What Are The Minor Characters In To Kill A Mockingbird

“The characters within a book were, from a certain point of view, identical on some fundamental level ‒ there weren't any images of them, no physical tangibility whatsoever. They were pictures in the reader's head, constructs of imagination and ideas, given shape by the writer's work and skill and the reader's imagination. Parents, of a sort”-Jim Butcher. Characters in novels are built up throughout the story to teach an empowering and important lesson to the readers and other characters in the book. Multiple minor characters in the first section of To Kill A Mockingbird teach us to never be afraid to stand up for what is right. First, the kids learn the lesson, never be afraid to stand up for what is right, through Calpurnia. Atticus goes …show more content…
Scout’s cousin, Francis, called Atticus a “nigger-lover”. Scout punched Francis for what he said. Uncle Jack later talked to Scout about how she can’t hit people; she then told him the real reason why she punched him and Uncle Jack became extremely upset. Scout is glad and worried when Uncle Jack is thinking aloud, and Scout thinks, “From the look on Uncle Jack’s face, I thought I was in for it again. When he said ‘We’ll see about this,’ I knew Francis was in for it. ‘I’ve got a good mind to go out there tonight,’” (114). Scout was very upset when Francis was rude about Atticus’s choice to defend Tom. When Uncle Jack found out how upset Scout was, then what Francis was saying, he immediately had to do something about it. Even though, sometimes you have to keep to yourself and move on, Jack couldn’t and went to tell Alexandra what Francis had done. Scout tells Jack to not do anything, which stops him until later that night. Uncle Jack believed that he needed to tell Alexandra about Francis’s rude and unfair behavior because that is what he thought was right. He cooled down after Scout finished talking to him, but he was still furious about how racist Francis was the whole night. Later, Uncle Jack and Atticus have a conversation while Scout was eavesdropping. Uncle Jack doesn’t want to have children ever, so he decided to not get married. Atticus tries to change his brother’s mind during this …show more content…
Atticus explains to Scout that he had to do some legal work for Mr. Cunningham, and he doesn’t pay Atticus with money. He pays him with food or harvests he collects from his farm. The kids are curious as to why he does this; Scout shows this when Mr. Cunningham comes to their home, “That spring when we found a crokersack full of turnip greens, Atticus said Mr. Cunningham had more than paid him. ‘Why does he pay you like that?’ I asked. ‘Because that’s the only way he can pay me. He has no money,’” (27). The Cunninghams have to own up to their flaws to most of the town if they ever need to buy anything. The family realized that they can pay with their own grown items and give them to people in exchange for goods and services. It took a lot for the family to realize their mistake and how to overcome it. They know they can not accept loans or anything of the sort because they know they will not be able to repay. Even the younger children of the house know to do so. When Scout starts school, and it is time for lunch, Walter has nothing to eat. Their teacher, Miss Caroline, offers Walter a quarter. He refuses. Scout explains to Miss Caroline, “The Cunninghams never took anything they can’t pay back-no church baskets and no scrip stamps. They never took anything off of nobody, they get along on what they have. They don’t have much, but they get along with it,” (26). It must be