Jean Louise Finch:

This character is probably the most important one in the story for the reader, because we view the action through her eyes and get her opinions about what is happening. Very aptly she is nicknamed Scout. At the beginning of the story she is six years old, and at the end she is eight. Scout is a very unusual little girl for many reasons. First of all, she is a tomboy, but is not difficult for the reader to understand. After all, her mother is dead, she idolizes her father, and she has her older brother as her only playmate throughout most of the story. Secondly, Scout is above average in intelligence. The reader knows this because, when Scout starts to school, she already knows how to read and to write. However, there is no indication in the story about how well she can do either of these; only that she can. Thus we don't have to conclude that she is in the genius class. We know that she picked up the reading from constantly being with her father, and the writing from Calpurnia. Thirdly, Scout is perceptive. By this is meant that she notices what is going on around her, and she has a certain ability to observe it. For example, at the trial she realized that Mayella Ewell must be the loneliest person in the world, and she was moved to sympathy by that thought. Lastly, Scout has a temper which gets her into occasional trouble. She would rather fight first and ask questions later. This gives her a sense of equality with her brother as she says about their fight in Chapter 14.

The Woman And The Girl:

In studying the character of Scout, the reader must be careful. Actually there are two characters who are in reality one person. There is the grown Jean Louise who is telling the story, and there is the little girl Scout who is a part of the story. The reader should try to keep these two separate. The one is recalling what happened to her as a child. The other is the child herself going through the actions.

Atticus Finch:

Atticus, Scout's father, is the central figure in the plot of the novel. The meaning of his name gives a clue to his character. Atticus is a term which refers to the ancient Greek city of Athens. It implies learning, culture, and heroism. Atticus Finch represents all of these things and more. To his children, he is a father whom they can love and respect, and to whom they can look for comfort and reasonable advice. To Tom Robinson and the other Negroes, he is a source of strength and of help. They respect him because they know he recognizes their personal dignity and that he will fight to protect it. To the townspeople, he is a symbol of integrity. Even though they criticize him for defending the Negro, they still re-elect him to the state legislature. Unconsciously, they know that they can count on him to do those things for them which they lack the courage to do for themselves.

Jeremy Finch:

Jeremy is Scout's older brother. A boy of ten when the story opens, he is about thirteen when it ends. The events of the story parallel his transition from child to young man. His nickname, Jem, is appropriate. At the beginning of the story, he is a gem, a diamond in the rough that will be polished by the events in Maycomb. He emerges at the end of his experience completely changed by his contact with the adult world.

Of all the characters in the novel, Jem is the one who changes most during the course of the story. In the first chapters he is a rough and tumble boy, who accepts Dill's dare to run up to the Radley house. He tries to put the note through the shutter with the fishing pole. He sneaks into the Radley place at night in order to look into the window. As the story progresses, he becomes more sensitive to the meaning of the happenings around him. He develops a compassionate attitude toward Atticus, Tom, Boo Radley, and Mrs. Dubose because of a growing adult awareness of their problems. He has a more adult understanding of the Tom Robinson case than Scout and Dill. He wants his father to win it. In the courtroom, he listens attentively. However, when the jury convicts the Negro, he is shocked. His boyhood ideals of justice and honor have been shattered. He broods over man's ability to be so obviously unjust to his fellow man.

Charles Baker Harris

Charles Baker Harris is the character whom the reader might regard as the outside influence on the story. He is the only important character who is not from Maycomb. Like the other characters discussed so far, his name indicates his part in the story. Throughout the story he is referred to as Dill. The reader who is familiar with these matters knows that dill is a plant whose seeds are used to flavor other food; for example, the dill pickle. Thus Dill Harris is put into the story to flavor it. The reader does not know much about his background. The author tells us that he has been shuffled from relative to relative. Also, after his mother remarries, he does not feel that she really wants him. From the narrative the reader realizes that Dill is both imaginative and sensitive.

Dill's Place In The Novel:

Dill has three important parts in this novel. First of all is that which concerns Boo Radley. Before Dill arrived on the scene, Jem and Scout merely wondered about the Radley place. They did not go near it. However, one of the first interests of Dill was to find out what was going on inside the house. It is he who dares Jem to act. If we say that the Radley house in this instance represents Maycomb, and the Radleys the townspeople who don't want their lives disturbed by anything unusual, then we can say that Dill represents the disturbing element. When we consider that he is an outcast of sorts, we might say that he represents the Tom Robinson case. This is the incident that disturbs the otherwise quiet town. Secondly, Dill is a spectator at the trial. He is the outsider watching how Maycomb's system of justice works. What is the effect on him. It makes him sick, and then it makes him cynical. In this sense he represents another point of view. The people of Maycomb don't want their white-black society disturbed. But they cannot see it for the rotten thing that it is. They are too close to it. The outsider Dill, however, can see the gross injustice of it all, and he is disturbed by what he sees. Thirdly, Dill is another in the story. He provides a companion for both Jem and Scout. As a boy, he can play boy's games with Jem. However, since he is closer in age to Scout than to the older Jem, he can share her problems better. He and Scout have a few talks together, such as the one on the night when he ran away from home.

Arthur Radley:

Known to the children as Boo, Arthur appears only once in the story, at the end when he rescues Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell. Therefore, the reader does not know much about his personality except that he is a shy man, living in total seclusion. His real place in the story is as a symbol. He is a phantom that goes out only at night. In the beginning of the story, he is the symbol of the unknown. The children wonder about him and want to find out all they can about his life. At first they ask questions; later they invade the Radley property to satisfy their curiosity. Boo Radley becomes a symbol of kindness as he leaves various things in the tree for the children to find, and then covers Scout with a blanket on the night of Miss Maudie's fire. He becomes, in addition, a symbol of bravery. In the scene describing the Ewell attack on the children, Scout sees a strange man under the street light. He is walking as though carrying a burden too heavy for him. Even though a physically weaker man, Boo had no fear of the stronger Ewell. The irony of it all is that Boo Radley, the town freak, has a more genuine sense of values and greater compassion than most of the citizens of Maycomb. The children learn lessons of greater importance from Boo than they do from almost anyone else. They learn to judge him by his actions and not by town gossip.

Aunt Alexandra:

Aunt Alexandra, Atticus' sister, represents the traditional values of the South - home, family, heredity, gentility, and white supremacy. She maintains all of these values even at the end of the novel. It is not she who changes, but Scout. Scout meets her aunt halfway. Aunt Alexandra represents the crucial problem of the South, then as now - an unwillingness to forsake a false value structure even in the face of evidence that it is meaningless and unjust.

Calpurnia:

Calpurnia, the Finch family cook, is the link between the black and white worlds of Maycomb. She has a dual personality, acting in one way with her friends and in another with the Finches. She is practically accepted as a member of the Finch family. She treats the children as though they were her own. She does not spoil them; she helps Scout learn to write; she listens to their problems. Atticus is not afraid to talk openly in front of her because he knows that she understands. The author suggests that the Negro can be a valuable part of white society, if white men will only judge him on the basis of individual merit. Calpurnia's character also suggests a lesson for Negroes. They must learn to admire individual achievements, not as the aping of the white man's world, but as a necessity of dignified human life. Because both whites and blacks are guilty of racism, by not judging men individually, Cal must hide her achievements from both.

Miss Maudie Atkinson:

Although this character does not play a great part in the story, she is perhaps one of the most colorful people in it. She is a benevolent, brave woman who loves floral beauty and the Finch children. Her bravery at the time of the fire foreshadows her valiant support of Atticus' defense of Tom. She is the most rational feminine character in the novel, one who repudiates Aunt Alexandra's value system.

Bob Ewell:

Ewell represents the poor white trash of Maycomb. He is ignorant, irrational, slovenly, and totally unwilling to take any steps to improve himself. His hatred of the Negro is greater than anyone else's in Maycomb, because he knows he is inferior by any rational standard of comparison. He trades on the fact that Maycomb's standards are not rational, and that it will support his hunt for a scapegoat. He hopes to gain a self-respect he never earned by degrading Tom Robinson.

Mayella Ewell:

Scout described Bob Ewell's daughter as the loneliest person in the world. In a sense she was the victim of circumstances. Her father's attitude prevented her from behaving like a normal person. Her desire for affection was genuine. Her lies were the result of fear of her father. In spite of what she does, the reader is sympathetic toward this poor girl who in some ways suffers more deeply than the Negroes of Maycomb.

Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose:

This character is important only in relation to Scout and Jem. They learned a valuable lesson from her bravery in the face of impossible odds. They also learned that judgment of another human being requires that the context be known and evaluated.

Miss Stephanie Crawford:

She represents the self-righteousness of the townspeople. Her stock in trade is vicious gossip aimed at almost anyone who offends her concepts of the status quo.

Judge Taylor:

Judge Taylor is an elderly man well versed in the law. He seems to want to see justice done, but he is limited because the ultimate decision rests with the jury.

Tom Robinson:

Tom's character is not well-drawn. He is a two-dimensional figure who seems to be a kind person. However, his ignorance and his position as a Negrocause his ultimate downfall.

Mr. Dolphus Raymond:

He appears only briefly in the story, during the trial. Because he lives with a Negro woman, he is an outcast. But his children are the ones who suffer most because of this. Half black and half white, they belong to neither race and neither wants them. Both whites and blacks are guilty of intolerance.

Link Deas, Heck Tate, Mr. Underwood:

These are minor characters who figure in the trial sequences. They are one segment of the white society in Maycomb, however, who seem to have a proper sense of justice.

Uncle Jack:

He is Atticus's brother. Scout is very fond of him because he is kind and genial. He supports his brother's decision to defend Tom.

Uncle Jimmie:

He is Aunt Alexandra's husband. He is an ineffectual husband and father,but Alexandra preserves the marriage at all costs to protect the family name.

Francis:

Francis is Aunt Alexandra's grandson, who first gives the reader the family's reaction to the Tom Robinson case. He taunts Scout by calling Atticus a "nigger-lover."

The Cunninghams:

They are a poor white family. They provide a contrast to the Ewells. They are industrious, proud, independent people who never accept anything that they cannot repay. One of the Cunninghams is almost responsible for a hung jury at the trial.

 The Mockingbird:

The title of this novel is first mentioned in Chapter 10. After Jem and Scout get air-rifles for Christmas, Atticus tells them to shoot all the bluejays they want, but that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. Miss Maudie then explains that the mockingbird never harms anyone. All it does is sing. Therefore, it should be left alone. What is the significance of the symbol? Tom Robinson is an innocent person. He has never done anything to harm anyone. Actually, he had on many occasions helped Mayella Ewell because he felt sorry for her. Yet he is sentenced to death. After Tom is shot while trying to escape, Mr. Underwood compares him to a harmless songbird killed by senseless hunters. Boo Radley is also an innocent by-stander who is persecuted without reason.

Bird Imagery:

Bird imagery highlights the significant events of the story. For example, when Atticus shoots the mad dog, the birds are not singing. On the night that Bob Ewell attacks the children, a lone mocker is singing in the Radley oak. Scout refers to Boo Radley himself as a mockingbird. After Heck Tate and Atticus decide that it is better to conceal the fact that Boo killed Bob Ewell, Scout says that to tell about this would be like killing a mockingbird. If people discovered what Boo had done, they would destroy the one thing he loved most - his privacy.

Who Killed Tom Robinson?

The mockingbird image can be interpreted in another way. A mockingbird is one that has no song of its own. It imitates the songs of other birds. The people of Maycomb are like this bird. Each conforms to the ways of the others, afraid to have identity, goals, or ideas separate from the group. Their way of life is an imitated routine passed from generation to generation. Atticus disturbs this routine, not content to leave well enough alone. One is reminded of the nursery rhyme that goes, "Who Killed Cock Robin?" The reader might ask himself the question: "Who killed Tom Robinson?" The answer in the nursery rhyme is: "I, said the sparrow/ With my little bow and arrow." The answer to our question is that the people of Maycomb, the mockingbirds who have no song of their own, are the ones who killed Tom Robinson. They let him be convicted and sent to prison on the basis of obvious lies. When he got tired of waiting for white man's justice and tried to run away, he was shot. Atticus tells the children that the people of Maycomb never served on juries for two reasons. First, they were not interested. Second, they were afraid that they might hurt someone's feelings if they had to pass a judgment involving two townspeople. In fact they feared the consequences of forsaking the safety of the group for the solitude of making an independent judgment.

Theme

Obvious Theme: The rather obvious theme of this book is the Negro question. The main plot of the story revolves around the Tom Robinson case. The significance of the title To Kill A Mockingbird applies directly to his death. Yet the reader cannot help but ask himself if this narrow message of racial equality is all that the author is trying to say. For instance, the book is full of remarks about seeing the other person's point of view. In Chapter 3, Atticus explains to Scout that she will get along better with people if she learns to climb into their skin once in a while, and try to see their point of view. The children are told to leave the Radleys alone because they were entitled to live in whatever way they so desired. Also one of Scout's difficulties throughout the story was that she could not understand some of Jem's ways. She had to be reminded frequently by Calpurnia and by Atticus to be patient with her older brother who was only going through a stage. She was still a little girl and he was emerging into manhood. Finally, the novel ends on the same note. After Scout returns from the Radley house, she sits by her father until she falls asleep. Her last words to him that night were that Boo was real nice. To this Atticus replied that most people were once you got to see them. The author uses the word "see" in this sentence, not the word "know." This carries out the idea of seeing the other person's viewpoint, not just knowing it.