To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
Table of Contents
Cast of Characters
Scout (Jean Louise) Finch — Scout is both the protagonist and the narrator of the book. She lives with her brother, Jem, and her father, Atticus. She has no mother. Also living in their household is their black cook, Calpurnia. Later in the story, Atticus' sister, Alexandra, also lives with them. The family resides in Maycomb, which is designed to be a generic, Southern town. Scout is a tomboy, but she is also very kind and very smart. Even though she has a lot of combativeness in her, she also has faith in the idea that people (especially those who live in her community) are basically good at heart. This belief is tested during the book, because she sees all the hatred and the prejudice that surrounds the trial of Tom Robinson. So much anger in the community was not something she expected, and it is hard for her to deal with that from people she felt comfortable with in the past. Still, she eventually becomes more grown-up in her opinion of others, and that helps her to continue to appreciate the goodness of people without ignoring or glossing over their failings.
Jem (Jeremy Atticus) Finch — Jem is Scout's brother. They are also good friends and they always play together. He is stereotypically an "American boy" in that he dreams of playing football. He is also serious about what others think of him, and he is not one to back down if he is dared to do something - even if it is risky or silly. He is four years older than his sister, so throughout the novel he begins to distance himself from her just a little. Still, he stays relatively close to her and continues to protect her. During the story, he moves into adolescence. When he sees the Tom Robinson trial and how it concludes, he finds that the sense of justice he held as a young boy is badly shaken, because he cannot understand the cruelty of people - and did not know of that cruelty when he was younger.
Atticus Finch — Atticus is a widower, having lost his wife some years before. He is also the father of Jem and Scout, and...
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