the mindset of an adult. His real name is Charles. 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 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 look at you. Now go home." Scared by Little Chuck's bravery and his implied knife, Burris retreats. We see through the narrative view of Scout, his gentlemanly attitude, and how it calms Miss Caroline down. Little Chuck maybe 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.Mr. Avery
The overweight Mr. Avery boards across the street from Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose's house. He tells Jem and Scout that dramatic changes in the weather are caused by disobedient and misbehaving children. Jem watched Avery urinating from his front porch in an impressive arc. After it snows, they build a snowman to resemble him. Atticus disapproved of the snowman, so the children made it look like Miss Maudie instead. Mr. Avery pushes a mattress out of the window when Miss Maudie's house catches fire.Miss Gates
Miss Gates is a teacher at Scout's school who insists that America isn't prejudiced likeEula May
Eula May 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. Her job allows her to know everybody in town.Cecil Jacobs
Cecil Jacobs teases 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 presentation onTim Johnson
Tim Johnson is a dog belonging to Harry Johnson (a character in the book who is mentioned once but is never seen). He is infected bySimon Finch
Simon Finch is the founder of ''Finch's Landing''. He is referred to in the first chapter of the book, being a direct ancestor of Atticus. He is a CornishMaxwell Green
Maxwell Green is the new lawyer in town. He is normally the judicially-assigned defence attorney but Judge Taylor assigned Tom Robinson's case to Atticus to give Tom Robinson a better chance.Mr. X Billups
Mr. X Billups who is seen only once in the book, going to the trial, 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 his parents marked his birth certificate with an X instead of a name.The Barber Sisters (Miss "Tutti" and Miss "Frutti")
The Barber Sisters (Miss Sarah, nicknamed "Tutti" and Miss Frances, nicknamed "Frutti") are maiden sisters who live in the only house in Maycomb with a cellar. They were originally from Clanton, Alabama; and are rumored to be Republicans. Besides their Yankee ways, both sisters are deaf (Tutti completely deaf; Frutti uses an ear trumpet) and had a Halloween prank pulled on them by some "wicked" schoolchildren (Scout claims she was not included) who put all of their furniture in their cellar.Mrs. Gertrude Farrow
Mrs. Farrow is a lady in the missionary society who visits the Finch house occasionally.Mr. Conner
Mr. Conner is mentioned early on in the book. He was locked in an outhouse by "Boo" Radley and his friends. After taking the teenagers to court, Mr. Conner accused them of "disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, assault, and battery, and using abusive and profane language in the presence and hearing of a female." He added the last charge after claiming that the teens had "cussed so loud he was sure every lady in Maycomb heard them."Zeebo
Calpurnia taught her son, Zeebo, how to read. Zeebo is one of just four people in First Purchase Church who can read, so he is the vocal leader, leading hymns in their church by " lining"reading a line of verse and having the congregation repeat it. He is the garbage man who took away the dead rabid dog, Tim Johnson. When Lula, a fellow church member, tries to make Scout and Jem feel bad for attending church with Calpurnia, Zeebo welcomes them with open arms.References
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Characters In To Kill A Mockingbird Characters