Scout is the first-person narrator in "To kill a Mockingbird". When she is an adult, she tells the story in retrospect as a six-year- old child. She is considered to be bright for her age and she loves to read. Scout gets in trouble with her teacher, who expects Scout to learn in conventional ways. Scout spends most of her time with her brother Jem and their neighbour Dill. Over the course of the book, she comes to understand aspects of human nature, societal expectations and her own place in society. When Scout was two years old and too young to remember, her mother died of a sudden heart attack. Scout is intelligent, thoughtful, self-confident and snappy [dt.: forsch]; however, sometimes she appears insurgent [dt.: rebellisch] and cheeky. Since Scout often behaves quite impulsively and in a point-blank [dt.: direct, unverblümt] manner, she is frequently in trouble. When she explains to Mrs. Caroline that Walter Cunningham is living in poverty, her naivety and childlike innocence is on full display. She is a young, good hearted girl that could be described as a tomboy, she dresses differently and rejects the typical expectations of how a young woman should behave. Aunt Alexandra wants Scout to become a Southern Belle (term for a stereotypical young, pretty and well educated white lady). Of course, Scout does not comply.
Jem is Scout’s brother, 4 years older than her, who matures a lot over the course of the novel. Jem is willing to follow his father’s footsteps and chooses to fight against the prejudiced community. Throughout the story, Jem protects his younger sister while he deals with many difficult issues and misses his mother.
Atticus is a widower and the father of Jem and Scout. He is a wise, caring and honest father who shows exemplary behaviour towards his children. He practices compassion and understanding, which he tries to impart on Scout. Jem and Scout are taught the morals of every individual and Atticus speaks to them in an adult-like manner. In Maycomb County, Atticus is anti-racist, a highly respected and well regarded attorney which is why he is commissioned to defend Tom Robinson, an African American man, in court.
Tom is a black man who has a wife and children. He worked on a cotton plantation until he was convicted of raping Mayella Ewell. Tom cannot use his left arm because of an accident with a cotton machine. Therefore, he would not have been physically able to abuse Mayella. Nevertheless, the jury convicts him because of the colour of his skin. All in all, Tom has done nothing but help Mayella, for which he is sent to prison and eventually shot as he tries to escape.
Calpurnia is the Finch’s African American cook and housekeeper. Calpurnia is trustworthy and acts as a mother figure for Scout and Jem. Her ability to read and write is unusual in her community. Calpurnia lives between two worlds; although she has her own family, she spends most of her time at Finch’s Landing.
Dill is Jem and Scout’s friend and neighbour, who spends time with the Finch children when he is staying with his aunt Miss Rachel Haverford in the summer. He actually comes from Mississippi but prefers to spend his time in Maycomb instead of at home with his cold mother and stepfather.
Boo is a strange neighbour and mysterious character who spends his time hidden in his basement because he has committed a crime. When the children raise attention about seeing Boo and try to get him out of the house, they do not know they are developing an indirect friendship. Although the children are scared of him at first, Boo acts in a protective and thoughtful way.
Bob Ewell is a barbaric and evil man who beats his children. He and his family are regarded as “white trash”, which is the embodiment of the unemployed, unsuccessful class benefitting from welfare. He is responsible for an innocent man’s death to prevent his family reputation getting further diminished [dt.: im Ansehen weiter herabgesetzt]. Nobody lives a life less clean, less honest and less productive than the Ewells.
Bob Ewell’s daughter is terrified and lonely, and has no one to talk to about her father raping her. She is in an inferior and powerless position. She is pressured to lie in the trial by her father who does not want to be arrested. She tries to improve her situation by planting flowers (a sign of hope in her otherwise ugly life). She continues to support her father.