Miss Maudie Atkinson, on the other hand, is the opposite of Aunt Alexandra. She is kind, witty and the cheerful neighbour of the Finches. She makes the strongest impression on Scout because she is quite boyish and active too, indicated by how she is always gardening. She admires Atticus for defending Tom Robinson and treats Jem and Scout as if as they were adults rather than patronising them like rest of Maycomb does. She upholds a strong moral sense and helps the children get a perspective on Tom Robinson’s trial. Maudie is one of the white citizens in the town that stands up for Tom and she is not afraid to disagree with the town’s general views. When Maudie's house burns down, she shows a tremendous strength and resilience. Maudie, like Atticus, has a strong sense of character; she is just more outspoken. By comparing and contrasting the two motherly figures in Scout’s life, Harper Lee is making the point that there was a wide variety of people in both black and white communities. There were more traditional people as well as more liberal minded people.
Grace Merriweather is another example of the white racist people in Maycomb. At first she seems like a good, religious person and is described as the “most devout in Maycomb”. She pretends to care about other people and tribes in Africa like the Mrunas however she is a racist and refers to black people as “darkies”.
Heck Tate is the sheriff of Maycomb, who ultimately turns out to be honest and upstanding. Although he might not be as racist as the rest of the town, he wouldn’t go out of his way to help a black man. He is still a decent man who tries to protect the innocent from danger. The benefit of Heck is so that at the end of the book when Boo kills Bob Ewell, Heck is willing to lie to save the innocence of Boo than the much worse Bob Ewell.
Mr Underwood is the town's newspaper's editor. When Atticus is approached by the Lynch mob, he watches over Atticus with a shotgun from his window in order to assure his safety. He is also the person who tells Atticus that his children have been sitting in the balcony during the trial. In the newspaper, he writes that it is a sin to kill a disabled person after Tom is killed. Although he “doesn't let a coloured person near him”, he strongly believes in justice for all people.
A farming family, the Cunningham’s occupy a lower position in Maycomb's hierachy. Honest and hard working, Walter Cunningham and his son are respectable community members who represent the ability in everyone to understand right from wrong despite ignorance and prejudice. He is moved by Scout's words when she tries to break the Lynch mob, and as a result he leads the rest of the men in going home.
Dolphus Raymond is a white man who chose to marry a black woman and have "mixed" children. He pretends to be a drunk so that the townspeople will have a way to more comfortably explain his behaviour and life choices. People believe that alcoholism is why he lives the way he does rather than face the fact that he lives with coloured people because he wants to.
Mr. Link Deas owns the cotton fields that Tom Robinson worked in. He stood up in court after Atticus questioned Tom, and insisted that Tom was a good man who'd worked for him for eight years and never caused “a speck o’ trouble”. When Bob Ewell starts threatening Helen after the trial, Mr. Deas fiercely defends her and threatens several times to have Mr. Ewell arrested if he keeps bothering her.
All these different characters that Lee uses, contributes to the book being more believable. It shows the variation of people in all communities and how different people react in similar situations.
