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Human services
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Human services is an interdisciplinary field with the objective of meeting human needs through an applied knowledge base, focusing on prevention as well as remediation of problems, and maintaining a commitment to improving the overall quality of life of service populations. The process involves the study of social technologies (practice methods, models, and theories), service technologies (programs, organizations, and systems), and scientific innovations that are designed to ameliorate problems and enhance the quality of life of individuals, families and communities to improve the delivery of service with better coordination, accessibility and accountability.[1] The mission of human services is to promote a practice that involves simultaneously working at all levels of society (whole-person approach) in the process of promoting the autonomy of individuals or groups, making informal or formal human services systems more efficient and effective, and advocating for positive social change within society.
Human services practitioners strive to advance the autonomy of service users through civic engagement, education, health promotion and social change at all levels of society. Practitioners also engage in advocating so human systems remain accessible, integrated, efficient and effective.
Human services academic programs can be readily found in colleges and universities, which award degrees at the associate, baccalaureate, and graduate levels. Human services programs exist in countries all around the world.
Contents
1 History
1.1 United States
2 Academic programs
2.1 United States
2.1.1 Development
2.1.2 Current programs
3 Certification and continuing education
3.1 United States
4 Employment outlook
4.1 United States
5 Professional organizations
5.1 North America
5.1.1 United States
5.1.2 Canada
6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading
History[edit]
United States[edit]
Human services has its roots in charitable activities of religious and civic organizations that date back to the Colonial period. However, the academic discipline of human services did not start until the 1960s. At that time, a group of college academics started the new human services movement and began to promote the adoption of a new ideology about human service delivery and professionalism among traditional helping disciplines.[2] The movement's major goal was to make service delivery more efficient, effective, and humane. The other goals dealt with the reeducation of traditional helping professionals (interprofessional education), to have a greater appreciation of the individual as a whole person (humanistic psychology) and to be accountable to the communities they serve (postmodernism). Furthermore, professionals would learn to take responsibility at all levels of government, use systems approaches to consider human problems, and be involved in progressive social change.
Traditional academic programs such as education, nursing, social work, law and medicine were resistant to the new human services movement's ideology because it appeared to challenge their professional status. Changing the traditional concept of professionalism involved rethinking consumer control and the distribution of power. The new movement also called on human service professionals to work for social change.[3] It was proposed that the reduction of the monopolistic control of professionals could result in democratization of knowledge and would lead to professionals advocating on behalf of clients and communities against professional establishments.[4] The movement also hoped that human service delivery systems would become integrated, comprehensive, and more accessible, which would make them more humane for service users.[5][6] Ultimately, the resistance from traditional helping professions served as the impetus for a group of educators in higher education to start the new academic discipline of human services.
Some maintain that the human services discipline has a concrete identity as a profession that supplements and complements other traditional professions.[7] Yet other professionals and scholars have not agreed upon an authoritative definition for human services.[8]
Academic programs[edit]
United States[edit]
Development[edit]
Chenault and Burnford argued that human services programs must educate and train students at the graduate or postgraduate level if human services hoped to be considered a professional discipline.[2] A progressive graduate human services program was established by Audrey Cohen (1932–1996), who was considered an innovative educator for her time. The Audrey Cohen College of Human Services, now called the Metropolitan College of New York, offered one of the first graduate programs in 1974.[9] In the same time period, Springfield College in Massachusetts became a major force in preserving human services as an academic discipline. Currently, Springfield College is one of the oldest and largest human services program in the United States.
Manpower studies in the 1960s and 70s had shown that there would be a shortage of helping professionals in an array of service delivery areas.[10][11][12] In turn, some educators proposed that the training of nonprofessionals (e.g., mental health technicians)could bridge this looming personnel shortage.[12][13][14] One of the earliest educational initiatives to develop undergraduate curricula was undertaken by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), which was funded by the National Institute on Health. Professionals of the SREB Undergraduate Social Welfare Manpower Project helped colleges develop new social welfare programs, which later became known as human services.[15] Some believed that community college human services programs were the most expedient way to train paraprofessionals for direct service jobs in areas such as mental health.[14] Currently, a large percentage of human services programs are run at the community college level.
The development of community college human services programs was supported with government funding that was earmarked for the federal new careers initiatives. In turn, the federally funded New Careers Program was created to produce a nonprofessional career track for economically disadvantaged, underemployed, and unemployed adults as a strategy to eradicate poverty within society[16][17][18][19] and to end a critical shortage of health-care personnel.[20] Graduates from these programs successfully acquired employment as paraprofessionals,[14] but there were limitations to their upward mobility within social service agencies because they lacked a graduate or professional degree.[9]
Current programs[edit]
Currently, there are academic programs in human services at the associate, baccalaureate, and graduate levels. There are approximately 600 human services programs throughout the United States. An online directory of human services programs[21] lists many (but not all) of the programs state by state in conjunction with their accreditation status from the Council of Standards for Human Services Education (CSHSE).
The CSHSE offers accreditation for human services programs in higher education. The accreditation process is voluntary and labor-intensive; it is designed to assure the quality, consistency, and relevance of human service education through research-based standards and a peer-review process. According to the CSHSE's webpage there are only 43 accredited human services programs in the United States. The Standards for each level of degree accredited by CSHSE can be obtained by clicking on the following links:
National Standards for Associate Degree in Human Services
National Standards for a Baccalaureate Degree in Human Services
National Standards for a Masters Degree in Human Services
Human services curricula are based on an interdisciplinary knowledge foundation that allows students to consider practical solutions from multiple disciplinary perspectives. Across the curriculum human services students are often taught to view human problems from a socioecological perspective (developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner) that involves viewing human strengths and problems as interconnected to a family unit, community, and society. This perspective is considered a “whole-person perspective”.[22] Overall, undergraduate programs prepare students to be human services generalists[23] while master’s programs prepare students to be human services administrators,[2] and doctoral programs prepare students to be researcher-analysts and college-level educators. Research in this field focuses on an array of topics that deal with direct service issues, case management,[1] organizational change, management of human service organizations,[24] advocacy,[25] community organizing, community development, social welfare policy, service integration, multiculturalism, integration of technology, poverty issues, social justice, development,[26] and social change strategies.
Certification and continuing education[edit]
United States[edit]
The Center for Credentialing & Education (CCE) conceptualized the Human Services-Board Certified Practitioner (HS-BCP) credential with the assistance of the National Organization for Human Services (NOHS) and the Council for Standards in Human Service Education (CSHSE). The credential was created for human services practitioners seeking to advance their careers by acquiring independent verification of their practical knowledge and educational background.[27]
Graduates from human services programs can obtain a Human Services Board Certified Practitioner (HS-BCP) credential offered by the Center for Credentialing & Education (CCE). The HS-BCP certification ensures that human services practitioners offer quality services, are competent service providers, are committed to high standards, and adhere to the NOHS Ethical Standards of Human Service Professionals, as well as to help solidify the professional identity of human services practitioners.[28] HS-BCPE Experience Requirements for the certification: HS-BCP applicants must meet post-graduation experience requirements to be eligible to take the examination. However, graduates of a CSHSE accredited degree program may sit for the HS-BCP exam without verifying their human services work experience. Otherwise experience requirements for candidates not from a CSHSE accredited program are as follows: Associate degree with post degree experience requires three years, including a minimum of 4,500 hours; Bachelor’s Degree with post degree experience requires two years, including a minimum of 3,000 hours; Master’s or Doctorate with post degree experience requires one year, including a minimum of 1,500 hours.[27]
The HS-BCP exam is designed to verify a candidate’s human services knowledge. The exam was created as a collaborative effort of human services subject-matter experts and normed on a population of professionals in the field. The HS-BCP exam covers the following areas:
Assessment, treatment planning, and outcome evaluation
Theoretical orientation/interventions
Case management, professional practice, and ethics
Administration, program development/evaluation, and supervision
Employment outlook[edit]
United States[edit]
Currently, the three major employment roles played by human services graduates include providing direct service, performing administrative work, and working in the community.[29] According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, published by the US Department of Labor, the employment of human service assistants is anticipated to grow by 34% through 2016, which is faster than average for all occupations. There will also be excellent job opportunities for individuals with post-secondary degrees. But salaries remain low, which might reflect employers’ lack of understanding of the human services profession.
Professional organizations[edit]
North America[edit]
There are several different professional human services organizations for professionals, educators, and students to join across North America.
United States[edit]
The National Organization for Human Services (NOHS) is a professional organization open to educators, professionals, and students interested in current issues in the field of human services.[30] NOHS sponsors an annual conference in different parts of the United States. In addition, there are four independent human services regional organizations: (a) Mid-Atlantic Consortium for Human Services, (b) Midwest Organization for Human Services, (c) New England Organization for Human Service, and the (d) Northwest Human Services Association. All of the regional organizations are also open to educators, professionals, students and each regional organization has an annual conference in different locations throughout their region.
Human services special interest groups also exist within the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) and the American Educational Research Association (AERA). The ASPA subsection is named the Section on Health and Human Services Administration and its purpose is to foster the development of knowledge, understanding and practice in the fields of health and human services administration and to foster professional growth and communication among academics and practitioners in these fields. Fields of health and human services administration share a common and unique focus on improving the quality of life through client-centered policies and service transactions.
The AERA special interest group is named the Education, Health and Human Service Linkages. Its purpose is to create a community of researchers and practitioners interested in developing knowledge about comprehensive school health, school linked services, and initiatives that support children and their families. This subgroup also focuses on interpersonal collaboration, integration of services, and interdisciplinary approaches. The group’s interests encompass interrelated policy, practice, and research that challenge efforts to create viable linkages among these three distinct areas.
The American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) is a nonprofit organization that pursues distinction in health and human services by working with policymakers, supporting state and local agencies, and working with partners to promote innovative, integrative and efficient solutions in health and human services policy and practice. APHSA has individual and student memberships.
Canada[edit]
The Canadian Institute for Human Services is an advocacy, education and action-research organization for the advancement of health equity, progressive education and social innovation. The institute collaborates with researchers, field practitioners, community organizations, socially conscious companies—along with various levels of government and educational institutions—to ensure that the Canadian health and human services sector remains accountable to the greater good of Canadian civil society rather than short-term professional, business or economic gains[31]
See also[edit]
Civil resistance
Critical Theory
Counterculture of the 1960s
Community mental health
Ethics of care
Feminist Movement
Health and Social Care
Humanistic Education
Humanistic Psychology
Human Potential Movement
Political Economy
Postmodernism
Psychology
Poor laws
Social care in England
Social Work
Sociology
Harold Lawrence McPheeters, "father of human services"
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b Herzberg, Judith T. (2015). Foundations in human services practice: A generalist perspective on individual, agency, and community (1st ed.). Boston: Pearson. ISBN 9780205858255. OCLC 881181908.
^ Jump up to: a b c Chenault, Joann; Burnford, Fran (1978). Human services professional education: Future directions. New York: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 9780070107328. OCLC 3650238.
Jump up ^ Dumont, M (1970). "The changing face of professionalism". Social Policy. 1: 26–31.
Jump up ^ Reiff, R. (1970). "Community psychology, community mental health and social needs: The need for a body of knowledge in community psychology". In Iscoe, Ira; Spielberger, Charles D. Community psychology: Perspectives in training and research. New York: Appleton. pp. 1–. ISBN 9780390477712. OCLC 92432.
Jump up ^ Agranoff, R. (1974). "Human services administration: Service delivery, service integration, and training". In Mikulecky, Thomas J. Human services integration: a report of a special project conducted by the American Society for Public Administration. Washington, DC: American Society for Public Administration. pp. 42–51. OCLC 918115.
Jump up ^ Baker, F (June 1974). "From community mental health to human service ideology". American Journal of Public Health. 64 (6): 576–581. doi:10.2105/ajph.64.6.576. PMC 1775477  . PMID 4829069.
Jump up ^ Mehr, Joseph J.; Kanwischer, Ronald (2004). Human services: concepts and intervention strategies (9th ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon. ISBN 9780205381210. OCLC 51477841.
Jump up ^ Kincaid, Susan O. (2009). "Defining human services: A discourse analysis" (PDF). Human service education. 29 (1): 14–23. ISSN 0890-5428. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 October 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Grant, Gerald; Riesman, David (1978). The perpetual dream: reform and experiment in the American college. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226306056. OCLC 3203327.
Jump up ^ Cohen, 1969.[full citation needed]
Jump up ^ Kadish, 1969.[full citation needed]
^ Jump up to: a b McPheeters, Harold L.; King, James B.; Southern Regional Education Board (February 1971), Plans for teaching mental health workers: Community college curriculum objectives (PDF), Bethesda, MD: National Institute of Mental Health, OCLC 425565522, ERIC ED065726
Jump up ^ Sweitzer, H. Frederick (2003). "Multiple forms of scholarship and their implications on human service educators" (pdf). Human Service Education. 25 (1): 5–13. ISSN 0890-5428. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 October 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c True, John E.; Young, Carl E. (December 1974). "Associate degree programs for human service workers". Personnel and Guidance Journal. 53 (4): 304–307. doi:10.1002/j.2164-4918.1974.tb03788.x.
Jump up ^ McPheeters, Harold L.; Ryan, Robert M.; Southern Regional Education Board (December 1971), A Core of Competence for Baccalaureate Social Welfare and Curricular Implications (PDF), Washington, DC: Social and Rehabilitation Service (Department of Health, Education, and Welfare), OCLC 425729945, ERIC ED079210
Jump up ^ Grosser, Henry, & Kelly, 1969.[full citation needed]
Jump up ^ Haskell, 1969.[full citation needed]
Jump up ^ Pearl & Riessman, 1965.[full citation needed]
Jump up ^ Riessman & Popper, 1968.[full citation needed]
Jump up ^ Steinberg, Sheldon S.; Shatz, Eunice O.; Fishman, Jacob R. (July 1969). "New careers: a major solution to the environmental health problem" (PDF). American journal of Public Health and the Nation's Health. 59 (7): 1118–1123. doi:10.2105/AJPH.59.7.1118. PMC 1226583  . PMID 5815750.
Jump up ^ "Directory of human services programs". Archived from the original on 29 September 2013.
Jump up ^ Woodside, Marianne; McClam, Tricia (2009). An introduction to human services (6th ed.). Bemont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole. ISBN 9780495503361. OCLC 224438780.
Jump up ^ Burger, William R.; Youkeles, Merrill (2004). Human services in contemporary America (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole--Thomson Learning. ISBN 9780534547479. OCLC 52578972.
Jump up ^ Kettner, Peter M. (2014). Excellence in human service organization management (2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson Education. ISBN 9780205088157. OCLC 829937218.
Jump up ^ Martin, Michelle E. (2014). Advocacy for social justice: A global perspective. Boston: Pearson. ISBN 9780205087396. OCLC 858610652.
Jump up ^ Dustin, Jill C. (2013). Grant writing and fundraising tool kit for Human Services. Boston: Pearson Education. ISBN 9780205088690. OCLC 793099562.
^ Jump up to: a b "Human Services-Board Certified Practitioner". Center for Credentialing and Education. Archived from the original on 2013-12-02.
Jump up ^ "Council for Standards in Human Services Education".
Jump up ^ Mandell, Betty Reid; Schram, Barbara (2006). An introduction to human services: Policy and practice (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon. ISBN 9780205442140. OCLC 58546150.
Jump up ^ "National Organization for Human Services". Retrieved 6 July 2013.
Jump up ^ "The Canadian Institute for Human Services". Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
Further reading[edit]
Brager, G., & Holloway, S. (1978). Changing human services organizations: Political and practice. New York, NY: The Free Press.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (2005). Making human beings human: Biological perspectives on human development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Cimbala, P.A., & Miller, R.M. (1999). The Freedman's Bureau and Reconstruction. New York, NY: Fordham University Press.
Colman, P. (2007). Breaking the chains: The crusade of Dorothea Lynde Dix. New York, NY: ASJA Press.
De Tocqueville, A. (2006). Democracy in America (G. Lawrence, Trans.). New York, NY: Harper Perennial Modern Classic (Original work published 1832).
Foster-Fishman, P.G.; Behrens, T.R. (June 2007). "Systems change reborn: Rethinking our theories, methods, and efforts in human services reform and community-based change". American Journal of Community Psychology. 39 (3–4): 191–196. doi:10.1007/s10464-007-9104-5. PMID 17510793.
Friedman, L. J. (2003). Giving and caring in early America 1601-1861. In L.J. Friedman, & M.D. McGarvie, Charity, philanthropy, and civility in American history (pp. 23–48). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Hasenfeld, Y. (1992). The nature of human service organizations. In Y. Hasenfeld, Human Services as Complex Organizations (pp. 3–23). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Marshall, J. (2011). The life of George Washington. Fresno, CA: Edwards Publishing House.
Nellis, E.G., & Decker, A.D. (2001). The eighteenth-century records of the Boston overseers of the poor. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia Press.
Neukrug, E. (2016). Theory, practice, and trends in human services: An introduction (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Cengage.
Slack, P. (1995). The English Poor Law, 1531-1782. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Trattner, W.I. (1999). From Poor Law to welfare state: A History of social welfare in America. New York, NY: The Free Press.
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Nellie Oleson
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Nellie Oleson
Little House on the Prairie character
First appearance
On the Banks of Plum Creek
Last appearance
These Happy Golden Years
Created by
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Information
Family
Mrs. and Mr. Oleson (parents)
Willie Oleson (brother)
Nellie Oleson is a fictional character in the Little House series of autobiographical children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder. She was portrayed by Alison Arngrim in the NBC television show Little House on the Prairie (1974 to 1983), where her role is much expanded.[citation needed] Three different girls from Laura Ingalls Wilder's childhood; Nellie Owens, Genevieve Masters and Stella Gilbert, were the basis for the fictional Nellie Oleson.[citation needed]
Contents
[hide]
1 Character sources
1.1 Nellie Owens
1.2 Genevieve Masters
1.3 Stella Gilbert
2 Fictional Nellie
2.1 Little House books
2.2 Little House on the Prairie television series
2.3 Other screenings
3 Cultural impact
4 See also
5 References
6 Bibliography
7 External links
Character sources[edit]
Nellie Owens[edit]
Nellie Winfield (Owens) Kirry
Born
(1869-08-02)August 2, 1869
Walnut Grove, Minnesota, U.S.
Died
November 2, 1949(1949-11-02) (aged 80)
Forest Grove, Oregon, U.S.
Owens was born on August 2, 1868,[1] two years after Laura Ingalls. She had a younger brother; William B. Owens (1881-1934;[2] played by Jonathan Gilbert in the television series). Nellie's parents, William (1836-1920)[3] and Margaret (1836-1908)[4] Owens (renamed Nels and Harriet Oleson in the television series; called only "Mr. and Mrs. Oleson" in the books), did, as Laura describes, run the local mercantile in Walnut Grove, Minnesota.[5]
Later in her life, around 1883, the Owens moved to California; probable via the Oregon Trail. In 1891 they went to Tillamook, Oregon, where Nellie taught school and in 1893 married[5] Henry Francis Kirry (1869-1951). They moved to Bay City, Oregon and had three children; Zola (1894-1986), Lloyd (1896-1961) and Leslie (1900-1931).[6] Soon, the Kirries changed their home again by moving to Rainier, Oregon in 1899.[5] Her brother Willie went blind from a firecracker explosion, attended a school for the blind, married, and also had three children.[7]
There seems to be no indication that Laura ever saw Nellie Owens again after Laura's family left Walnut Grove in 1879. Nellie died on November 2, 1949 in Oregon and is buried on Forest View Cemetery in Forest Grove, Oregon.[1][5]
Genevieve Masters[edit]
Genevieve Maude (Masters) Renwick
Born
(1867-11-12)November 12, 1867
Hornby, New York, U.S.
Died
November 7, 1909(1909-11-07) (aged 41)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
The second girl, Genevieve Masters, was born November 12, 1867 in Hornby, Steuben County, New York[1] and was the spoiled daughter of a former teacher of Laura's. Genevieve wore beautifully tailored clothes and had striking blonde curly hair, just as "Nellie Oleson" had. Genevieve boasted continually about how much more proper and "civilized" things were in the "East". With her superior attitude, Genevieve was far nastier than Nellie Owens had been, and Laura and Genevieve became keen rivals, both academically and socially.
Gennie's family moved to De Smet not long after the Ingalls family, but the Owens family did not move. Therefore, the "Nellie" of Little Town on the Prairie is most likely Genevieve Masters. In her "Letter to Children" written late in her life (a sort of form letter sent to the hundreds of children who wrote her monthly), Laura stated: "Nellie Oleson . . . moved back East, and did not live many years."[citation needed] Laura was evidently referring to Genevieve Masters in this letter as Nellie Owens lived to the age of 80. Masters married William Graham V. Renwick (1864-1924)[8] and had one daughter, Margaret (1900-1982).[1][9]
Genevieve died of pneumonia November 7, 1909 in Chicago,[1] just 5 days before her 42nd birthday. Her remains were brought back to De Smet, South Dakota and buried in the local cemetery.[10]
Stella Gilbert[edit]
Estella M. (Gilbert) Merrill
Born
(1864-05-00)May , 1864
Lake City, Minnesota, U.S.
Died
September 16, 1944(1944-09-16) (aged 80)
Yakima, Washington, U.S.
The third girl, Stella Gilbert, born in May, in 1864, lived on a claim north of the Ingalls in De Smet. She was reportedly very attractive and was very interested in Almanzo Wilder. She was possibly the girl who convinced him to take her on several buggy rides, which were described in These Happy Golden Years. Almanzo, who was not aware of a conflict between Stella (Nellie in the books) and Laura, eventually became aware of Stella's fear of horses (which disgusted him). In addition, Laura eventually gave Almanzo an ultimatum regarding Stella, and Almanzo's invitations to Stella to join them on the rides stopped. This was the last appearance of a "Nellie Oleson" in the series.[citation needed]
Stella's older brother was Dave Gilbert, the brave 17 year old who made the very risky run to Lake Preston, Dakota Territory on his horse-drawn sled between blizzards to take the outgoing mail and bring back the incoming mail, as described by Laura in The Long Winter.
Stella died in 1944 at the age of 80 years.[1][11]
Fictional Nellie[edit]
Little House books[edit]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2015)
Nellie Oleson appeared in three of the Little House novels Ingalls Wilder: On the Banks of Plum Creek (1937), Little Town on the Prairie (1939), and These Happy Golden Years (1943) — the fourth, seventh, and eighth in the series. Laura is 13 to 15 years old in the two intervening novels. On the Banks of Plum Creek alone is set in Minnesota, near Walnut Grove where the long-running television series is set. In that novel Laura is 7 to 9 years old.[12][clarification needed]
Oleson also stars in Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls, a book by Tui T. Sutherland (as Heather Williams), published by HarperCollins in 2007. The Library of Congress catalog summary is "Wealthy, spoiled Nellie Oleson is only happy when she is the center of attention, and so she feels angry and left out when Laura Ingalls, a poor country girl, moves to Walnut Grove and is embraced by Nellie's friends and schoolteacher."[13] Nellie Oleson Meets Laura Ingalls is one among dozens of Little House series extensions published beginning in the 1990s.[citation needed]
Little House on the Prairie television series[edit]
Nellie Oleson
Little House on the Prairie character
Portrayed by
Alison Arngrim
First appearance
1.02 Country Girls
Last appearance
9.08 The Return of Nellie
[show]Family
Parents
Harriet and Nels Oleson
Siblings
Willie Oleson (brother)
Nancy Oleson (adopted sister)
Spouse
Percival Dalton
Children
Jennifer and Benjamin Dalton
The Little House books were later adapted into a long-running television series. Played by actress Alison Arngrim, Nellie Oleson was a manipulative, witty, sharp-tongued character on the NBC television show, Little House on the Prairie. Her parents, Nels and Harriet Oleson, owned the mercantile in the small town of Walnut Grove, set in post-Civil War Minnesota. Early in the series, the character of Nellie closely resembled her counterpart from the books - mainly as portrayed in On the Banks of Plum Creek. She had long, elaborately curled hair, acted very prissy and spoiled - yet underneath, she could display a vicious and manipulative personality. Nellie took after her doting mother Harriet (Katherine MacGregor), while father Nels (Richard Bull) tended to be stern with his two children and had little tolerance for Nellie's often cruel antics. Nels and Harriet frequently conflicted on the rearing of both Nellie and Willie; Harriet's assertiveness frequently won out, although Nellie was not always allowed to get away with her behavior. For example, on the episode called "The Cheaters", Mrs. Oleson finds out Nellie has cheated, and Mrs. Oleson started hitting Nellie with her jacket.[citation needed]
Arngrim's character grew in importance during the series (as did the roles of the entire Oleson family) as she served as a perfect antagonist to honest, tomboyish Laura Ingalls, played by Melissa Gilbert. Nellie and Laura feuded during their school years together, which was at times comically paralleled with quarreling between the two girls' mothers, Harriet Oleson and Caroline Ingalls (Karen Grassle).
After Nellie graduated from school, her mother, Harriet, bestowed her with a restaurant and hotel. At first, Nellie balked, showing great incompetence in the hospitality business. Eventually, Nels and Harriet hired Percival Dalton (played by Steve Tracy) to help Nellie learn how to cook and run the restaurant. During this time, Nellie began maturing — thanks to Percy's work with her and Nels's values winning out over Harriet's — and fell in love with Percival. The two eventually married, and Nellie gave birth to twin children (Benjamin and Jennifer).[citation needed]
Nellie became a close friend of Laura's in her adult years and Laura attended her wedding. Before Nellie takes off for her honeymoon, she throws the bouquet to Laura. In the episode "Come Let us Reason Together", Laura's mother Caroline helped deliver Nellie's twin babies.[citation needed]
Arngrim left the series at the end of the seventh season. Nellie's resulting departure was explained by having her move with Percival and their twins to New York to run the family business when Percy's father falls ill; the move is made permanent when Percival's father dies. After Nellie's departure became permanent, the Olesons adopted a daughter named Nancy (played by Allison Balson), who bore a striking resemblance to Nellie, although she had a nastier and meaner disposition than Nellie. Nellie — who retained her pleasant personality seen in her later years — returned in the ninth season and met Nancy, who briefly ran away from home when she (mistakenly) believed that her adoptive parents loved Nellie more than her. When Nellie first meets Nancy and see how she acts, she asks her parents in shock: "I know I was temperamental at her age, but I wasn't THAT bad....Was I?" They all start to laugh, then they realize she was as bad.[citation needed]
Compared to the book On the Banks of Plum Creek, the series presented Nellie Oleson as a much more prominent character. In the books, Nellie's family members are very minor characters, whereas the Olesons became major figures on the series, with several episodes focusing on Nellie or her family. Eventually, the "villainous duo" of mother Harriet and daughter Nellie proved to be very popular with viewers for their often evil, yet humorous, antics.[citation needed]
Other screenings[edit]
Although the character of Nellie does not appear in any of the Beyond the Prairie: The True Story of Laura Ingalls Wilder movies, in Part 1 there is certain Patsy Robbins girl (played by Jenny Dare Paulin), who clearly reminds of Nellie.[14]
In the Little House on the Prairie musical, Nellie Oleson was played by Sara Jean Ford and Kate Loprest.
Cultural impact[edit]
The sketch comedy group The Nellie Olesons took their name after the character.[citation needed]
See also[edit]
Television portal
Alison Arngrim
Little House on the Prairie
References[edit]
^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Miller, Robynne Elizabeth (2016). The Three Faces of Nellie. Practical Pioneer Press. ISBN 069281258X.
Jump up ^ Willie Owens on Find a Grave
Jump up ^ William Owens on Find a Grave
Jump up ^ Margaret Owens on Find a Grave
^ Jump up to: a b c d Forest Grove grave draws 'Little House' lovers in Portland Tribune
Jump up ^ Nellie Owens on Find a Grave
Jump up ^ Willie Owens (2) on Find a Grave
Jump up ^ William Renwick on Find a Grave
Jump up ^ Margaret Renwick on Find a Grave
Jump up ^ Genevieve Masters on Find a Grave
Jump up ^ Stella Gilbert on Find a Grave
Jump up ^ Source is our five book articles (the 5 Newberry Medal runners-up, about which much has been published, although we cite little).[clarification needed]
Jump up ^ "Nellie Oleson meets Laura Ingalls". Library of Congress Online Catalog (catalog.loc.gov). Retrieved 2015-10-09.
Jump up ^ Beyond the Prairie, Part 1 on IMDb.com
Bibliography[edit]
External links[edit]
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Laura Ingalls Wilder
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Little House in the Big Woods (1932)
Farmer Boy (1933)
Little House on the Prairie (1935)
On the Banks of Plum Creek (1937)
By the Shores of Silver Lake (1939)
The Long Winter (1940)
Little Town on the Prairie (1941)
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On the Way Home (1962, posthumous)
The First Four Years (1971)
West from Home (1974)
Old Town in the Green Groves (2002)
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List of To Kill a Mockingbird characters
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel by Harper Lee published in 1960. It was instantly successful, winning the Pulitzer Prize, and has become a classic of modern American literature, widely read in US high schools and middle schools.[1] The story takes place during three years of the Great Depression in the fictional Maycomb, Alabama.
This is a list of the characters:
Contents
1 Primary characters
1.1 Atticus Finch
1.2 "Scout" Finch
1.3 "Jem" Finch
1.4 Dill Harris
1.5 Calpurnia
1.6 Arthur "Boo" Radley
1.7 Judge John Taylor
1.8 Miss Maudie Atkinson
1.9 Robert E. Lee "Bob" Ewell
1.10 Mayella Ewell
1.11 Tom Robinson
1.12 Aunt Alexandra
2 Minor characters
2.1 Jack Finch
2.2 Francis Hancock
2.3 Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose
2.4 Mr. Heck Tate
2.5 Mr. Braxton Underwood
2.6 Mr. Horace Gilmer
2.7 Dr. Reynolds
2.8 Dolphus Raymond
2.9 Link Deas
2.10 Miss Caroline Fisher
2.11 Reverend Sykes
2.12 Miss Stephanie Crawford
2.13 Miss Rachel Haverford
2.14 Helen Robinson
2.15 Nathan Radley
2.16 Jessie
2.17 Burris Ewell
2.18 Lula
2.19 Mrs. Grace Merriweather
2.20 Walter Cunningham, Jr.
2.21 Walter Cunningham, Sr.
2.22 Little Chuck Little
2.23 Mr. Dick Avery
2.24 Miss Gates
2.25 Eula May
2.26 Cecil Jacobs
2.27 Tim Johnson
2.28 Simon Finch
2.29 Maxwell Green
2.30 Mr. X Billups
2.31 The Barber Sisters (Miss "Tutti" and Miss "Frutti")
2.32 Mrs. Gertrude Farrow
2.33 Mr. Conner
2.34 Zeebo
3 References
Primary characters[edit]
Atticus Finch[edit]
Main article: Atticus Finch
Atticus Finch is the middle-aged father of Jem and Scout Finch. He is a lawyer and was once known as "the deadliest shot in Maycomb County". Although he was a good shot, he does not like to mention the fact as he does not like the thought of having an advantage over people. He appears to support racial equality and was appointed to represent Tom Robinson, a black man who has been accused of raping a young white woman, Mayella Ewell. The town disapproves of him defending Tom especially when he makes clear his intent to defend Tom Robinson to the best of his abilities. He is portrayed by Gregory Peck in the film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird.
"Scout" Finch[edit]
Jean Louise "Scout" Finch is the narrator and To Kill a Mockingbird is told by an adult Scout who often comments on how she could not understand something at the time but now can appreciate it. She gets in trouble with her teacher Miss Caroline because Miss Caroline expects Scout to learn reading and writing her way. She is a tomboy and spends the most of her time with her brother Jem and best friend Dill. To Jem's advice to pretend to be a lady and start sewing or something, she answers 'Hell no.' The rare hints the narrator gives us about her grown-up life reveal that she ultimately hasn't changed herself for others.[2]
She matures from age 6 to age 9 as the novel progresses but remains naive and idealistic, despite an increased understanding of human nature and racism in her town. At the beginning of the book, Scout is confused by some of the words and names she hears people directing towards her father, such as "nigger-lover". Being only six, Scout does not know how to handle such situations so she tries to resolve her problems by fighting, or by talking to Atticus about what she has heard. By the end of the book, Scout realizes that racism does exist and comes to terms with its presence in her town. Scout also learns how to deal with others, including the Finch family housekeeper, Calpurnia, and her aunt, Alexandra. Scout is the only one of the novel's primary three children (Dill, Jem, and herself) to see and speak to Boo Radley during the course of the novel and realize that he is harmless, despite her initial fear of him. She also stops a mob that is trying to lynch Tom Robinson by talking to the mob leader, Mr. Cunningham, about inviting his son, Walter, over for dinner. Mr. Cunningham then tells the other mob members to get back in their cars and leave them alone. The members listen, and Scout unintentionally saves Tom Robinson's life. She is portrayed by Mary Badham in the film adaption of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Notable quote: "Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing." [3]
"Jem" Finch[edit]
Jeremy Atticus "Jem" Finch is Atticus' son and Scout's older brother by four years. Jem matures greatly throughout the course of the novel, much more affected by events than Scout seems to be. Being four years Scout's senior, Jem is seen to have a greater understanding of - and therefore greater difficulty in navigating - the obstacles thrown their way. Jem is seen explaining many things to Scout throughout the novel. Bob Ewell breaks Jem's arm during his assault on the Finch children, subsequently resulting in it being shorter than it had been, in an attempt to protect his sister. He is portrayed by Phillip Alford in the film adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird.
Dill Harris[edit]
Charles Baker "Dill" Harris is a short, smart boy who visits Maycomb every summer from Meridian, Mississippi, and stays with his Aunt Rachel (Aunt Stephanie in the film). Dill is the best friend of both Jem and Scout, and his goal throughout the novel is to get Boo Radley to come out of his house. The children concoct many plans to lure Boo Radley out of his house for a few summers until Atticus tells them to stop. In chapter 5 of the novel, Dill promises to marry Scout and they become "engaged". One night Dill runs away from his home in Meridian, arriving in Maycomb County where he hides under Scout's bed. When she finds Dill, he tells both Scout and Atticus that he was chained to a wall in his father's basement; later, he confesses he actually ran away because he felt he was being replaced by his stepfather. Before Dill returned to Meridian after the summer, he went swimming with Jem at the Barker's Eddy creek. Scout, unfortunately, was unable to participate, because both boys were swimming naked.
Unlike Scout and Jem, Dill lacks the security of family support. He is unwanted and unloved by his mother and stepfather: "They do get on a lot better without me, I cannot help them any." As Francis (a cousin of Jem and Scout) says, "He hasn't got a home, he just gets passed around from relative to relative." Dill maintains he has no father; he doesn't know where his father might live, or if he will ever come back. He is played by John Megna in the film adaption of To Kill a Mockingbird.
This character is believed to be based on author Truman Capote, a childhood friend of Harper Lee.[4]
Calpurnia[edit]
Calpurnia, nicknamed Cal, is the Finch family's African-American 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 a mother herself and raised her son, Zeebo, to adulthood. 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. Aunt Alexandra despised Calpurnia because Alexandra believed that Calpurnia was not a "maternal figure" for Jem and Scout, especially for Scout.
Calpurnia is a member of the First Purchase M.E. African Church in Maycomb. While Scout always hears her speak proper English, she is surprised to learn that Calpurnia does not do so at church, especially with the uneducated members of the congregation.
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. She is played by Estelle Evans in the film.
Arthur "Boo" Radley[edit]
Arthur "Boo" Radley is a recluse in To Kill a Mockingbird.
Maycomb children believe he is a horrible person, due to the rumors spread about him and a trial he underwent as a teenager. It is implied during the story that Boo is a very lonely man who attempts to reach out to Jem and Scout for love and friendship, such as leaving them small gifts and figures in a tree knothole. Scout finally meets him at the very end of the book, when he saves the children's lives from Bob Ewell. Scout describes him as being sickly white, with a thin mouth, thin and feathery hair, and grey eyes, almost as if he were blind. During the same night, when Boo whispers to Scout to 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, Sheriff Tate, and Scout. This can be read as a wise refusal of fame. As Tate notes, if word got out that Boo killed Ewell, Boo would be inundated with gifts and visits, calamitous for him due to his reclusive personality. The precocious Scout recognizes the danger: renown would "kill the mockingbird". Boo Radley is a ghost who 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.
After the Tom Robinson trial, Jem and Scout have a different 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." (23.117) 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.[5]
When Boo finally does come out, he has a good reason: Bob Ewell is trying to murder the Finch children. No one sees what happens in the scuffle, 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 suddenly realizes who he is. Boo Radley is played by Robert Duvall in the film.
Judge John Taylor[edit]
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 just a few minutes. By doing this, Judge Taylor was not giving in or supporting racism. He is portrayed in the film by Paul Fix.
Miss Maudie Atkinson[edit]
Miss Maude "Maudie" Atkinson lives across the street from the Finch family. She had known the Finches for many years, having been brought up on the Buford place, which was near the Finches' ancestral home, Finch's Landing. She is described as a woman of about 50 who enjoys baking and gardening; her cakes are especially held in high regard. However, she is frequently harassed by devout "Foot-Washing Baptists", who tell her that her enjoyment of gardening is a sin. The Foot-Washing Baptists also believe that women are a sin as well. Miss Maudie befriends Scout and Jem and tells them stories about Atticus as a boy. It is strongly implied that she and Atticus have a more than platonic relationship. Also, she is one of the few adults that Jem and Scout hold in high regard and respect. She does not act condescendingly towards them, even though they are young children. During the course of the novel, her house burns down; however, she shows remarkable courage throughout this (even saying that she wanted to burn it down herself to make more room for her flowers). She is not prejudiced, though she talks caustically to Miss Stephanie Crawford, unlike many of her Southern neighbors, and teaches Scout important lessons about racism and human nature. It is important to note that Miss Maudie fully explains that "it is a sin to kill a mockingbird", whereas Atticus Finch initially brings up the subject but doesn't go into depth. When Jem gets older, and doesn't want to be bothered by Scout, Miss Maudie keeps her from getting angry. Maudie is played by Rosemary Murphy in the film.
Robert E. Lee "Bob" Ewell[edit]
Robert 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 abused his daughter Mayella, not Tom Robinson (the African American man accused of doing so). Although most everybody 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. After 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, then finally menacing Helen, the poor widow of Tom Robinson. Ewell later attempts to murder Jem and Scout Finch with a knife to complete his revenge. Boo Radley saves Jem and Scout and it is believed that he kills Ewell with the knife. Heck Tate, the sheriff, puts in the official report that Bob Ewell fell on his own knife and died after lying under a tree for 45 minutes. Ewell is played by James Anderson in the film.
Mayella Ewell[edit]
Mayella Violet Ewell, 19, is the oldest of the eight Ewell children. Before the trial, Mayella is noted for growing red geraniums outside her otherwise dirty home in order to bring some beauty into her life. Due to her family's living situation, Mayella has no opportunity for human contact or love. She eventually gets so desperate that she attempts to seduce a black man, Tom Robinson, by saving up nickels to send her siblings to go get ice cream so that Mayella can be alone with Tom. Her father sees this through a window and in punishment he beats her. Ewell then finds the sheriff, Heck Tate, and tells him that his daughter has been raped and beaten by Tom. At the trial, Atticus points out that only the right side of Mayella's face is injured, suggesting a left-handed assailant; Tom's left arm is mangled and useless, but Bob Ewell is left-handed. When Atticus asks her if she has any friends, she becomes confused because she does not know what a friend is. During her testimony she is confused by Atticus' polite speech and thinks that his use of "Miss Mayella" is meant to mock her. She testifies against Tom Robinson. Mayella is played by Collin Wilcox in the film.
Tom Robinson[edit]
Thomas "Tom" Robinson is an African-American who is put on trial for the rape of a white woman, Mayella Ewell. Atticus is assigned to defend him, and stands up to a lynch mob intent on exacting their own justice against him before the trial begins. Tom's left arm is crippled and useless, the result of an accident with a cotton gin when he was a child. Atticus uses this fact as the cornerstone of his defense strategy, pointing out that the nature of Mayella's facial injuries strongly suggest a left-handed assailant. Tom testifies that he had frequently helped Mayella with household chores because he felt sorry for her and the family's difficult life - a statement that shocks the all-white, male jury. Despite Atticus' skilled defense, the jury's racial prejudices lead them to find Tom guilty. Atticus plans to appeal the verdict, but before he can do so, Tom is shot and killed while trying to escape the prison where he is being held. Tom Robinson is played by Brock Peters.
Aunt Alexandra[edit]
Alexandra Hancock (née Finch) is Atticus' and Jack's sister, married to James "Uncle Jimmy" Hancock. She has a son named Henry and a very spoiled grandson named Francis. Around the middle of the book, Aunt Alexandra decides to leave her husband at Finch's Landing, the Finch family homestead to come stay with the Finches. Aunt Alexandra doesn't consider the black Calpurnia to be a very good motherly figure for Jem and Scout; she disapproves of Scout being a tomboy and wants to make Scout into a southern belle (encouraging her to act more 'lady like').[6] This is the cause of many conflicts between Scout and Alexandra throughout the course of the novel. However, as the trial progresses, Scout comes to see how much her aunt cares for her father and what a strong woman she is. This is especially evidenced by a tea party when Scout is horrified by the racism displayed, and her aunt and Miss Maudie help her deal with her feelings. By the end of the book, it's clear that Alexandra cares very much for her niece and nephew, though she and Scout will probably never really get along.
Minor characters[edit]
Jack Finch[edit]
John Hale "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. Jack also has a pet cat named Rose Aylmer, who is mentioned during the Christmas visit.
Francis Hancock[edit]
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 "nigger-lover," 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 a "whore lady", 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).
Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose[edit]
Mrs. Henry Lafayette Dubose is an elderly woman who lives near the Finches. She is hated by the children, who run by her house to avoid her. Scout describes Mrs. Dubose as "plain hell." A virulent racist, she calls Atticus a "nigger-lover" to his children's faces, and Jem flies into a rage and ravages Mrs. Dubose's camellia bushes. As a punishment, Jem is required to read to Mrs. Dubose each day for a month. As Jem reads, she experiences a fit of drooling and twitching and does not seem to pay any attention to the words. When an alarm rings, Jem is allowed to leave for the day. She extends the punishment for one extra week and dies shortly after letting Jem go for the last time. Atticus informs him that Mrs. Dubose was terminally ill and had become addicted to morphine. By reading to her, Jem had distracted her so that she could break the addiction. In thanks, she leaves him a candy box with a camellia flower in it; Jem burns the box in anger, but is later seen by Scout admiring the flower. Atticus tells Jem that Mrs. Dubose was the bravest person he ever knew, and she was trying to teach Jem the importance of bravery and true courage to endure anything when the situation is hopeless, as in her morphine addiction.
Mr. Heck Tate[edit]
Mr. Heck Tate is a friend of Atticus and also the sheriff of Maycomb County. He believes in protecting the innocent although he doesn't usually show it. At the end of the book, the Atticus and Heck argue over whether Jem or Boo Radley should be held responsible for the death of Bob Ewell. Heck eventually persuades Atticus to accept the theory that Ewell accidentally fell on his own knife, thus saving the harmless, reclusive Boo from the public exposure of a criminal trial.
Mr. Braxton Underwood[edit]
Mr. Braxton Bragg 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. He also demonstrates some humanity when he publishes a scathing editorial comparing the killing of Tom Robinson (a cripple) to "the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and children".
Mr. Horace Gilmer[edit]
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. He and Atticus are not rivals and talk to each other during recesses during the case.
Dr. Reynolds[edit]
Dr. Reynolds is the Maycomb doctor. He is well known to Scout and Jem. Scout says that he "had brought Jem and me into the world, had led us through every childhood disease known to man including the time Jem fell out of the tree house, and he had never lost our friendship. Dr. Reynolds said that if we were boil-prone things would have been different..." (ch. 28). He inspects Jem's broken arm and Scout's minor bruises after the attack from Bob Ewell under the tree.
Dolphus Raymond[edit]
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.
Link Deas[edit]
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 outta him" in the eight years Tom had been working for him, 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 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 afterward.
Miss Caroline Fisher[edit]
Miss Caroline Fisher is Scout's first grade teacher and is new to Maycomb, Alabama and its ways. She attempts to teach the first grade class using a new system which she learned from taking certain college courses (Jem mistakenly refers to it as the "Dewey Decimal System", which is really how library books are organized.). She is upset by Scout's advanced reading capabilities and believes that Scout is receiving lessons from Atticus. She feels as though Scout is trying to outsmart and mock her. In an effort to standardize the class, she forbids Scout from reading with her father. Atticus asks Scout to step into Miss Caroline's skin. However, he continues to allow Scout to read with him at night so long as she continues to go to school. Miss Caroline has good intentions but proves quite incompetent as a teacher. When Scout tells Miss Fisher that she shamed a student (Walter Cunningham, Jr.) by giving him lunch money, she raps Scout's palms with a ruler (a punishment unheard of in Maycomb). She is also very sensitive and gets emotionally hurt quite easily, as seen when she cries after Burris Ewell yells at her, "Report 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!" After the Burris Ewell incident, Miss Caroline is seldom seen and soon forgotten.
Reverend Sykes[edit]
Reverend Sykes is the reverend of the First Purchase M.E. African Church in Maycomb County, where most if not all of the African-American characters go to church. Reverend Sykes forces the congregation to donate 10 dollars for Tom Robinson's family since at the time, Tom's wife, Helen, was having trouble finding work. During the trial, when the courtroom was too packed for the children to find seats, Reverend Sykes lets the kids sit with him up in the colored balcony and even saves their seats for them.
Miss Stephanie Crawford[edit]
Stephanie Crawford is the neighborhood gossip who claimed that she saw Boo Radley from her bedroom standing outside of her cleaned window one night. Crawford is one of the first on the scene after a loud gunshot is heard behind the Radley house. Because she is the neighborhood gossip, it is unwise to think of anything that she says as true, because most of the time it is not true at all. She is a friend of Alexandra Hancock. She lets Miss Maudie live with her when Miss Maudie's house burns down, supposedly in order to steal Miss Maudie's Lane cake recipe. She is thrilled to pass on gossip to the kids about Boo Radley. She claimed to have witnessed Bob Ewell's threatening Atticus at the Post Office corner as she was returning from the local Jitney Jungle grocery store.
In the film, she takes the place of Rachel Haverford and is now Dill's aunt.
Miss Rachel Haverford[edit]
Miss Rachel Haverford is Dill's aunt and the Finches' next door neighbor. She drank neat whiskey heavily after seeing a rattlesnake coiled in her closet, on her washing, when she hung her negligee up. Even though she can be very hard to deal with, she truly does love her nephew. Her family name, in the legends of Maycomb County, is synonymous with jackass. She is also a Southern Belle.
In the film, she is not a character and Miss Stephanie takes her place as Dill's aunt.
Helen Robinson[edit]
Helen Robinson is the wife of Tom Robinson. She is spoken about a few times. She has three 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 effect on a lot of people and she elucidates the hardships that surround the Tom Robinson case.
Nathan Radley[edit]
Nathan Radley is the brother of Arthur "Boo" Radley and another difficult character to understand in To Kill a Mockingbird. When the children try to catch a view of "Boo" late one night through a window, he shoots over their heads with a shotgun (albeit thinking he was aiming at a black person). Nathan also cements up the knothole in which Arthur leaves little gifts for the children. On the other hand, he helps Miss Maudie by saving some of her belongings when her house is on fire. He is more present than his brother, but equally mysterious.
Jessie[edit]
Jessie is Mrs. Dubose's black nurse. She is the woman who shoos the children out when Mrs. Dubose has her fits, and she seems to care enormously for Mrs. Dubose. When Jem is forced to stay reading to Mrs. Dubose, Jessie kindly leads Jem and Scout to the door when Mrs. Dubose's alarm goes off. The rumors about Mrs. Dubose concealing a gun about her person involves Jessie; the book says "and even if Mrs. Dubose missed, her girl Jessie wouldn't".
Burris Ewell[edit]
Burris Ewell is a son of Bob Ewell and a younger sibling of Mayella Ewell as well as the first antagonist of the novel. Burris is described as being chiefly antagonistic of Little Chuck Little and his teacher Miss Caroline Fisher. He comes to the first day of school, but departs just as everyone else in his family does. Burris is also poor. He has live lice in his hair. Burris also scared his teacher Caroline Fisher. He behaves rudely when she tells him to go home, wash his hair, and come back clean the next day. He refuses, and a student explains to Miss Caroline that Ewell children don't attend school. All they do is show up for the first day, get marked down on the register, and then they miss the entire school year until the first day of the next year. His famous quote was, "Report 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!" As of Scout's first year of school (the first grade), Burris has repeated the first grade three times. Burris is also like his father and is very belligerent.
Lula[edit]
Lula is an African-American woman with a dislike for white people. She doesn't like the idea of Calpurnia bringing Atticus Finch's children, Jem and Scout, with her to church and tells her so but is overruled by the other congregants. According to James Zeebo, Calpurnia's son, Lula's said to be, "a troublemaker from way back, with fancy ideas and haughty ways." She's threatened with being "churched" (subjected to church discipline) by Reverend Sykes.
Mrs. Grace Merriweather[edit]
Mrs. Grace Merriweather is the producer of the play in which Scout plays as a ham. She tells Everett that "the ladies of the South Maycomb Alabama Methodist Episcopal Church are behind him one hundred percent." She is mostly known for her devotion to the church and is widely held as the most devout lady in Maycomb; however, like many of her peers, she is very hypocritical and loves to gossip with all the other women.
Walter Cunningham, Jr.[edit]
Walter Cunningham, Jr. is a child who is almost as old as Jem but is in Scout's class. He lives on a farm. He is too poor to even pay off a 25-cent debt because the Great Depression hit his poor family hard. He doesn't take money because his family can't pay people back in cash. His father paid Atticus for his service for something a while back with some goods. Walter is invited over to the Finches' 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.
Walter Cunningham, Sr.[edit]
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 off 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 and how much he owes to Atticus does he reconsider and call off 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 one of the Cunninghams had changed his thoughts about Tom and pleaded that Tom was not guilty to the jury.
Little Chuck Little[edit]
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.
Mr. Dick Avery[edit]
Mr. Dick Avery is an overweight neighbor who tells Jem and Scout that dramatic changes in the weather are caused by disobedient and misbehaving children. After it snows, they build a snowman that resembles him. Mr. Avery can also be seen in the story pushing a mattress out of a window when Miss Maudie's house catches fire. The kids, including Jem and Scout, always waited for him to do something interesting. For instance, Jem claims that one night he urinated from his front porch in an impressive arc.
Miss Gates[edit]
Miss Gates is a third grade teacher at Scout's school who insists that America isn't prejudiced like Hitler's Germany. Despite this, Scout has heard her say that the blacks need to be taught a lesson after Tom's trial.
Eula May[edit]
Eula May is Maycomb's most prominent telephone operator. She sends out public announcements, invitations, and activates the fire alarm. She announced the closing of schools when it snowed and announced the rabid dog that entered Maycomb. Also, Eula May knows everybody in the town because of her unique job.
Cecil Jacobs[edit]
Cecil Jacobs teases 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 "Nigger Lover." He gives a current event on 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 Halloween 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.
Tim Johnson[edit]
Tim Johnson is a dog belonging to Harry Johnson (a character in the book who is mentioned once but is never seen). He is infected by rabies in chapter 10 and goes mad, putting everyone in the town at risk. Atticus is forced to shoot Tim Johnson before he reaches the Radley House or attacks anyone. When Atticus shoots the dog, his excellent marksmanship is revealed to Scout and Jem (his nickname used to be One-Shot Finch). The dog's body is collected by Zeebo.
Simon Finch[edit]
Simon Finch is the founder of Finch's Landing. He is referred to in the first chapter of the book, being a direct ancestor of Atticus. He is a Cornish Methodist, and emigrated from England to avoid religious persecution, landing in Philadelphia before settling in Alabama. He was married, with one son, eight daughters. He is also an apothecary.
Maxwell Green[edit]
Maxwell Green is the new lawyer in town. He is normally the judicially-assigned defense attorney but Judge Taylor assigned Tom Robinson's case to Atticus to give Tom Robinson a better chance.
Mr. X Billups[edit]
Mr. X Billups who is seen only once in the book, going to the trial, is described as a "funny man". X is his name, and not his initial. He was asked repeated times what his name was until he signed it. X was the name he had been given when he was born because his parents marked his birth certificate with an X instead of a name.
The Barber Sisters (Miss "Tutti" and Miss "Frutti")[edit]
The Barber Sisters (Miss Sarah, nicknamed "Tutti" and Miss Frances, nicknamed "Frutti") are maiden sisters who live in the only house in Maycomb with a cellar. They were originally from Clanton, Alabama; and are rumored to be Republicans. Besides their Yankee ways, both sisters are deaf (Tutti completely deaf; Frutti uses an ear trumpet), and had a Halloween prank pulled on them by some "wicked" schoolchildren (Scout claims she was not included) who put all of their furniture in their cellar.
Mrs. Gertrude Farrow[edit]
Mrs. Farrow is a lady in the missionary society who visits the Finch house occasionally.
Mr. Conner[edit]
Mr. Conner is mentioned early on in the book. He was locked in an outhouse by "Boo" Radley and his friends. After taking the teenagers to court, Mr. Conner accused them of "disorderly conduct, disturbing the peace, assault and battery, and using abusive and profane language in the presence and hearing of a female." He added the last charge after claiming that the teens had "cussed so loud he was sure every lady in Maycomb heard them."
Zeebo[edit]
Calpurnia's eldest son, Zeebo, was taught how to read by Calpurnia. Zeebo is one of just four people in First Purchase Church who can read, so he is the vocal leader, leading hymns in their church by "lining"—reading a line of verse and having the congregation repeat it. He is also the garbage man of Maycomb, and took away the dead rabid dog, Tim Johnson. When Lula, a fellow church member tries to make Scout and Jem feel bad for attending church with Calpurnia, Zeebo welcomes them with open arms.
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "What Kids Are Reading: The Book Reading Habits of Students in American Schools", Renaissance Learning, Inc., 2008. Retrieved on July 11, 2008. See also "What Kids Are Reading: The Book Reading Habits of Students in American Schools Archived 2012-03-14 at the Wayback Machine., Renaissance Learning, Inc. 2010. Retrieved on May 1, 2011. where To Kill a Mockingbird appears at number 2.
Jump up ^ "To Kill A Mockingbird Guide at studentshare.net; Release Year: 2017".
Jump up ^ "Edmond Public Schools - Edmond Public Schools" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-02-13.
Jump up ^ Minzesheimer, Bob (December 17, 2007). "'Kansas' imagines Truman Capote-Harper Lee rift". USA Today. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
Jump up ^ "Arthur Radley (Boo) in To Kill a Mockingbird".
Jump up ^ Lee, Harper (1960). To Kill a Mockingbird. United States of America: Warner Books. p. 81.
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