| Characters | |
| Jean Louise Finch (Scout) | The main character and narrator. She tells the story of herself being a rebellious tomboy who is fierce towards those who challenge her. But she has a good heart and sees the goodness of people. |
| Jeremy Finch (Jem) | He is Scout’s older brother. He is quiet and reserved but holds a high standard. He expects more of people than Scout does. When these expectations are not met, Jem finds it challenging to resolve his feelings. |
| Charles Baker Harris (Dill) | A friend of the Jem and Scout. He is older than Scout but short for his age. He has an active imagination and has a strong passion for adventure. He instigates the first challenge towards the Radley’s house. Dill spends his summers in Maycomb with his aunt who lives next door to the Finches. |
| Atticus Finch | Scout’s and Jem’s father. He is a lawyer who has a high moral standard. He is fair in his actions towards everyone despite the social and racial barriers in the South. He is optimistic and maintains the hope that mankind will be good. Atticus’ wife died when Scout was still a young child and he employed Calpurnia as his black housekeeper and cook to help him with his children. |
| Boo Radley | He is locked away in his house for many years. As a young boy, he got into trouble with the law and his father kept him locked away since the incident. As a prisoner in his home, the stories of him stabbing his father with a pair of scissors made it easy for people to believe that he was violent. The town developed a myth that he was an insane monster who would peer into people’s windows at nights. Throughout the events of the novel, the readers see Boo being controlled by his brother and not being able to integrate into the society. |
| Tom Robinson | A black man who is accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell. Atticus takes his case despite the knowledge that the society would never find Tom Robinson innocent of the crime. Tom is instrumental in understanding the challenges of racial segregation in the South. |
| Calpurnia | She is the black housekeeper and cook who works with the Finch family. She is one of the many motherly figures in Scout’s life. She negotiates between the very separate blacks and whites of Maycomb. |
| Aunt Alexandra | She is very strict on maintaining the traditional ideas of how society works and the role a Southern woman. She is Atticus’ sister and tries to instill her values in Scout. But Scout is not particularly interested. Alexandra’s main concern is with raising Atticus’s children “properly,” and she comes to stay with them during Tom’s trial in the summer. |
| Maude Atkinson | She is Scout’s kind, cheerful, and witty neighbor, and trusted friend. Maude upholds a strong moral code and helps the children gain depth on the events surrounding the trial. She also loves gardening. |
| Bob Ewell | The father of Mayella. He is evil and ignorant and belongs to the lowest caste of the Maycomb society. He lives with his nine motherless children in a shack near the town dump. During the trial, the readers learn that he catches his daughter kissing Tom Robinson. He beats her and then forces her to say that Tom raped her. He drinks heavily and spends his relief checks on whiskey rather than food for his family. Bob’s strong dislike for Atticus leads him to attack Jem and Scout with a kitchen knife towards the end of the novel. |
| Mayella Ewell | The oldest of Ewell children. She is nineteen but lives a miserable and lonely life. She is hated by the whites and is not allowed to befriend the blacks. Mayella goes against the norms of the society when she attempts to seduce Tom. She shows her cowardice as she accuses him of rape and perjures herself against him in court. |
| Heck Tate | Maycomb County’s sheriff. He is honest and upstanding. |
| Reverend Sykes | The reverend for the all-black congregation, First Purchase African M.E. church. |
| Judge Taylor | Taylor is the judge who presides over Tom’s trial. He is good but he manages a strict courtroom. He has a sense of humor. |
| Mr. Gilmer | The lawyer who represents the Ewell family in the case against Tom Robinson. |
| Mrs. Dubose | She is a sick, mean, old woman who lives near the Finch’s family home. Without realizing it, Jem helps her with her heroic challenge to conquer her addiction to morphine. Atticus is impressed with her efforts. |
| Walter Cunningham | The older Cunningham is a poor farmer who is among the “Sarum bunch.” This crowd assembles near the town jail the night before Tom’s trial to start a lynching. But he is deeply moved by the friendly words that Scout offers as she tries to diffuse the situation. After that, he shows the greatest respect for the Finches. |
| Walter Cunningham (Jr.) | Son of the older Walter, who attends first grade with Scout. |
| Adolphus Raymond | He is white but marries a black woman. They have “mixed” children. Adolphus pretends to be drunk so that the people of Maycomb would be more comfortable with explaining his life choices and behaviour. |
| Helen Robinson | Wife of Tom |
| Uncle Jack | Atticus’s brother. He is a doctor. Jem and Scout are very fond of him. |
| Francis | He is one of Aunt Alexandra’s grandchildren and spends Christmas with the Finch family. But he annoys Scout by being both boring and cruel. |
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