To Kill a Mockingird

In Harper Lee's novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, she uses minor characters to help along the main storyline. The best examples of this are Miss Maudie, Tom Robinson, and Heck Tate. Each one of these characters further complicate the story and make it much more entertaining for the reader. Each minor character impacts at least one of the main characters lives in an extraordinary way.

First off, the most important and influential minor character is Tom Robinson. He is the whole reason Atticus is faced with an important decision involving race and discrimination. Just because he is African American, people think that he could have raped a girl even though he is not left-handed. His case of complete innocence and being proven guilty influences Jem greatly. Just him being he teaches Jem a very important lesson about racism and judgment. Tom, for this reason, is a very important minor character.

Next, Miss Maudie is also a very important minor character. Since Scout has no mother because she died, she really doesn't have a female to look up to and go to advice for. However, her neighbor, Miss Maudie sort of fills in the mother role for her. Whenever Scout needs womanly advice, she can go to Miss Maudie and she will gratefully help her. Miss Maudie is a mother figure for both children and a companion for Atticus as well, but she is mostly there to help out Scout in times of need. This makes it so that without Maudie, Scout would be a totally different person.

Lastly, Heck Tate is a very important character in To Kill a Mockingbird. He not only is a law enforcement officer, but is also one of Atticus' friends and followers. He impacts Atticus in more than one way, however the most memorable is when he first suggests to Atticus that he take the Tom Robinson case. This is a major turning point in the story and deeply affects the rest of the following events in the story line. Also, after Bob Ewell attempts to injure both Scout and Jem, Tate is a firm believer in justice and suggests to Atticus that he leave the Boo Radley killing on the down low. He only wants what is best for everyone and that is exactly what he does by doing that. Without him, the town of Maycomb would be in a worse condition than they already were.

These characters really add depth to the novel in a mainly positive way. Yes, there is conflict with them, but every character has conflict. Overall, if Lee did not input these characters