To Kill a Mockingbird

Character Analysis

Jean Louise Finch (Scout)

Character Analysis

The novel’s protagonist. Over the course of the novel’s three years, Scout grows from six to nine

years old. She’s bright, precocious, and a tomboy. Many neighbors and family members take offense

to her love of overalls, though her father, Atticus, defends her right to wear what she wants and

doesn’t force her to act like a lady. Scout adores and admires both Atticus and Jem, her older brother,

who in her mind know everything there is to know. She finds Atticus in particular far more

knowledgeable than her teachers at school, as her teachers take offense to the fact that Scout already

knows how to read and write in cursive on the first day of first grade and force her to engage in

mindless exercises. She prefers summertime, when she can run around the neighborhood with Jem

and their friend Dill, who proposes to Scout at the beginning of their second summer together.

Though Scout is just as terrified as Jem and Dill are of their neighbor Boo Radley, she’d rather be

cautious about approaching Radley Place and ideally would give it a wide berth, but she often gets

roped into Dill and Jem’s plans to somehow force Boo out of the house. When Atticus, a lawyer,

agrees to take on the defense of a black man, Tom Robinson, in a rape case, Scout demonstrates her

hotheadedness by defending Atticus’s honor against their majority-white community’s vitriol—

though she tries her best to follow through with Atticus’s request that she take the moral high ground

and not fight back. Scout struggles with her own prejudiced feelings, as when she can’t see the

hypocrisy of hating dresses but thinking that boys shouldn’t learn to cook, or when she suggests that
Tom Robinson is just a black person, and that it’s therefore normal and expected for people to treat

him poorly. When Boo saves Scout and Jem from being attacked by Mr. Ewell(the father of the

plaintiff in Robinson’s case) on Halloween night, Scout truly learns the power of putting herself in

another’s shoes, as it allows her to see that Boo isn’t scary or evil—he’s merely different, and

deserves respect just like anyone else.

Jeremy Atticus Finch (Jem)

Character Analysis

Scout’s older brother. He’s nine when the novel begins. In Scout’s eyes, Jem is an expert on most

things and is the ringleader of their group, especially once Dill arrives on the scene. He desperately

wants to look brave and courageous, which leads him to do things like touch the Radley house when

goaded and one summer. Jem is extremely intelligent and reads everything he can get his hands on.

He’s sensitive and, like his father, Atticus, has a strong sense of morality and justice. This causes him

to stand up for Atticus in questionable ways, as when he cuts down all of Mrs Dubose's camellias

when she insults Atticus for defending Tom Robinson. As the novel progresses, Jem begins to grow

up and mature in a way that’s hurtful and strange for Scout. He becomes sensitive, somewhat

reclusive, and during the summer, he excludes Scout in favor of spending more time alone with Dill.

Especially as Tom Robinson’s trial approaches, Jem becomes both moodier and more of an adult. He

insists on outing Dill, who ran away and came to the Finches’ home, to Atticus, and when he finds
Atticus surrounded by a mob of angry men the night before the trial, he disobeys Atticus and refuses

to leave. The trial itself is thrilling for Jem, as he wants to be a lawyer, idolizes Atticus, and believes

that Robinson’s innocence is obvious. It’s heartbreaking for Jem, then, when the jury takes hours and

still decides to convict Robinson as guilty. In the aftermath, Jem tries to come up with various ways

of understanding how this could’ve happened, but these explanations primarily rest on him coming

up with arbitrary divisions between people that seek to explain their animosity, rather than

understanding that his world is fundamentally prejudiced in a variety of ways. He’s rightfully

terrified when Mr Ewell, the father of the plaintiff in Robinson’s case, begins terrorizing Atticus and

others, which results in Jem breaking his arm on Halloween as he tries to fight off Mr. Ewell and

protect Scout from harm.

Atticus Finch

Character Analysis

Scott and Jem’s father. Atticus is older than most fathers in Maycomb at almost 50 years old, and as a

lawyer, Scout and Jem initially believe that Atticus doesn’t do anything of import. Atticus is kind,

compassionate, and treats his children like adults to the furthest extent that he can—he asks for both

sides of arguments, for instance, and takes their concerns seriously, no matter how odd they may

seem. He also insists that it’s necessary to answer children’s questions truthfully, no matter how

embarrassing or unsavory the subject. While at home, he spends most of his time reading newspapers,

and through this, taught Scout to read at an early age. Atticus has a firm sense of morality and
believes in the dignity of all people. He teaches his children to be compassionate and understanding

of everyone, from mean old Mrs Dubose to Calpurnia, the Finches’ black cook. All of this means that

Atticus feels compelled to take on the case of Tom Robinson, a black man wrongfully accused of

raping a white woman. Atticus knows that Robinson will be found guilty regardless, but believes that

in order to look his children in the eye and in order to live with himself, he has to do his best to

actually defend Robinson to the best of his abilities rather than allowing the trial to proceed

unchecked in favor of the white Ewells. The months preceding the trial are trying for the entire Finch

family, as Atticus is often harassed by locals for his role. In February, before the summer trial,

Atticus reveals that he used to be the best shot in the county when he shoots a rabid dog, an

experience that, in Scout’s mind, cements Atticus’s role as the person who does unsavory but

necessary things for the community. He ultimately loses the trial, but believes that his closing

arguments caused the jury to take a tiny step in the right direction by arguing about their decision for

hours. He doesn’t take Mr. Ewe;;’s threats seriously in the months after, as he believes fully in the

goodness and kindness of all people.

Charles Baker Harris (Dill)

Character Analysis

Jem and Scout’s friend and Miss Rachel’s nephew. Dill comes to stay with Miss Rachel in Maycomb

one summer and immediately shows that he’s a prolific liar and storyteller. In his play dramas with

Jem and Scout, Dill plays all manner of characters but truly excels at portraying villains. He prefers
his own stories to reality, hence his fascination with the Radley Place and with making Boo

Radleycome out of the house—the thought that Boo feeds on cats and might be dead piques Dill’s

interest, which leads to all manner of shenanigans that, in retrospect, Scout realizes were extremely

rude. Dill begins to show that he’s sensitive and compassionate, however, when he decides that they

need to give Boo a note asking him to come out and sit with them and offering to buy him an ice

cream. In the year that follows, Dill begins to suspect that Boo is really very lonely and doesn’t have

any friends. Dill himself is very lonely: his mother is divorced and remarries sometime before the

novel’s third summer, and now Dill’s parents don’t want much to do with him. He runs away to the

Finches because he feels more welcome there than he does at home. During Tom Robinson’s trial,

Dill’s sensitivity comes to the forefront and causes him to have to leave the courthouse, as he can’t

stomach the rude and racist way that Mr Gilmer speaks to Tom during his questioning. He’s adamant

that it’s horrible to treat any person that way, no matter their skin color. In this sense, Dill truly

remains an innocent child throughout the novel, as both Atticus and Mr Robinson suggest that as

children grow, they stop crying when they see injustice like this, and ultimately become either numb

to it or go on to perpetuate it themselves.

Arthur Radley (Boo)

Character Analysis

The youngest Radley. Arthur is a recluse, and his life is shrouded in mystery. At the beginning of the

novel, his unwillingness to come out of the house leads to wild rumors that he eats cats and squirrels
on his nightly walks to look in people’s windows. Scout, Jem, and Dill are both terrified of and

fascinated by him, and they engage in all manner of shenanigans to try to get him to come out.

According to Miss Maudie, Arthur’s life was an unhappy one. His father, Mr Radley, was so religious

he couldn’t take pleasure in living, and there was possibly abuse that went on behind closed doors in

the Radley house. After a brief involvement in a gang of sorts as a teen, Arthur was kept inside the

house and by the time the novel starts, it’s been 25 years since he left it. Miss Maudie also notes that

prior to this, Arthur was a polite, if quiet, young man. As Scout, Jem, and Dill grow, they come to

suspect that Arthur is truly just lonely, and possibly that he wants to stay inside for good reasons,

including the racism and prejudice of his neighbors. Arthur finally comes out on Halloween night to

rescue Scout and Jem from being attacked by Bob Ewell, stabbing Mr. Ewell to death in the process.

Seeing Arthur for the first time, Scout doesn’t find him scary at all. As she stands on his porch after

walking him home, she realizes how much he cares for her, Jem, and for the neighborhood, even if he

never went out into it.

Bob Ewell

Character Analysis

The racist patriarch of the Ewell family, which lives behind the Maycomb dump. His aggressive,

drunken behavior causes people in Maycomb to give him a wide berth and allow him to break the

rules, as they understand that it’s useless to try to force his children to stay in school and it isn’t worth

it to punish him for hunting out of season. In terms of his hunting, Mr. Ewell gets away with this in
part because, though his family relies on relief checks, he spends most of the money on alcohol.

When Scoutfirst sees Mr. Ewell in court, she thinks of him as being like a bright red, cocky rooster.

He’s vulgar, rude, racist, and is very obviously uneducated, which makes him look even less

believable than he already does. During the trial, Atticus makes the case that Tom Robinson didn’t

rape Mayella rather, Mr. Ewell beat Mayella and blamed Robinson when he caught Mayella touching

Robinson. In fact, it’s heavily implied that Mr. Ewell has sexually abused Mayella in the past, as she

told Robinson that she’d never kissed a man because “what my papa do to me doesn’t count.” Even

though Mr. Ewell and Mayella win their case, Mr. Ewell sets out to get revenge on everyone who

made him look like a fool in court. In addition to harassing Helen Robinson and spitting in Atticus’s

face, this culminates in him attempting to murder Scout and Jem on Halloween night. Mr. Tate insists

that Mr. Ewell fell on his knife (in truth, Arthur Radley killed him to save the children), telling

Atticus to let the killing slide so that Mr. Ewell can pay for the pain, suffering, and ultimate death he

brought on Tom Robinson.

Miss Maudie Atkinson

Character Analysis

The Finches’ neighbor across the street. Miss Maudie is in her 40s and a widow, and she loves to

garden but hates her house. She’s a mostly benign presence in Scout’s life until Jem and Dill begin

excluding her, at which point Scout begins spending more time with Miss Maudie and decides they’re

friends after Miss Maudie shows Scout her bridgework (fake teeth). Miss Maudie, like Atticus, has an
innate sense of morality and believes that all people deserve to be treated with respect and

compassion. She’s adamant that Arthur Radley is just different, not evil, and she suggests that he’s

suffered abuse of some kind at home from his overly religious father. Miss Maudie is opinionated and

willing to express her views, and as such, often calls out Miss Stephanie and others for gossiping and

spreading rumors. Following the trial, Miss Maudie tries to impress upon Jem in particular that

Atticus did a necessary and important thing by defending Tom Robinson, even though he knew he

wasn’t going to win. She encourages Jem to look for the other people who aren’t all bad or who

somehow tried to help Atticus and Robinson.

Calpurnia Next

Character Analysis

The Finches’ black cook. Atticus has employed her for years, and following the death of his wife,

Calpurnia essentially raises Scout and Jem. Scout initially sees Calpurnia as tyrannical and horrible,

but as she begins to grow, she comes to understand that Calpurnia truly does love and care for her.

Calpurnia is unique in Maycomb, as she’s one of the few black residents who’s literate—she taught

Scout to write in cursive and taught her son, Zeebo, to read. She’s fanatical about policing Scout’s

manners, which irks Scout to no end since she believes that Calpurnia doesn’t correct Jem nearly as

much. When Scout and Jem attend the local black church with Calpurnia and hear her speaking

differently to the black parishioners there, they realize that Calpurnia leads something of a double life

—she speaks one way at home and speaks very differently when she’s at the Finches’ house. This
increases Scout’s respect for Calpurnia, and she becomes even more supportive of Calpurnia when

Aunt Alexandria arrives and makes numerous bids for Atticus to fire Calpurnia. Atticus, however,

insists that Calpurnia is like family and that he’ll never fire her.

Aunt Alexandra

Character Analysis

Atticus’s sister. She’s married, but Scout insists that her husband isn’t worth mentioning. Aunt

Alexandra is a formidable lady and is the only Finch sibling who stayed at Finch’s Landing, the

family’s old plantation. Scout dislikes her, as Aunt Alexandra takes great offense to Scout’s

tomboyish nature and desperately wants Scout to wear dresses and act more feminine. In the months

before Tom Robinson’s trial, Aunt Alexandra inexplicably decides to move in with Atticus in order to

give Scout a feminine role model, though Scout suspects that there’s more to it than this. While in

Atticus’s home, Aunt Alexandra proves to be somewhat racist and very classist—she detests

Calpurnia’s presence and disapproves of Atticus’s choice to defend Robinson. She makes it very

clear to Scout that the Finches are a good family and that Scout shouldn’t spend time with her poorer

peers. For all these faults, Aunt Alexandra does rally around Atticus and try to comfort him when he

loses the trial, and she remains concerned for Scout and Jem’s safety once Mr Ewellbegins harassing

Atticus, Helen Robinson, and Judge Taylor.

Character Analysis
A 25-year-old black man whom Atticusi defends in a court case against the Ewells. Bob Ewell claims

that his daughter, Mayella, was raped by Tom. However, Tom is kind, a churchgoer, and a married

father of three, as well as a beloved member of the black community in Maycomb and a good

employee of Mr. Deas. Atticus makes the case that Tom, who got his left arm caught in a cotton gin

as a child and can’t use it as a result, couldn’t have strangled and beaten a woman with only one arm.

In his testimony, Tom speaks about the impossible situation Mayella put him in when she hugged and

kissed him. Being a black man, he couldn’t have pushed her away or forcibly removed himself—

though running was his only choice, it made him look as though he was guilty of something more.

Despite the overwhelming lack of evidence against Tom, the jury ultimately convicts him as guilty of

rape. In prison, guards shoot and kill Tom when he tries to escape over a fence.

Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose

Character Analysis
Mrs. Dubose is a widow who lives two doors down from the Finches. She’s ancient and unspeakably

mean, shouting abuse from her porch at everyone, even children. Some, like Cecil, walk further every
day to avoid her. She remains a force to be avoided until she insults Atticus for defending Tom

Robinson in front of Jem, which spurs Jem to hack the buds off of her camellias. Following this, Mrs.

Dubose and Atticus force Jem to read to her every afternoon for five weeks. Scout finds Mrs.

Dubose’s appearance and home repulsive—she drools, her house smells oppressive, and she seems to

barely listen to Jem while continuing to insult Jem and Atticus. Following her death, Atticus explains

that Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict who, while undeniably mean and racist, did a courageous

thing by breaking herself of her addiction before her death.

Mr. Dolphus Raymond

Character Analysis

A white man who, for much of the novel, Scout and most people in Maycomb believe is always

drunk. He was supposed to marry years ago, but rumor has it that his fiancée committed suicide when

she learned that Mr. Raymond had a black mistress. In the present, Mr. Raymond lives with his black

girlfriend and has a number of children with her. He speaks to Scout and Dill when they step outside

of Tom Robinson’s trial because Dill was upset by how the solicitor treated Robinson. At this time,

he admits that he’s not a drinker—he drinks Coca-Cola out of a bag but pretends it’s whiskey to give

people a reason that makes sense to them as to why he’d want to live the way he does. He’s firm in

his belief that all people deserve respect and dignity, no matter the color of their skin.
 Mayella Ewell

Character Analysis

Bob Ewell’s 19-year-old daughter. She’s described as thick and used to hard labor and cultivates

bright red geraniums in the family’s yard. and Scout can tell that though Mayella tries to keep clean,

she’s regularly unsuccessful. The oldest child in her family, it falls to her to care for the younger

children. She accuses Tom Robinson of beating and raping her, though Atticus, through his

questioning of her and of Robinson, shows that Mayella was unloved, abused, starved for attention.

It’s clear that she was actually beaten by her father when he caught her forcibly touching Robinson,

and was not raped at all—though it’s heavily implied that Mr. Ewell has, in fact, sexually abused

Mayella in the past. Though Mayella comes close to admitting that Mr. Ewell beats her when he

drinks, she refuses to change her testimony and admit that she accused Robinson of rape, so that she

can escape the fact that she broke an important social code as a white woman tempting a black man.

Uncle Jack

Character Analysis

Atticus’s brother who is 10 years younger and a doctor. He’s unmarried but has a female cat, and he

spends a week every Christmas with Atticus, Scout, and Jem. Scout adores him as he doesn’t seem
much like a doctor to her—rather than acting cold and clinical, he makes her laugh or explains in

detail what he’s doing while performing minor procedures. He punishes Scout at Christmas for

beating up Francis but feels horrendous about it when Scout accuses him of being horrible with

children and not asking for her side of the story. He later tells Atticus shamefully that Scout’s rebuke

makes him never want to have children.

Mr. Underwood

Character Analysis

The sole owner, writer, and editor of the Maycomb Tribune. According to Atticus, Mr. Underwood is

an intense and profane man. He seldom leaves his home above the Tribune to report on any goings-

on; people bring him the news instead. Though he’s racist and is one of the men who convenes at the

Finches’ home in the days before Tom Robinson’s trial to speak to Atticus, he also stands up for

what’s right and is ready to protect Atticus from a mob that gathers at the jailhouse. Following the

jury’s guilty verdict and Robinson’s death at the hands of prison guards, Mr. Underwood takes a

stand and insists that it’s unconscionable to kill a disabled person, invoking Atticus’s own adage that

killing a mockingbird is a sin.

Character Analysis

An older and cantankerous neighbor who lives across the street from the Finches. He’s a portly man

who whittles, though only to make himself toothpicks. Scout, Jem, and Dilll find Mr. Avery

fascinating since in the summers, he puts on a nightly show of sitting on his porch and sneezing—and

one night, they caught him urinating an impressive distance off of his porch. Scout doesn’t like him

much, but she takes him at his word that it’s written on the Rosetta Stone that Maycomb experiences

bad weather when children misbehave. Despite being cantankerous, he’s one of the bravest men who

fights the fire in Miss Maudie’s house.

Heck Tate

Character Analysis

The sheriff in Maycomb. He’s a tall and slender man who wears cowboy boots. He carries a rifle, but

he insists that he’s not as good of a shot as Atticus, though this is never confirmed. While Scout never

gets a good or nuanced understanding of how Mr. Tate feels about black people more generally, Mr.

Tate does try to protect Tom Robinson and gives testimony in court that supports Atticus’s argument

that Mr Ewell, not Robinson, beat Mayella. He later shows that he does believe in justice when he
declares that Mr. Ewell fell on his knife (when really Arthur Radley killed him in defense of Scout

and Jem), thereby protecting Arthur from unwanted attention or legal trouble.

Judge Taylor

Character Analysis

The elderly judge in Maycomb. He often looks like he’s asleep and not paying attention, but in

reality, he pays close attention to court proceedings and is a strict and fair judge. He has a peculiar

habit of eating cigars during court proceedings, which fascinates and delights Scout. While Judge

Taylor doesn’t overtly voice his support for Tom Robinson or Atticus during the trial, Miss Maudie

points out that he did assign the case to Atticus, not the newest lawyer in town, suggesting that he

wanted Robinson to have the best chance possible.

Character Analysis
Arthur and Nathan Radley’s father. According to Jem, Mr. Radley didn’t do anything, while Miss

Maudie explains that Mr. Radley was religious to the point where he wasn’t interested in anything to

do with the outside world, hence his family’s solitude and unwillingness to mingle in Maycomb. Due

to possible abuse, he may be the reason for Arthur’s unwillingness to leave the house as an adult. He

dies when Jem is a child, but Jem, Scout, and Dill resurrect him as a character in one of their summer

dramas.

Nathan Radley

Character Analysis
The eldest Radley son. He left the Radley Place as a young adult but returns to care for Arthur when

old Mr Radley dies. Like the rest of his family members, Nathan is reclusive and spends most of his

time inside. Though he doesn’t act nefarious or mean, he does fill the hole in the oak tree—in which

Arthur was leaving Scout and Jem treasures—with cement.

Character Analysis
The reverend of First Purchase, the black church in Maycomb. He’s a kind and generous man, though

Scoutnotes that like all preachers in her experience, he’s preoccupied with sin and insisting that

women are somehow compromised. He kindly allows Scout, Jem, and Dill to sit with him during

Tom Robinson’s trial, and he gives much of his church’s collection money to Helen in the weeks

before the trial.

Walter Cunningham

Character Analysis
A poor boy in Scout’s first-grade class. Scout notes that Walter’s family is extremely poor, with no

food or extra money to spare, hence why he comes to school on the first day without shoes or a lunch.

Despite this, in contrast to the Ewells, Walter is clean and wears clean clothes. Scout blames him for

souring her relationship with Miss Caroline.

Character Analysis
The Maycomb gossip. She’s a good Maycomb lady in that she’s active in the church and is very

social, but Scout knows to not believe anything she says. Miss Stephanie very interested in Miss

Maudie’s Lane cake recipe, but Scout shares with the reader that she doesn’t believe Miss Stephanie

would be capable of baking the cake even if she had the recipe.

Miss Rachel Haverford

Character Analysis
Dill’s aunt and the Finches’ next-door neighbor, with whom Dill comes to stay during the summer.

She isn’t a major presence in Scout, Jem, and Dill’s lives, but she cares deeply for Dill and takes

issue with their moral development when the children insist that they’ve been playing strip poker.

She’s also a gossip and a friend of Miss Stephanie’s.

Character Analysis

The prosecutor in Tom Robinson’s trial. He could be anywhere between 40 and 60 years old and

Scout doesn’t know him well, as he’s from Abbottsville. Despite representing the Ewells, Mr. Gilmer

seems just as put off by them as everyone else in the courtroom. He treats Tom Robinson rudely

during his questioning, which disturbs Dill.

Mrs. Grace Merriweather

Character Analysis

According to Scout, Miss Merriweather is the most devout lady in Maycomb. She’s a Methodist and

leads the mission group. She’s shocked by the “sin and squalor” that African tribes live in, and she

takes major offense to the fact that black people in Maycomb can’t move on after Tom Robinson’s

trial.
 Link Deas

Character Analysis

A land and business owner in Maycomb. He’s a generally kind man who employed Tom Robinson,

and employs Tom’s wife, Helen, after Tom is found guilty at his trial and imprisoned. When Bob

Ewell tries to intimidate Helen following the trial, Mr. Deas threatens him, and he’s thrown out of

court for defending Tom’s character unprompted.