Character Analysis Sample Answers

Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Jean Louise Finch (Scout) Sample

Answers
Evidence and Analysis
Directions: Gather quotes and other examples from the text to use as
evidence that provides insight into Jean Louise Finch (Scout). Then write
a paragraph that describes and analyzes Jean Louise Finch (Scout),
including relationships, traits, motivations, fears, and how (or if) they
develop over the course of the text.
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.
Character Description and Analysis

The novel’s protagonist. Over the course of the novel’s three years, Scout grows from six
to nine years old. She’s bright, precocious, and a tomboy. Many neighbors and family
members take offense to her love of overalls, though her father, Atticus, defends her
right to wear what she wants and doesn’t force her to act like a lady. Scout adores and
admires both Atticus and Jem, her older brother, who in her mind know everything there
is to know. She finds Atticus in particular far more knowledgeable than her teachers at
school, as her teachers take offense to the fact that Scout already knows how to read
and write in cursive on the first day of first grade and force her to engage in mindless
exercises. She prefers summertime, when she can run around the neighborhood with
Jem and their friend Dill, who proposes to Scout at the beginning of their second
summer together. Though Scout is just as terrified as Jem and Dill are of their neighbor
Boo Radley, she’d rather be cautious about approaching Radley Place and ideally would
give it a wide berth, but she often gets roped into Dill and Jem’s plans to somehow force
Boo out of the house. When Atticus, a lawyer, agrees to take on the defense of a black
man, Tom Robinson, in a rape case, Scout demonstrates her hotheadedness by
defending Atticus’s honor against their majority-white community’s vitriol—though she
tries her best to follow through with Atticus’s request that she take the moral high
ground and not fight back. Scout struggles with her own prejudiced feelings, as when
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she can’t see the hypocrisy of hating dresses but thinking that boys shouldn’t learn to
cook, or when she suggests that Tom Robinson is just a black person, and that it’s
therefore normal and expected for people to treat him poorly. When Boo saves Scout and
Jem from being attacked by Mr. Ewell (the father of the plaintiff in Robinson’s case) on
Halloween night, Scout truly learns the power of putting herself in another’s shoes, as it
allows her to see that Boo isn’t scary or evil—he’s merely different, and deserves respect
just like anyone else.
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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Jeremy Atticus Finch (Jem) Sample

Answers
evidence that provides insight into Jeremy Atticus Finch (Jem). Then write
a paragraph that describes and analyzes Jeremy Atticus Finch (Jem),
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

Scout’s older brother. He’s nine when the novel begins. In Scout’s eyes, Jem is an expert
on most things and is the ringleader of their group, especially once Dill arrives on the
scene. He desperately wants to look brave and courageous, which leads him to do things
like touch the Radley house when goaded and one summer. Jem is extremely intelligent
and reads everything he can get his hands on. He’s sensitive and, like his father,
Atticus, has a strong sense of morality and justice. This causes him to stand up for
Atticus in questionable ways, as when he cuts down all of Mrs. Dubose’s camellias
when she insults Atticus for defending Tom Robinson. As the novel progresses, Jem
begins to grow up and mature in a way that’s hurtful and strange for Scout. He becomes
sensitive, somewhat reclusive, and during the summer, he excludes Scout in favor of
spending more time alone with Dill. Especially as Tom Robinson’s trial approaches, Jem
becomes both moodier and more of an adult. He insists on outing Dill, who ran away and
came to the Finches’ home, to Atticus, and when he finds Atticus surrounded by a mob of
angry men the night before the trial, he disobeys Atticus and refuses to leave. The trial
itself is thrilling for Jem, as he wants to be a lawyer, idolizes Atticus, and believes that
Robinson’s innocence is obvious. It’s heartbreaking for Jem, then, when the jury takes
hours and still decides to convict Robinson as guilty. In the aftermath, Jem tries to come
up with various ways of understanding how this could’ve happened, but these
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explanations primarily rest on him coming up with arbitrary divisions between people
that seek to explain their animosity, rather than understanding that his world is
fundamentally prejudiced in a variety of ways. He’s rightfully terrified when Mr. Ewell,
the father of the plaintiff in Robinson’s case, begins terrorizing Atticus and others, which
results in Jem breaking his arm on Halloween as he tries to fight off Mr. Ewell and protect
Scout from harm.
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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Atticus Finch Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Atticus Finch. Then write a paragraph
that describes and analyzes Atticus Finch, including relationships, traits,
motivations, fears, and how (or if) they develop over the course of the
text.
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

Scout and Jem’s father. Atticus is older than most fathers in Maycomb at almost 50
years old, and as a lawyer, Scout and Jem initially believe that Atticus doesn’t do
anything of import. Atticus is kind, compassionate, and treats his children like adults to
the furthest extent that he can—he asks for both sides of arguments, for instance, and
takes their concerns seriously, no matter how odd they may seem. He also insists that
it’s necessary to answer children’s questions truthfully, no matter how embarrassing or
unsavory the subject. While at home, he spends most of his time reading newspapers,
and through this, taught Scout to read at an early age. Atticus has a firm sense of
morality and believes in the dignity of all people. He teaches his children to be
compassionate and understanding of everyone, from mean old Mrs. Dubose to
Calpurnia, the Finches’ black cook. All of this means that Atticus feels compelled to take
on the case of Tom Robinson, a black man wrongfully accused of raping a white
woman. Atticus knows that Robinson will be found guilty regardless, but believes that in
order to look his children in the eye and in order to live with himself, he has to do his
best to actually defend Robinson to the best of his abilities rather than allowing the trial
to proceed unchecked in favor of the white Ewells. The months preceding the trial are
trying for the entire Finch family, as Atticus is often harassed by locals for his role. In
February, before the summer trial, Atticus reveals that he used to be the best shot in the
county when he shoots a rabid dog, an experience that, in Scout’s mind, cements
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Atticus’s role as the person who does unsavory but necessary things for the community.
He ultimately loses the trial, but believes that his closing arguments caused the jury to
take a tiny step in the right direction by arguing about their decision for hours. He
doesn’t take Mr. Ewell’s threats seriously in the months after, as he believes fully in the
goodness and kindness of all people.
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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Charles Baker Harris (Dill) Sample

Answers
evidence that provides insight into Charles Baker Harris (Dill). Then write
a paragraph that describes and analyzes Charles Baker Harris (Dill),
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

Jem and Scout’s friend and Miss Rachel’s nephew. Dill comes to stay with Miss Rachel
in Maycomb one summer and immediately shows that he’s a prolific liar and storyteller.
In his play dramas with Jem and Scout, Dill plays all manner of characters but truly
excels at portraying villains. He prefers his own stories to reality, hence his fascination
with the Radley Place and with making Boo Radley come out of the house—the thought
that Boo feeds on cats and might be dead piques Dill’s interest, which leads to all
manner of shenanigans that, in retrospect, Scout realizes were extremely rude. Dill
begins to show that he’s sensitive and compassionate, however, when he decides that
they need to give Boo a note asking him to come out and sit with them and offering to
buy him an ice cream. In the year that follows, Dill begins to suspect that Boo is really
very lonely and doesn’t have any friends. Dill himself is very lonely: his mother is
divorced and remarries sometime before the novel’s third summer, and now Dill’s
parents don’t want much to do with him. He runs away to the Finches because he feels
more welcome there than he does at home. During Tom Robinson’s trial, Dill’s
sensitivity comes to the forefront and causes him to have to leave the courthouse, as he
can’t stomach the rude and racist way that Mr. Gilmer speaks to Tom during his
questioning. He’s adamant that it’s horrible to treat any person that way, no matter their
skin color. In this sense, Dill truly remains an innocent child throughout the novel, as
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both Atticus and Mr. Raymond suggest that as children grow, they stop crying when
they see injustice like this, and ultimately become either numb to it or go on to
perpetuate it themselves.
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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Arthur Radley (Boo) Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Arthur Radley (Boo). Then write a
paragraph that describes and analyzes Arthur Radley (Boo), including
relationships, traits, motivations, fears, and how (or if) they develop over
the course of the text.
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

The youngest Radley. Arthur is a recluse, and his life is shrouded in mystery. At the
beginning of the novel, his unwillingness to come out of the house leads to wild rumors
that he eats cats and squirrels on his nightly walks to look in people’s windows. Scout,
Jem, and Dill are both terrified of and fascinated by him, and they engage in all manner
of shenanigans to try to get him to come out. According to Miss Maudie, Arthur’s life
was an unhappy one. His father, Mr. Radley, was so religious he couldn’t take pleasure
in living, and there was possibly abuse that went on behind closed doors in the Radley
house. After a brief involvement in a gang of sorts as a teen, Arthur was kept inside the
house and by the time the novel starts, it’s been 25 years since he left it. Miss Maudie
also notes that prior to this, Arthur was a polite, if quiet, young man. As Scout, Jem, and
Dill grow, they come to suspect that Arthur is truly just lonely, and possibly that he
wants to stay inside for good reasons, including the racism and prejudice of his
neighbors. Arthur finally comes out on Halloween night to rescue Scout and Jem from
being attacked by Bob Ewell, stabbing Mr. Ewell to death in the process. Seeing Arthur
for the first time, Scout doesn’t find him scary at all. As she stands on his porch after
walking him home, she realizes how much he cares for her, Jem, and for the
neighborhood, even if he never went out into it.
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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Bob Ewell Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Bob Ewell. Then write a paragraph
that describes and analyzes Bob Ewell, including relationships, traits,
text.
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

The racist patriarch of the Ewell family, which lives behind the Maycomb dump. His
aggressive, drunken behavior causes people in Maycomb to give him a wide berth and
allow him to break the rules, as they understand that it’s useless to try to force his
children to stay in school and it isn’t worth it to punish him for hunting out of season. In
terms of his hunting, Mr. Ewell gets away with this in part because, though his family
relies on relief checks, he spends most of the money on alcohol. When Scout first sees
Mr. Ewell in court, she thinks of him as being like a bright red, cocky rooster. He’s vulgar,
rude, racist, and is very obviously uneducated, which makes him look even less
believable than he already does. During the trial, Atticus makes the case that Tom
Robinson didn’t rape Mayella; rather, Mr. Ewell beat Mayella and blamed Robinson
when he caught Mayella touching Robinson. In fact, it’s heavily implied that Mr. Ewell has
sexually abused Mayella in the past, as she told Robinson that she’d never kissed a man
because “what my papa do to me doesn’t count.” Even though Mr. Ewell and Mayella win
their case, Mr. Ewell sets out to get revenge on everyone who made him look like a fool
in court. In addition to harassing Helen Robinson and spitting in Atticus’s face, this
culminates in him attempting to murder Scout and Jem on Halloween night. Mr. Tate
insists that Mr. Ewell fell on his knife (in truth, Arthur Radley killed him to save the
children), telling Atticus to let the killing slide so that Mr. Ewell can pay for the pain,
suffering, and ultimate death he brought on Tom Robinson.
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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
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Miss Maudie Atkinson Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Miss Maudie Atkinson. Then write a
paragraph that describes and analyzes Miss Maudie Atkinson, including
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

The Finches’ neighbor across the street. Miss Maudie is in her 40s and a widow, and she
loves to garden but hates her house. She’s a mostly benign presence in Scout’s life until
Jem and Dill begin excluding her, at which point Scout begins spending more time with
Miss Maudie and decides they’re friends after Miss Maudie shows Scout her bridgework
(fake teeth). Miss Maudie, like Atticus, has an innate sense of morality and believes that
all people deserve to be treated with respect and compassion. She’s adamant that
Arthur Radley is just different, not evil, and she suggests that he’s suffered abuse of
some kind at home from his overly religious father. Miss Maudie is opinionated and
willing to express her views, and as such, often calls out Miss Stephanie and others for
gossiping and spreading rumors. Following the trial, Miss Maudie tries to impress upon
Jem in particular that Atticus did a necessary and important thing by defending Tom
Robinson, even though he knew he wasn’t going to win. She encourages Jem to look for
the other people who aren’t all bad or who somehow tried to help Atticus and Robinson.
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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Calpurnia Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Calpurnia. Then write a paragraph
that describes and analyzes Calpurnia, including relationships, traits,
text.
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

The Finches’ black cook. Atticus has employed her for years, and following the death of
his wife, Calpurnia essentially raises Scout and Jem. Scout initially sees Calpurnia as
tyrannical and horrible, but as she begins to grow, she comes to understand that
Calpurnia truly does love and care for her. Calpurnia is unique in Maycomb, as she’s one
of the few black residents who’s literate—she taught Scout to write in cursive and taught
her son, Zeebo, to read. She’s fanatical about policing Scout’s manners, which irks
Scout to no end since she believes that Calpurnia doesn’t correct Jem nearly as much.
When Scout and Jem attend the local black church with Calpurnia and hear her speaking
differently to the black parishioners there, they realize that Calpurnia leads something of
a double life—she speaks one way at home and speaks very differently when she’s at
the Finches’ house. This increases Scout’s respect for Calpurnia, and she becomes even
more supportive of Calpurnia when Aunt Alexandra arrives and makes numerous bids
for Atticus to fire Calpurnia. Atticus, however, insists that Calpurnia is like family and that
he’ll never fire her.
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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Aunt Alexandra Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Aunt Alexandra. Then write a
paragraph that describes and analyzes Aunt Alexandra, including
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

Atticus’s sister. She’s married, but Scout insists that her husband isn’t worth
mentioning. Aunt Alexandra is a formidable lady and is the only Finch sibling who stayed
at Finch’s Landing, the family’s old plantation. Scout dislikes her, as Aunt Alexandra
takes great offense to Scout’s tomboyish nature and desperately wants Scout to wear
dresses and act more feminine. In the months before Tom Robinson’s trial, Aunt
Alexandra inexplicably decides to move in with Atticus in order to give Scout a feminine
role model, though Scout suspects that there’s more to it than this. While in Atticus’s
home, Aunt Alexandra proves to be somewhat racist and very classist—she detests
Calpurnia’s presence and disapproves of Atticus’s choice to defend Robinson. She
makes it very clear to Scout that the Finches are a good family and that Scout shouldn’t
spend time with her poorer peers. For all these faults, Aunt Alexandra does rally around
Atticus and try to comfort him when he loses the trial, and she remains concerned for
Scout and Jem’s safety once Mr. Ewell begins harassing Atticus, Helen Robinson, and
Judge Taylor.
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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Tom Robinson Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Tom Robinson. Then write a paragraph
that describes and analyzes Tom Robinson, including relationships, traits,
text.
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

A 25-year-old black man whom Atticus defends in a court case against the Ewells. Bob
Ewell claims that his daughter, Mayella, was raped by Tom. However, Tom is kind, a
churchgoer, and a married father of three, as well as a beloved member of the black
community in Maycomb and a good employee of Mr. Deas. Atticus makes the case that
Tom, who got his left arm caught in a cotton gin as a child and can’t use it as a result,
couldn’t have strangled and beaten a woman with only one arm. In his testimony, Tom
speaks about the impossible situation Mayella put him in when she hugged and kissed
him. Being a black man, he couldn’t have pushed her away or forcibly removed himself—
though running was his only choice, it made him look as though he was guilty of
something more. Despite the overwhelming lack of evidence against Tom, the jury
ultimately convicts him as guilty of rape. In prison, guards shoot and kill Tom when he
tries to escape over a fence.
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Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose Sample

Answers
evidence that provides insight into Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose. Then
write a paragraph that describes and analyzes Mrs. Henry Lafayette
Dubose, including relationships, traits, motivations, fears, and how (or if)
they develop over the course of the text.
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

Mrs. Dubose is a widow who lives two doors down from the Finches. She’s ancient and
unspeakably mean, shouting abuse from her porch at everyone, even children. Some,
like Cecil, walk further every day to avoid her. She remains a force to be avoided until
she insults Atticus for defending Tom Robinson in front of Jem, which spurs Jem to
hack the buds off of her camellias. Following this, Mrs. Dubose and Atticus force Jem to
read to her every afternoon for five weeks. Scout finds Mrs. Dubose’s appearance and
home repulsive—she drools, her house smells oppressive, and she seems to barely listen
to Jem while continuing to insult Jem and Atticus. Following her death, Atticus explains
that Mrs. Dubose was a morphine addict who, while undeniably mean and racist, did a
courageous thing by breaking herself of her addiction before her death.
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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Mr. Dolphus Raymond Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Mr. Dolphus Raymond. Then write a
paragraph that describes and analyzes Mr. Dolphus Raymond, including
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

A white man who, for much of the novel, Scout and most people in Maycomb believe is
always drunk. He was supposed to marry years ago, but rumor has it that his fiancée
committed suicide when she learned that Mr. Raymond had a black mistress. In the
present, Mr. Raymond lives with his black girlfriend and has a number of children with
her. He speaks to Scout and Dill when they step outside of Tom Robinson’s trial
because Dill was upset by how the solicitor treated Robinson. At this time, he admits that
he’s not a drinker—he drinks Coca-Cola out of a bag but pretends it’s whiskey to give
people a reason that makes sense to them as to why he’d want to live the way he does.
He’s firm in his belief that all people deserve respect and dignity, no matter the color of
their skin.
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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Mayella Ewell Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Mayella Ewell. Then write a paragraph
that describes and analyzes Mayella Ewell, including relationships, traits,
text.
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

Bob Ewell’s 19-year-old daughter. She’s described as thick and used to hard labor and
cultivates bright red geraniums in the family’s yard. and Scout can tell that though
Mayella tries to keep clean, she’s regularly unsuccessful. The oldest child in her family, it
falls to her to care for the younger children. She accuses Tom Robinson of beating and
raping her, though Atticus, through his questioning of her and of Robinson, shows that
Mayella was unloved, abused, starved for attention. It’s clear that she was actually
beaten by her father when he caught her forcibly touching Robinson, and was not raped
at all—though it’s heavily implied that Mr. Ewell has, in fact, sexually abused Mayella in
the past. Though Mayella comes close to admitting that Mr. Ewell beats her when he
drinks, she refuses to change her testimony and admit that she accused Robinson of
rape, so that she can escape the fact that she broke an important social code as a white
woman tempting a black man.
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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Uncle Jack Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Uncle Jack. Then write a paragraph
that describes and analyzes Uncle Jack, including relationships, traits,
text.
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

Atticus’s brother who is 10 years younger and a doctor. He’s unmarried but has a
female cat, and he spends a week every Christmas with Atticus, Scout, and Jem. Scout
adores him as he doesn’t seem much like a doctor to her—rather than acting cold and
clinical, he makes her laugh or explains in detail what he’s doing while performing minor
procedures. He punishes Scout at Christmas for beating up Francis but feels horrendous
about it when Scout accuses him of being horrible with children and not asking for her
side of the story. He later tells Atticus shamefully that Scout’s rebuke makes him never
want to have children.
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Mr. Underwood Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Mr. Underwood. Then write a
paragraph that describes and analyzes Mr. Underwood, including
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

The sole owner, writer, and editor of the Maycomb Tribune. According to Atticus, Mr.
Underwood is an intense and profane man. He seldom leaves his home above the
Tribune to report on any goings-on; people bring him the news instead. Though he’s
racist and is one of the men who convenes at the Finches’ home in the days before Tom
Robinson’s trial to speak to Atticus, he also stands up for what’s right and is ready to
protect Atticus from a mob that gathers at the jailhouse. Following the jury’s guilty
verdict and Robinson’s death at the hands of prison guards, Mr. Underwood takes a stand
and insists that it’s unconscionable to kill a disabled person, invoking Atticus’s own
adage that killing a mockingbird is a sin.
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Mr. Avery Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Mr. Avery. Then write a paragraph that
describes and analyzes Mr. Avery, including relationships, traits,
text.
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

An older and cantankerous neighbor who lives across the street from the Finches. He’s a
portly man who whittles, though only to make himself toothpicks. Scout, Jem, and Dill
find Mr. Avery fascinating since in the summers, he puts on a nightly show of sitting on
his porch and sneezing—and one night, they caught him urinating an impressive
distance off of his porch. Scout doesn’t like him much, but she takes him at his word that
it’s written on the Rosetta Stone that Maycomb experiences bad weather when children
misbehave. Despite being cantankerous, he’s one of the bravest men who fights the fire
in Miss Maudie’s house.
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Heck Tate Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Heck Tate. Then write a paragraph
that describes and analyzes Heck Tate, including relationships, traits,
text.
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

The sheriff in Maycomb. He’s a tall and slender man who wears cowboy boots. He carries
a rifle, but he insists that he’s not as good of a shot as Atticus, though this is never
confirmed. While Scout never gets a good or nuanced understanding of how Mr. Tate
feels about black people more generally, Mr. Tate does try to protect Tom Robinson and
gives testimony in court that supports Atticus’s argument that Mr. Ewell, not Robinson,
beat Mayella. He later shows that he does believe in justice when he declares that Mr.
Ewell fell on his knife (when really Arthur Radley killed him in defense of Scout and
Jem), thereby protecting Arthur from unwanted attention or legal trouble.
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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Judge Taylor Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Judge Taylor. Then write a paragraph
that describes and analyzes Judge Taylor, including relationships, traits,
text.
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

The elderly judge in Maycomb. He often looks like he’s asleep and not paying attention,
but in reality, he pays close attention to court proceedings and is a strict and fair judge.
He has a peculiar habit of eating cigars during court proceedings, which fascinates and
delights Scout. While Judge Taylor doesn’t overtly voice his support for Tom Robinson
or Atticus during the trial, Miss Maudie points out that he did assign the case to
Atticus, not the newest lawyer in town, suggesting that he wanted Robinson to have the
best chance possible.
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Mr. Radley Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Mr. Radley. Then write a paragraph
that describes and analyzes Mr. Radley, including relationships, traits,
text.
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

Arthur and Nathan Radley’s father. According to Jem, Mr. Radley didn’t do anything,
while Miss Maudie explains that Mr. Radley was religious to the point where he wasn’t
interested in anything to do with the outside world, hence his family’s solitude and
unwillingness to mingle in Maycomb. Due to possible abuse, he may be the reason for
Arthur’s unwillingness to leave the house as an adult. He dies when Jem is a child, but
Jem, Scout, and Dill resurrect him as a character in one of their summer dramas.
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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Nathan Radley Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Nathan Radley. Then write a
paragraph that describes and analyzes Nathan Radley, including
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

The eldest Radley son. He left the Radley Place as a young adult but returns to care for
Arthur when old Mr. Radley dies. Like the rest of his family members, Nathan is
reclusive and spends most of his time inside. Though he doesn’t act nefarious or mean,
he does fill the hole in the oak tree—in which Arthur was leaving Scout and Jem
treasures—with cement.
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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Reverend Sykes Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Reverend Sykes. Then write a
paragraph that describes and analyzes Reverend Sykes, including
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

The reverend of First Purchase, the black church in Maycomb. He’s a kind and generous
man, though Scout notes that like all preachers in her experience, he’s preoccupied with
sin and insisting that women are somehow compromised. He kindly allows Scout, Jem,
and Dill to sit with him during Tom Robinson’s trial, and he gives much of his church’s
collection money to Helen in the weeks before the trial.
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Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Walter Cunningham Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Walter Cunningham. Then write a
paragraph that describes and analyzes Walter Cunningham, including
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

A poor boy in Scout’s first-grade class. Scout notes that Walter’s family is extremely
poor, with no food or extra money to spare, hence why he comes to school on the first
day without shoes or a lunch. Despite this, in contrast to the Ewells, Walter is clean and
wears clean clothes. Scout blames him for souring her relationship with Miss Caroline.
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Mr. Cunningham Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Mr. Cunningham. Then write a
paragraph that describes and analyzes Mr. Cunningham, including
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

Walter Cunningham’s father. A year before the novel begins, Atticus helps Mr.
Cunningham with some legal issues, and as a Cunningham, Mr. Cunningham is unable to
pay Atticus with money. Instead, he pays with foodstuffs and firewood. Atticus thus
insists that although Cunninghams may be poor, they’re honorable. Later, he’s part of
the mob that tries to antagonize Atticus for taking on Tom Robinson’s court case, but
shamefully retreats after Scout asks him about Walter.
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Miss Stephanie Crawford Sample

Answers
evidence that provides insight into Miss Stephanie Crawford. Then write a
paragraph that describes and analyzes Miss Stephanie Crawford,
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

The Maycomb gossip. She’s a good Maycomb lady in that she’s active in the church and
is very social, but Scout knows to not believe anything she says. Miss Stephanie very
interested in Miss Maudie’s Lane cake recipe, but Scout shares with the reader that she
doesn’t believe Miss Stephanie would be capable of baking the cake even if she had the
recipe.
29
Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Miss Rachel Haverford Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Miss Rachel Haverford. Then write a
paragraph that describes and analyzes Miss Rachel Haverford, including
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

Dill’s aunt and the Finches’ next-door neighbor, with whom Dill comes to stay during the
summer. She isn’t a major presence in Scout, Jem, and Dill’s lives, but she cares deeply
for Dill and takes issue with their moral development when the children insist that
they’ve been playing strip poker. She’s also a gossip and a friend of Miss Stephanie’s.
30
Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Mr. Gilmer Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Mr. Gilmer. Then write a paragraph
that describes and analyzes Mr. Gilmer, including relationships, traits,
text.
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

The prosecutor in Tom Robinson’s trial. He could be anywhere between 40 and 60
years old and Scout doesn’t know him well, as he’s from Abbottsville. Despite
representing the Ewells, Mr. Gilmer seems just as put off by them as everyone else in the
courtroom. He treats Tom Robinson rudely during his questioning, which disturbs Dill.
31
Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Mrs. Grace Merriweather Sample

Answers
evidence that provides insight into Mrs. Grace Merriweather. Then write a
paragraph that describes and analyzes Mrs. Grace Merriweather,
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

According to Scout, Miss Merriweather is the most devout lady in Maycomb. She’s a
Methodist and leads the mission group. She’s shocked by the “sin and squalor” that
African tribes live in, and she takes major offense to the fact that black people in
Maycomb can’t move on after Tom Robinson’s trial.
32
Name: __________________________________ Date: ___________________ Period: ______
Link Deas Sample Answers

evidence that provides insight into Link Deas. Then write a paragraph
that describes and analyzes Link Deas, including relationships, traits,
text.
Evidence
1. 2. 3.
4. 5. 6.

A land and business owner in Maycomb. He’s a generally kind man who employed Tom
Robinson, and employs Tom’s wife, Helen, after Tom is found guilty at his trial and
imprisoned. When Bob Ewell tries to intimidate Helen following the trial, Mr. Deas
threatens him, and he’s thrown out of court for defending Tom’s character unprompted.
33

Character Analysis Sample Answers

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Character Analysis Sample Answers

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Jean Louise Finch (Scout) Sample

Character Description and Analysis

Jeremy Atticus Finch (Jem) Sample

Character Description and Analysis

Atticus Finch Sample Answers

Character Description and Analysis

Charles Baker Harris (Dill) Sample

Character Description and Analysis

Arthur Radley (Boo) Sample Answers

Character Description and Analysis

Bob Ewell Sample Answers

Character Description and Analysis

Miss Maudie Atkinson Sample Answers

Character Description and Analysis

Calpurnia Sample Answers

Character Description and Analysis

Aunt Alexandra Sample Answers

Character Description and Analysis

Tom Robinson Sample Answers

Character Description and Analysis

Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose Sample

Character Description and Analysis

Mr. Dolphus Raymond Sample Answers

Character Description and Analysis

Mayella Ewell Sample Answers

Character Description and Analysis

Uncle Jack Sample Answers

Character Description and Analysis

Mr. Underwood Sample Answers

Character Description and Analysis

Mr. Avery Sample Answers

Character Description and Analysis

Heck Tate Sample Answers

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Judge Taylor Sample Answers

Character Description and Analysis

Mr. Radley Sample Answers

Character Description and Analysis

Nathan Radley Sample Answers

Character Description and Analysis

Reverend Sykes Sample Answers

Character Description and Analysis

Walter Cunningham Sample Answers

Character Description and Analysis

Mr. Cunningham Sample Answers

Character Description and Analysis

Miss Stephanie Crawford Sample

Character Description and Analysis

Miss Rachel Haverford Sample Answers

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Mr. Gilmer Sample Answers

Character Description and Analysis

Mrs. Grace Merriweather Sample

Character Description and Analysis

Link Deas Sample Answers

Character Description and Analysis

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