To Kill a Mockingbird Characters

Scout’s HonorScout may or may not be a lover, but she’s definitely a fighter. Especially at the beginning of the novel, fighting is her solution to everything: she goes after Walter Cun...

Obsession with BooWhile Dill is often the imagination behind the Finch kids’ early attempts to draw out Boo Radley, Jem is the one who takes action on his schemes. He’s the one who over...

Atticus as FatherNeither of the Finch kids ever calls their father “Dad”; he’s always Atticus. While he definitely puts his foot down when necessary, he also treats his kids with...

Calpurnia’s Tough LoveWhile everyone in the novel is filtered through Scout’s perception – she is, after all, the narrator – Calpurnia in particular appears for a long time...

For Scout and Jem, summer means Dill, and Dill’s imagination: "Thus we came to know Dill as a pocket Merlin, whose head teemed with eccentric plans, strange longings, and quaint fancies" (1.3...

Boo the MonsterBoo first comes into the novel through the creative imagination of Jem, whose description of his neighbor suggests that if he had been born several decades later, he would probably b...

Before the Trial: Invisible ManLike Boo Radley, the character of Tom Robinson has an existence in the imagination of Maycomb that extends far beyond himself as an individual. On one level, Tom is a...

Among the trash and cast-offs in the Ewell yard, there’s one spot of beauty.“Against the fence, in a line, were six chipped-enamel slop jars holding brilliant red geraniums, cared for a...

Bob Ewell is the current head of a family that has been “the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations” (3.93). Considered human trash by the Maycomb community, the Ewells live in a sho...

Aunt Alexandra is so different from her easy-going brothers Atticus and Jack that Scout wonders if she was switched at birth with another family’s baby. She’s the kind of woman who wear...

Miss Maudie is part of the world where “fragrant ladies rocked slowly, fanned gently, and drank cool water” (24.53) that Scout both desires and fears, but this rose never lets others fo...

As sheriff of Maycomb County, Heck Tate’s official role is maintaining law and order. Through most of the book, however, he seems about as powerful as Ranger Smith faced with Yogi Bear and a...

While Mr. Deas at first seems on the side of order over truth (his telling Atticus that he has “everything to lose” from defending Tom brings out Atticus’s notoriously dangerous r...

Boo may be the ghost of Scout’s neighborhood, but Mrs. Dubose is the dragon. Scout introduces her as “plain hell” (1.14)Jem and I hated her. If she was on the porch when we passed...

As an outsider to Maycomb (she comes from the strange and far-off land of northern Alabama), Miss Caroline gets as many lessons from her students as she gives to them. As a main booster for the sch...

Uncle Jack is the uncle of Jem and Scout, who always look forward to his visits. He’s a joker who is friendly with the kids, but, being unmarried with no children of his own, doesn’t re...

A heavily religious woman and a closet drinker, Mrs. Grace Merriweather is “the most devout lady in Maycomb” (24.25). Her devoutness shows itself in her commitment to saving the Mrunas,...

As minister of First Purchase Church, Reverend Sykes is an authority figure in Maycomb’s African-American community. Like Santa Claus, he’s knows if you been bad or good: at the service...

Scout calls Judge Taylor “a sleepy old shark” (16.105), and the description suits him well: he may seem out of it most of the time, but disrupt his court in any way and he’s on it...

Mr. Raymond is a borderline figure who confuses Maycomb’s neat social and racial categories. In the strictly segregated crowds outside the courthouse, he sits with the African-Americans, and...

Mr. Underwood shares his name with a famous typewriter brand – appropriate, since he runs Maycomb’s one and only newspaper, The Maycomb Tribune. He’s also one of the few minor cha...

Mr. Cunningham is the father of Walter Cunningham, Scout’s classmate. He’s also a client of Atticus’s, and pays Atticus for his services in goods rather than money, because that&#...

Walter is almost as old as Jem but is in Scout’s class at school. On the first day of first grade he lacks both shoes and a lunch, but it’s clear he’s a step up from Burris Ewell,...

As Tom’s wife, Helen suffers from the persecution of her husband. After his arrest, she has difficulty finding work, and it’s only the concern of Reverend Sykes and the kindness of Link...

As the town busybody, Miss Stephanie makes it her business to spread gossip, the meaner the better. She’s the Finch kids’ main source of rumors about Boo Radley, and takes as much delig...

Assigned the prosecution of the Tom Robinson case, Mr. Gilmer faces off against Atticus in court. While Scout thinks their rivalry is strictly a legal one, Dill is disturbed by the difference in th...

Lula appears only once in the novel, but even though brief her presence is memorable. When Calpurnia takes Jem and Scout to the African-American First Purchase Church, Lula is the one person who do...

Boo’s brother, Mr. Nathan takes the place of their father when he dies. Whether he’s Boo’s jailor or protector is unclear. Equally unclear is his reason for filling up the knothol...