Transcript Spring Final Exam Review

SPRING FINAL EXAM
TKAM REVIEW
BHS Pennell
2014
THE SETTING OF THE NOVEL
 Take a look at the below excerpt where Jean Louise Finch (Scout – narrator
and protagonist of the novel) describes Maycomb county:
 Maycomb was an old town, but it was a tired old town when I fir st knew it.
In rainy weather the streets turned to red slop; grass grew on the
sidewalks, the cour thouse sagged in the square. Somehow, it was hotter
then: a black dog suf fered on a summer’s day; bony mules hitched to
Hoover car ts flicked flies in the sweltering shade of the live oaks on the
square. Men’s stif f collars wilted by nine in the morning. Ladies bathed
before noon, af ter their three -o’clock naps, and by nightfall were like sof t
teacakes with frostings of sweat and sweet talcum. People moved slowly
then. They ambled across the square, shuf fled in and out of the stores
around it, took their time about ever ything. A day was twenty -four hour s
long but seemed longer. There was no hurr y, for there was nowhere to go,
nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the
boundaries of Maycomb County. But it was a time of vague optimism for
some of the people: Maycomb County had recently been told that it had
nothing to fear but fear itself. We lived on the main residential street in
town—Atticus, Jem and I, plus Calpurnia our cook . Jem and I found our
father satisfactor y: he played with us, read to us, and treated us with
cour teous detachment.
WHERE AND WHEN IS THE STORY SET?
 What clues in the previous slide’s text hint that there are
economic dif ficulties?
 What time period is it?
 What do you notice about the attitudes of people in the town?
JEAN LOUISE FINCH
Nickname: Scout
Narrator and protagonist of the story
Brother: Jem
Best Friend: Charles Baker Harris (Dill)
Father: Atticus Finch
Mother: Dies of a heart attack when Scout is two and Jem is six
Teachers: Miss Caroline Fisher – gets upset with Scout and Atticus
because Atticus has taught Scout to read.
 Teachers: Miss Gates – explains the oppression of the Jews by the
Nazis, but cannot see that there is real oppression of the African
American community in the United States.
 Neighbors: Miss Stephanie Crawford (neighborhood gossip), Miss
Rachel Haverford (Dill’s aunt), Miss Maudie Atkinson (widow; loves
Scout), Arthur “Boo” Radley (shy recluse; alleged maniac; protects
Finch children), Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose (addicted to morphine;
dying)
 She and Jem are viciously attacked by Bob Ewell (seeks revenge
against Atticus) after playing a ham in her school Halloween
Pageant.
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QUOTE THAT REVEAL SCOUT’S
PERCEPTIONS OF THING IN THE
BEGINNING OF THE NOVEL …
 Calpurnia was something else again. She was all angles and bones;
she was nearsighted; she squinted; her hand was wide as a bed slat
and twice as hard. She was always ordering me out of the kitchen,
asking me why I couldn’t behave as well as Jem when she knew he
was older, and calling me home when I wasn’t ready to come. Our
battles were epic and one -sided. Calpurnia always won, mainly
because Atticus always took her side. She had been with us ever
since Jem was born, and I had felt her tyrannical presence as long
as I could remember.
 Our mother died when I was two, so I never felt her absence. She
was a Graham from Montgomery; Atticus met her when he was first
elected to the state legislature. He was middle -aged then, she was
fifteen years his junior. Jem was the product of their first year of
marriage; four years later I was born, and two years later our
mother died from a sudden heart attack. They said it ran in her
family. I did not miss her, but I think Jem did. He remembered her
clearly, and sometimes in the middle of a game he would sigh at
length, then go off and play by himself behind the car -house. When
he was like that, I knew better than to bother him.
QUOTE DESCRIBING SCOUT’S
PERCEPTION ABOUT HER SCHOOL …
 Chapter 4
 The remainder of my schooldays were no more auspicious than the fir st.
Indeed, they were an endless Project that slowly evolved into a Unit, in
which miles of construction paper and wax crayon were expended by the
State of Alabama in its well -meaning but fruitless ef for ts to teach me
Group Dynamics. What Jem called the Dewey Decimal System was school wide by the end of my fir st year, so I had no chance to compare it with
other teaching techniques. I could only look around me: Atticus and my
uncle, who went to school at home, knew ever ything —at least, what one
didn’t know the other did. Fur thermore, I couldn’t help noticing that my
father had ser ved for year s in the state legislature, elected each time
without opposition, innocent of the adjustments my teachers thought
essential to the development of Good Citizenship. Jem, educated on a half Decimal half -Duncecap basis, seemed to function ef fectively alone or in a
group, but Jem was a poor example: no tutorial system devised by man
could have stopped him from getting at books. As for me, I knew nothing
except what I gathered from Time magazine and reading ever ything I could
lay hands on at home, but as I inched sluggishly along the treadmill of the
Maycomb County school system, I could not help receiving the impression
that I was being cheated out of something. Out of what I knew not, yet I did
not believe that twelve year s of unrelieved boredom was exactly what the
state had in mind for me.
CHARLES BAKER HARRIS
“DILL”
 E x t re m ely i m a ginat ive, c re a t i ve, a n d i n te lligent – c re a te s t h e t h e a t ric al g a m e o f “ B o o
Ra dl ey” w h e re t h e k i ds a c t o ut t h e l i fe a n d t i m es o f t h e i r a l l eged m a n iac n e i ghbor
Ar t h ur “ B o o ” Ra dl ey
 H e i s a l m ost s even w h e n Je m a n d Sc o ut m e et h i m
 Si c k ly, s m a ll, a n d we a k
 Je m a n d Sc o ut ’ s s um m er - t ime n e i ghbor a n d be s t buddy
 Ra c h el H ave r ford’ s n e ph ew
 Fa t h e r ra n o ut o n h i s m ot h e r; h i s m ot h e r a n d s te p fa t h e r a re n ot i n te reste d i n D i l l
 Th i s c h a ra c te r i s ba s e d o n t h e Am e ric an a ut h o r Trum a n Ca pote w h o g rew up w i t h
H a rpe r Le e i n M o n ro eville, Al a bama .
 C h a rles B a ker " D ill" H a rris i s Je m a n d Sc o ut ' s be s t fri e n d w h o v i sit s M ayc o mb eve r y
s um m er fro m M e ri dia n, M i s sissippi, a n d s t ay s w i t h h i s a un t Ra c h el. H i s g o a l
t h ro ug h out t h e n ovel i s to g et B o o Ra dl ey to c o m e o ut o f h i s h o us e, a n d fo r t h e fi r s t
few s um me r s t h e c h i ldre n c o n c o ct m a ny pl a n s to l ure h i m o ut , un t i l At t i c us s to ps t h e m .
D i l l pro m i ses to m a rr y Sc o ut , a n d t h ey be c o m e " e n g aged" . On e n i g ht D i l l run s away
fro m h i s h o m e i n t h e c i t y, be c a us e h e fe e l s l i ke h e i s be i n g re pl a c ed i n t h e fa m i ly by
h i s s te pfa t h e r. H e g et s o n a t ra i n a n d g o e s to M ayc o m b Co un t y, t h e n h i de s un de r
Sc o ut ' s be d un t i l s h e fi n ds h i m.
DILL CONT’D
 Unlike Scout and Jem, Dill lacks the security of family love. He
is unwanted and unloved by his parents: "They do get on a lot
better without me, I cannot help them any." As Francis,
another Finch from the novel, says, "He hasn't got a home, he
just gets passed around from relative to relative." Dill is
described as not having a father; he doesn't know where he
lives or when he'll come back, if he does.
QUOTE DESCRIBING DILL …
 That was the summer Dill came to us. Early one morning as we were
beginning our day’s play in the back yard, Jem and I heard something
next door in Miss Rachel Haver ford’s collard patch. We went to the wire
fence to see if there was a puppy —Miss Rachel’s rat terrier was
expecting—instead we found someone sitting looking at us.
 Sitting down, he wasn’t much higher than the collards. We stared at
him until he spoke:
 “Hey.”
 “Hey yourself,” said Jem pleasantly.
 “I’m Charles Baker Harris,” he said. “I can read.”
 “So what?” I said. “I just thought you’d like to know I can read. You got
anything needs readin‘ I can do it…”
 “How old are you,” asked Jem, “four-and-a-half?” “Goin‘ on seven.”
 “Shoot no wonder, then,” said Jem, jerking his thumb at me.
 “Scout yonder’s been readin‘ ever since she was born, and she ain’t
even star ted to school yet. You look right puny for goin’ on seven.” “I’m
little but I’m old,” he said.
 Jem brushed his hair back to get a better look . “ Why don’t you come
over, Charles Baker Harris?” he said. “Lord, what a name.” “‘s not any
funnier’n yours. Aunt Rachel says your name’s Jeremy Atticus Finch.”
Jem scowled. “I’m big enough to fit mine,” he said. “Your name’s
longer’n you are. Bet it’s a foot longer.” “Folks call me Dill,” said Dill,
struggling under the fence.
ANOTHER QUOTE DESCRIBING DILL …
 Dill had seen Dracula, a revelation that moved Jem to eye him with the
beginning of respect. “Tell it to us,” he said. Dill was a curiosity. He wore
blue linen shor ts that buttoned to his shir t, his hair was snow white and
stuck to his head like duckfluf f; he was a year my senior but I towered over
him. As he told us the old tale his blue eyes would lighten and darken; his
laugh was sudden and happy; he habitually pulled at a cowlick in the
center of his forehead. When Dill reduced Dracula to dust, and Jem said
the show sounded better than the book , I asked Dill where his father was:
“You ain’t said anything about him.” “I haven’t got one.” “Is he dead?”
“No…” “Then if he’s not dead you’ve got one, haven’t you?” Dill blushed and
Jem told me to hush, a sure sign that Dill had been studied and found
acceptable. Thereaf ter the summer passed in routine contentment. Routine
contentment was: improving our treehouse that rested between giant twin
chinaberr y trees in the back yard, fussing, running through our list of
dramas based on the works of Oliver Optic, Victor Appleton, and Edgar Rice
Burroughs. In this matter we were lucky to have Dill. He played the
character par ts formerly thrust upon me —the ape in Tarzan, Mr. Crabtree in
The Rover Boys , Mr. Damon in Tom Swif t . Thus we came to know Dill as a
pocket Merlin, whose head teemed with eccentric plans, strange longings,
and quaint fancies.
JEM: JEREMY FINCH
 Jeremy Atticus " Jem" Finch is Atticus' son and Scout's older brother
by four years. Jem matures greatly throughout the course of the
novel and is much more affected by events (his mother's death
before the novel begins, the racism in the town, the death of Tom
Robinson) than Scout is due to his greater understanding of them.
His best friend is Dill. After the Maycomb pageant, Jem and Scout
are attacked by Bob Ewell. Jem's arm breaks at the elbow, and he
is knocked unconscious. He is carried home by Arthur "Boo"
Radley.
 Jem is heart-broken when his father loses in court while defending
Tom Robinson; he cannot understand why the jury would render a
guilty verdict. Jem, Scout, and Dill sneak out of the house to watch
the trial.
 His innocence is stolen from him as he watches the trial and is
attacked and almost killed by Bob Ewell.
 Jem attacks Mrs. Dubose’s flowers because she insults Atticus.
 Atticus sends Jem to read to Mrs. Dubose every afternoon as
punishment for his destructive behavior.
ATTICUS FINCH
 Atticus is a well-known white Maycomb attorney as well as the
father of the book's protagonist, Scout, and her brother Jem. He
is a wise and caring father. Atticus is nearly fifty. His children
call him "Atticus" rather than "Dad". He was once known as
"One-Shot Finch" because of his skill with rifles (shown when
killing a rabid dog). He wins Jem and Scout’s respect for this in
the novel.
 Atticus demonstrates great character throughout the book and
strives to set a good example for his children, teaching Jem and
Scout to treat everyone equally. Atticus' beliefs and strong moral
compass lead him to defend Tom Robinson, a black man, from
baseless charges of rape. This was an unpopular decision among
many Maycomb residents. However, Atticus feels that his
refusing to take up the case would make him undeser ving of
others' and his own respect. He is truly a very strong and
resilient static character.
 Atticus believes that the law is a great equalizer in humanity. He
urges the jury to judge Tom Robinson fairly.
EXCERPTS FROM THE NOVEL DESCRIBING
ATTICUS …
 “No I can’t,” said Atticus. “I have to make a living. Besides, they’d put me in
jail if I kept you at home —dose of magnesia for you tonight and school
tomorrow.” “I’m feeling all right, really.” “Thought so. Now what’s the matter?”
Bit by bit, I told him the day’s misfor tunes. “ -and she said you taught me all
wrong, so we can’t ever read any more, ever. Please don’t send me back ,
please sir.” Atticus stood up and walked to the end of the porch. When he
completed his examination of the wisteria vine he strolled back to me. “Fir st of
all,” he said, “if you can learn a simple trick , Scout, you’ll get along a lot better
with all kinds of folks. You never really under stand a per son until you consider
things from his point of view -” “Sir?” “ -until you climb into his skin and walk
around in it.” Atticus said I had learned many things today, and Miss Caroline
had learned several things her self. She had learned not to hand something to a
Cunningham, for one thing, but if Walter and I had put our selves in her shoes
we’d have seen it was an honest mistake on her par t. We could not expect her
to learn all Maycomb’s ways in one day, and we could not hold her responsible
when she knew no better. “I’ll be dogged,” I said. “I didn’t know no better than
not to read to her, and she held me responsible —listen Atticus, I don’t have to
go to school!” I was bur sting with a sudden thought. “Burris Ewell, remember?
He just goes to school the fir st day. The truant lady reckons she’s carried out
the law when she gets his name on the roll -” “You can’t do that, Scout,” Atticus
said. “Sometimes it’s better to bend the law a little in special cases. In your
case, the law remains rigid. So to school you must go.”
EXCERPTS FROM THE NOVEL REVOLVING
AROUND ATTICUS …
 “Atticus, that’s bad,” I said. In Maycomb County, hunting out of season was
a misdemeanor at law, a capital felony in the eyes of the populace. “It’s
against the law, all right,” said my father, “and it’s cer tainly bad, but when
a man spends his relief checks on green whiskey his children have a way of
cr ying from hunger pains. I don’t know of any landowner around here who
begrudges those children any game their father can hit.” “Mr. Ewell
shouldn’t do that -” “Of course he shouldn’t, but he’ll never change his
ways. Are you going to take out your disapproval on his children?” “No sir,”
I murmured, and made a final stand: “But if I keep on goin‘ to school, we
can’t ever read any more…” “That’s really bothering you, isn’t it?” “Yes sir.”
When Atticus looked down at me I saw the expression on his face that
always made me expect something. “Do you know what a compromise is?”
he asked. “Bending the law?” “No, an agreement reached by mutual
concessions. It works this way,” he said. “If you’ll concede the necessity of
going to school, we’ll go on reading ever y night just as we always have. Is it
a bargain?” “Yes sir!” “ We’ll consider it sealed without the usual formality,”
Atticus said, when he saw me preparing to spit. As I opened the front
screen door Atticus said, “By the way, Scout, you’d better not say anything
at school about our agreement.” “ Why not?” “I’m afraid our activities would
be received with considerable disapprobation by the more learned
authorities.”
CALPURNIA “CAL”
Calpurnia is the Finch family's housekeeper, whom the children love
and Atticus deeply respects (he remarks in her defense that she "never
indulged [the children] like most colored nurses").
 She is highly regarded by Atticus. 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 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.
 While everyone in the novel is filtered through Scout’s perception,
Calpurnia in particular 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.
 Calpurnia takes the Finch children to church with her one Sunday.
This causes a scandal in the church, but provides the Finch children
with a rare look into the African American community.
EXCERPT DESCRIBING CAL’S KINDNESS
TOWARDS SCOUT …
 Perhaps Calpurnia sensed that my day had been a grim one: she
let me watch her fix supper. “Shut your eyes and open your
mouth and I’ll give you a surprise,” she said. It was not often
that she made crackling bread, she said she never had time, but
with both of us at school today had been an easy one for her. She
knew I loved crackling bread. “I missed you today,” she said.
“The house got so lonesome ‘long about two o’clock I had to turn
on the radio.” “Why? Jem’n me ain’t ever in the house unless it’s
rainin‘.” “I know,” she said, “But one of you’s always in callin‘
distance. I wonder how much of the day I spend just callin’ after
you. Well,” she said, getting up from the kitchen chair, “it’s
enough time to make a pan of cracklin‘ bread, I reckon. You run
along now and let me get supper on the table.” Calpurnia bent
down and kissed me. I ran along, wondering what had come over
her. She had wanted to make up with me, that was it. She had
always been too hard on me, she had at last seen the error of her
fractious ways, she was sorry and too stubborn to say so. I was
weary from the day’s crimes.
ARTHUR “BOO” RADLEY
 A r thur "Boo" Radley is the most mysterious character in To Kill a
Mockingbird and slowly reveals himself throughout the novel. Boo Radley is a
ver y quiet , reclusive character, who doesn't passively present himself until
Jem and Scout's final interaction with Bob Ewell.
 Maycomb children believe he is a horrible per son, due to the rumors spread
about him and a trial he under went as a teenager. It is implied during the
stor y that Boo is a ver y lonely man who attempts to reach out to Jem and
Scout for love and friendship, for instance leaving them small gif ts and
figures in a tree knothole. Scout finally meets him at the ver y end of the
book , when he saves the children's lives. Scout describes him as being sickly
white, with a thin mouth and hair and grey eyes, almost as if he was blind.
During the same night, when Boo requests that Scout walk him back to the
Radley house, Scout takes a moment to picture what it would be like to be
Boo Radley. While standing on his porch, she realizes his "exile" inside his
house is really not that lonely.
 Boo Radley's heroics in protecting the children from Bob Ewell are covered up
by Atticus, Sherif f Tate, and Scout. This can be read as a wise refusal of
fame. As Tate notes, if word gets out that Boo killed Ewell, Boo would be
inundated with gif ts and visits, calamitous for him due to his quiet
per sonality. The precocious Scout recognizes the danger: Renown would "kill
the mockingbird." Boo Radley is a ghost that haunts the book yet manifests
himself at just the right moments in just the right way. He is, arguably, the
most potent character in the whole book and as such, inspires the other key
characters to save him when he needs saving.
ARTHUR “BOO” RADLEY CONT’D
 After the Tom Robinson trial, Jem and Scout have a dif ferent
understanding of Boo Radley. “Scout, I think I'm beginning to
understand something. I think I'm beginning to understand why
Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time… it's
because he wants to stay inside." Having seen a sample of the
horrible things their fellow townspeople can do, choosing to
stay out of the mess of humanity doesn’t seem like such a
strange choice.
 When Boo finally does come out, he has a good reason: Bob
Ewell is trying to murder the Finch kids. No one sees what
happens in the scuf fle, but at the end of it, Ewell is dead and
Boo carries an unconscious Jem to the Finch house. Finally
faced with Boo, Scout doesn’t recognize him at first, but she
knows who he is immediately.
 Scout walks Boo home. She stands on his porch and
understands what it means to be Boo Radley.
HERE’S A QUOTE DESCRIBING HOW THE
KIDS FIRST FEEL ABOUT BOO RADLEY …
 Two live oaks stood at the edge of the Radley lot; their roots reached
out into the side -road and made it bumpy. Something about one of the
trees attracted my attention. Some tinfoil was sticking in a knot -hole
just above my eye level, winking at me in the af ternoon sun. I stood on
tiptoe, hastily looked around once more, reached into the hole, and
withdrew two pieces of chewing gum minus their outer wrapper s. My
fir st impulse was to get it into my mouth as quickly as possible, but I
remembered where I was. I ran home, and on our front porch I
examined my loot. The gum looked fresh. I snif fed it and it smelled all
right. I licked it and waited for a while. When I did not die I crammed it
into my mouth: Wrigley’s Double -Mint. When Jem came home he asked
me where I got such a wad. I told him I found it. “Don’t eat things you
find, Scout.” “This wasn’t on the ground, it was in a tree.” Jem growled.
“ Well it was,” I said. “It was sticking in that tree yonder, the one comin‘
from school.” “Spit it out right now!” I spat it out. The tang was fading,
anyway. “I’ve been chewin‘ it all af ternoon and I ain’t dead yet, not
even sick .” Jem stamped his foot. “Don’t you know you’re not supposed
to even touch the trees over there? You’ll get killed if you do!” “You
touched the house once!” “That was dif ferent! You go gargle —right now,
you hear me?” “Ain’t neither, it’ll take the taste outa my mouth.”
HERE’S A QUOTE CONTRASTING THE
PREVIOUS ATTITUDE (THIS IS AFTER BOO
SAVES THE FINCH CHILDREN’S LIVES) …
 Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little
things in between. Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a
broken watch and chain, a pair of good -luck pennies, and our lives. But
neighbors give in return. We never put back into the tree what we took out
of it: we had given him nothing, and it made me sad. I turned to go home.
Street lights winked down the street all the way to town. I had never seen
our neighborhood from this angle. There were Miss Maudie’s, Miss
Stephanie’s—there was our house, I could see the porch swing —Miss
Rachel’s house was beyond us, plainly visible. I could even see Mr s.
Dubose’s. I looked behind me. To the lef t of the brown door was a long
shuttered window. I walked to it, stood in front of it, and turned around. In
daylight, I thought, you could see to the postof fice corner …
 Summer, and he watched his children’s hear t break . Autumn again, and
Boo’s children needed him. Atticus was right. One time he said you never
really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.
Just standing on the Radley porch was enough. The street lights were
fuzzy from the fine rain that was falling. As I made my way home, I felt
ver y old, but when I looked at the tip of my nose I could see fine misty
beads, but looking cross -eyed made me dizzy so I quit. As I made my way
home, I thought what a thing to tell Jem tomorrow. He’d be so mad he
missed it he wouldn’t speak to me for days. As I made my way home, I
thought Jem and I would get grown but there wasn’t much else lef t for us
to learn, except possibly algebra.
AUNT ALEXANDRA FINCH HANCOCK
 Sister of Atticus Finch
 Her grandson is Francis Hancock
 Francis torments Scout and Jem; he gets Scout in trouble and
Uncle Jack spanks her for it
 Aunt Alexandra is totally against the way Atticus is raising
Scout and Jem
 She is unhappily married to a ne’er -do-well and moves in to
help Atticus with Scout
 She is extremely southern and believes people are a product
of their family background.
FRANCIS HANCOCK
 Francis Hancock is the spoiled grandson of Aunt Alexandra. (The
son of her son, Henry Hancock.) 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 very bad name, as well as
insisting that he was ruining the family and the likes, 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 another bad name, 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 (although Atticus later
discovers the truth).
UNCLE JACK FINCH
 John Hale "Uncle Jack" Finch is Atticus' and Alexandra's
younger brother. (He is about 40, which is 10 years younger
than Atticus.) Jack smells like alcohol and something sweet,
and 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 .
 He spanks Scout for beating Francis her knuckleheaded
relative. Francis insults and disrespects Atticus.
CECIL JACOBS
 Cecil Jacobs is a huge bully to 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 very bad name. He gives a current event on 'Old
Adolf Hitler', and later, frightens Scout and Jem on their way
to the Halloween pageant. He and Scout then pair up at the
carnival; at the pageant afterwards, Cecil was a cow. He hints
that black people are not as good as white people while
talking about Hitler during current events. He also tends to
take jokes too far. However importantly he shows how
prejudice is passed on from parent to child.
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. From this we see, through the narrative view of Scout,
his gentlemanly attitude and how it calms Miss Caroline down.
Little Chuck may be 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.
HERE’S AN EXCERPT FROM THE NOVEL
DESCRIBING THEIR CONFRONTATION …
 “But what about their parents?” asked Miss Caroline, in genuine concern.
“Ain’t got no mother,” was the answer, “and their paw’s right contentious.”
Burris Ewell was flattered by the recital. “Been comin‘ to the fir st day o’
the fir st grade fer three year now,” he said expansively. “Reckon if I’m
smar t this year they’ll promote me to the second…” Miss Caroline said, “Sit
back down, please, Burris,” and the moment she said it I knew she had
made a serious mistake. The boy’s condescension flashed to anger. “You
tr y and make me, missus.” Little Chuck Little got to his feet. “Let him go,
ma’am,” he said. “He’s a mean one, a hard -down mean one. He’s liable to
star t somethin‘, and there’s some little folks here.” He was among the
most diminutive of men, but when Burris Ewell turned toward him, Little
Chuck’s right hand went to his pocket. “ Watch your step, Burris,” he said.
“I’d soon’s kill you as look at you. Now go home.” Burris seemed to be
afraid of a child half his height, and Miss Caroline took advantage of his
indecision: “Burris, go home. If you don’t I’ll call the principal,” she said.
“I’ll have to repor t this, anyway.” The boy snor ted and slouched leisurely to
the door. Safely out of range, he turned and shouted: “Repor t and be
damned to ye! Ain’t no snot -nosed slut of a schoolteacher ever born c’n
make me do nothin‘! You ain’t makin’ me go nowhere, missus. You just
remember that, you ain’t makin‘ me go nowhere!” He waited until he was
sure she was cr ying, then he shuf fled out of the building. Soon we were
clustered around her desk , tr ying in our various ways to comfor t her.
BOB EWELL
 Rober t 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 evidence suggests, that he was
the one who sexually abused his daughter Mayella Ewell, not Tom
Robinson (the Negro man accused of doing so).
 Although most ever ybody in town knows that the Ewells are a disgrace
and not to be trusted, it is made clear that Tom Robinson was
convicted because he is a Negro whose accuser is white. Upon hearing
of Tom's death, Bob is absolutely gleeful, gloating about his success.
 Af ter 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, finally menacing Helen, the poor widow of Tom Robinson.
Ewell then attempts to murder Jem and Scout Finch with a knife to
complete his revenge. For tunately, Boo Radley, like a guardian angel,
saves Jem and Scout and it is believed that he kills Ewell with the
knife. Heck Tate, the sherif f, puts in the of ficial repor t that Bob Ewell
fell on his own knife and died af ter lying under a tree for 45 minutes.
MAYELLA EWELL
 Mayella Violet Ewell is Tom Robinson's 19 -and-a-half-year-ol d accuser and the
eldest daughter of Bob Ewell; she has to take care of her siblings (such as
Butrris Ewell) due to Bob Ewell's alcoholism. In the book she also saves up
nickels for the children, so they can go get ice cream, which is when the crime
takes place. Before the trial, Mayella is noted for growing red
geraniums outside her other wise dir ty home in order to bring some beauty into
her life. Due to her family's living situation, Mayella has no oppor tunity for
human contact or love, and she eventually gets so desperate that she
attempts to seduce a black man, Tom Robinson.
 Her father sees this through a window, and in punishment he beats her. Ewell
then finds the sherif f , Heck Tate, and tells him that his daughter has been
raped and beaten by Tom. At the trial, Atticus proves that it was her father
who beat her by pointing out that the bruises are on the right side of her face
only. This is impor tant because Tom's lef t hand is mangled and useless, while
Bob Ewell is lef t handed.
 When Atticus Finch asks her if she has any friends, she becomes confused
because she does not know what a friend is. Scout calls her the loneliest
woman in the world.
 During her testimony, she is confused by Atticus' polite speech and thinks that
his use of "Miss Mayella" and “ma’am” is meant to mock her.
 By testifying against Tom Robinson, Mayella is tr ying to destroy the evidence
suggesting that she had attempted to seduce him, and to do what her father
wants her to do so that he won't hur t her — to eliminate her own guilt and fear
of breaking a 'rigid and time -honored code'.
TOM ROBINSON
 Tom Robinson is an African American man Atticus defends when
he is accused of raping a white woman, Mayella Ewell. As Atticus
says, Robinson's left arm is "hardly nothing," because it was
caught in a cotton gin at age 12; his exclusive right -handedness
is the basis of Atticus's defense: since Mayella's bruises were
only on the right side of her face, someone who leads with his
left must have beaten her.
 During his testimony, Tom states that he had frequently helped
Mayella with small household tasks because he felt sorry for her
and her hard life. This shocks the jury, as it was unheard of that
a black man could feel sorry for a white woman. Despite
Atticus's skillful defense, Robinson is declared guilty by the jury.
 Although Atticus feels confident that he will be acquitted on
appeal, while in prison Robinson is shot 17 times and killed by
guards who later report that he had "attempted to escape."
HELEN ROBINSON
 Helen Robinson is the wife of Tom Robinson. She is spoken
about many times. She has 3 children. 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 ef fect on a lot of people and she elucidates the hardships
that surround the Tom Robinson case.
LINK DEAS
 Link Deas owns cotton fields and a store in Maycomb who
employs Tom and later Helen because she does not get
accepted by any other employers in the county due to Tom
Robinson's legal troubles. He announces to the court (in
defense of Tom) at one point in the trial that he hadn't “had a
speck o’trouble outa him” even though Tom had been working
for him for eight years, and gets sent out by Judge John Taylor
for doing so.
 When Bob Ewell starts threatening Helen after the trial, Mr.
Deas fiercely defends her and threatens several times to have
Mr. Ewell arrested if he keeps bothering her. He is on Tom
Robinson's side during the trial and remains loyal to the
family afterwards.
MR. DOLPHUS RAYMOND
 Dolphus Raymond is a white landowner who is jaded by the
hypocrisy of the 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 drinks Coca Cola out of a paper bag to try to hide it .
 When Dill and Scout discover that he is not a drunk, they are
amazed. He shows Scout how sometimes you can pretend to be
someone you're not, so people will be more understanding of
you.
 Dill is sick after hearing Tom’s cross examination on the part of
Horace Gilmer. Dolphus Raymond sees how the racism has
af fected Dill and of fers him some of his Coca Cola.
HORACE GILMER
 Mr. Horace Gilmer is a lawyer from Abbottsville, and is the
prosecuting attorney in the Tom Robinson case. 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 appeared to be racist in his
harsh cross-examination of Tom Robinson, but it is hinted at
that he is in fact going easy on Tom.
JUDGE JOHN TAYLOR
 Judge John Taylor is a white-haired old man with a reputation for
running his court in an informal fashion and an enjoyment of
singing and dipping tobacco. He is unimportant to the children
until he presides over the Tom Robinson trial, in which he shows
great distaste for the Ewells and great respect for Atticus.
 Because of the judge's sympathies for Tom, Bob Ewell breaks
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 would be able to
keep the jury thinking for more than a few minutes. By doing
this, Judge Taylor was not giving in or supporting racism.
MR. BRAXTON BRAGG (B.B.) UNDERWOOD
 Mr. Braxton Bragg (B.B.) 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 principle. He also
has a strong belief in justice, as exemplified when he defends
Atticus from the Cunningham mob by having his double barrel
shotgun loaded and ready to shoot them.
 Underwood does demonstrate a sense of humanity when he
publishes an article on Tom Robinson’s death.
 Check out the selection on the next slide.
MR. BRAXTON BRAGG (B.B.) UNDERWOOD
 A f ew m o r e d et a i l s , e n a b l i n g t h e l i s te n e r to r e p e a t h i s v e r s i o n i n t u r n , t h e n n o t h i n g to
t a l k a b o u t u n t i l T h e M ayc o m b Tr i b u n e a p p e a r e d t h e f o l l ow i n g T h u r s d ay. T h e r e w a s a b r i e f
o b i t uar y i n t h e C o l o r e d N ew s , b u t t h e r e w a s a l s o a n e d i to r ia l . M r. B . B . U n d e r wo o d w a s a t
h i s m o s t b i t ter, a n d h e c o ul d n ’ t h av e c a r e d l e s s w h o c a n c e l e d a d v e r t i s i n g a n d
s u b s c r i p t io n s . ( B u t M ayc o mb d i d n ’t p l ay t h a t w ay : M r. U n d e r wo o d c o u l d h o l l er t i l l h e
s w e a te d a n d w r i te w h a tev e r h e w a n te d to , h e ’ d s t i l l g et h i s a d v e r t i s i n g a n d
s u b s c r i p t io n s . I f h e w a n te d to m a ke a f o o l o f h i m s e l f i n h i s p a p e r t h a t w a s h i s b u s i n e s s .)
M r. U n d e r wo o d d i d n ’ t t a l k a b o u t m i s c a r r i a g e s o f j u s t i ce , h e w a s w r i t in g s o c h i l d r e n c o u l d
u n d e r s t a n d . M r. U n d e r wo o d s i m p l y f i g ur e d i t w a s a s i n to k i l l c r i p p le s , b e t h ey s t a n d i n g ,
s i t t i n g , o r e s c a p i n g . H e l i ke n e d To m ’ s d e a t h to t h e s e n s e l e s s s l a u g h te r o f s o n g b i r d s b y
h u n te r s a n d c h i l d r e n , a n d M ayc o m b t h o ug h t h e w a s t r y i n g to w r i te a n e d i to r i a l p o et i c a l
e n o u g h to b e r e p r i n te d i n T h e M o n t g om e r y A d ve r t i s e r . H o w c o ul d t h i s b e s o , I w o n d e r e d ,
a s I r e a d M r. U n d e r wo o d ’s e d i to r i al . S e n s e l e s s k i l l in g — To m h a d b e e n g i v e n d u e p r o c e s s
o f l aw to t h e d ay o f h i s d e a t h ; h e h a d b e e n t r i e d o p e n l y a n d c o nv i c te d b y t w e l v e g o o d
m e n a n d t r u e ; my f a t h e r h a d f o ug h t f o r h i m a l l t h e w ay. T h e n M r. U n d e r wo o d ’ s m e a n i n g
b e c a m e c l e a r : A t t i c us h a d u s e d ev e r y to o l av a i l a b le to f r e e m e n to s av e To m Ro b i n s o n ,
b u t i n t h e s e c r et c o u r t s o f m e n ’ s h e a r t s A t t i c us h a d n o c a s e . To m w a s a d e a d m a n t h e
m i n ute M aye l l a E w e l l o p e n e d h e r m o ut h a n d s c r e a m e d . T h e n a m e E w e l l g av e m e a
q u e a s y f e e l i n g . M ayc o m b h a d l o s t n o t i m e i n g et t i n g M r. E w e l l ’s v i ew s o n To m ’ s d e m i s e
a n d p a s s i n g t h e m a l o n g t h r o u g h t h a t E n g l i s h C h a n n e l o f g o s s i p , M i s s S te p h a n i e
C r aw fo r d . M i s s S te p h a n i e to l d A u n t A l exa n d r a i n J e m ’ s p r e s e n c e ( “ O h f o o t , h e ’ s o l d
e n o u g h to l i s te n . ” ) t h a t M r. E w e l l s a i d i t m a d e o n e d o w n a n d a b o u t t w o m o r e to g o . J e m
to l d m e n o t to b e a f r a i d , M r. E w e l l w a s m o r e h o t g a s t h a n a ny t h i n g . J e m a l s o to l d m e
t h a t i f I b r e a t h e d a w o r d to A t t i c us , i f i n a ny w ay I l et A t t i c us k n o w I k n ew, J e m w o u l d
WALTER CUNNINGHAM
 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 of f 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 does he reconsider and call of f the mob.
Scout innocently shames him because Scout reminds him of
all the things that Atticus has done for him and for Maycomb
County. After the verdict is given in the trial, Atticus tells Jem
that a Cunningham had changed his thoughts about Tom and
pleaded that Tom was not guilty to the jury.
WALTER CUNNINGHAM, JR.
 Walter Cunningham, Jr. is a child who is almost as old as Jem
but is in Scout's class. He is too poor to even pay of f a 25 cent debt because the Great Depression hit his poor family
hard.
 Walter is not only too poor but also his family is too proud to
take any money. He is invited over to the Finch's 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.
SHERIFF HECK TATE
 Mr. Heck Tate is a friend of Atticus and also the sherif f of
Maycomb County. At the end of the novel he is the one who
comes up with the story to protect Arthur "Boo" Radley from
being subjected to unwanted attention after killing Bob Ewell
to save Jem and Scout. He also indirectly forces Atticus to
reveal his expertise with firearms (which Atticus had
previously tried to conceal from his children) by asking him to
shoot a rabid dog.
 Heck is a decent man who tries to protect the innocent from
danger. Like Atticus, he seems to be one of the few in
Maycomb County who is not prejudiced against the African Americans. He is described as tall as Atticus but thinner,
always wearing boots and boot -cut pants with a belt of
bullets. He is a static character, holding onto his basic
principles throughout the events of the story.
MR. AVERY
 Mr. Dick Avery is an overweight neighbor who tells Jem and
Scout that dramatic changes in the weather are caused by
misbehaving children. He is seen by them urinating in the
street. After it snows, they build a snowman resembling him.
Mr. Avery can also be seen in the story pushing a mattress out
of a window when Ms. Maudie's house catches fire.
 The kids including Jem and Scout always waited for him to do
something interesting. For instance one night he peed from
his front porch in an impressive arch as said by Jem.
 Mr. Avery is also a neighborhood gossip like Miss Crawford