Who was the “Mr. Jingle” in “To Kill a Mockingbird”?

Alfred Jingle in 'The Pickwick Papers'

Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird” is like many novels in that a close reading of the book will lead you down some rabbit holes that you wouldn’t expect.

I was reading some of the book the other day, and one mysterious line in Chapter 18 caught my eye and left me scratching my head over its exact meaning. Fans of the book will remember that Chapter 18 contains the dramatic scene in which attorney Atticus Finch is questioning teenager Mayella Ewell in front of a crowded courtroom.

Early in this scene, Atticus asks Mayella a series of questions about her background. Mayella testifies that she’s 19 years old, that she’s the oldest of eight children and that her mother had been dead for some time. Atticus then asks if Mayella had ever gone to school, and her reply is that she can “read’n’write good as Papa yonder.”

While all of this is going on, eight-year-old Scout Finch is watching from the balcony with her brother, Jem, and their friend, Dill. When Mayella tells the court that she can read and write as good as her father, Bob Ewell, Scout makes the following observation – “Mayella sounded like a Mr. Jingle in a book I had been reading.”

Many readers probably move past this off-hand remark without much thought, but a deep reading of the sentence will lead to many questions. Who is the Mr. Jingle that Scout’s referring to? He’s obviously a character in a book that an eight-year-old could read, but what book could this be?

A close reading of “To Kill a Mockingbird” revels many references to other books. Some of these references specifically mention book titles, while others do not. After a little research, I believe that the Mr. Jingle mention in “To Kill a Mockingbird” is a reference to Alfred Jingle, a character in Charles Dickens’ 1837 novel, “The Pickwick Papers.”

I have to admit that I’ve never read “The Pickwick Papers,” but I was able to dig up a little information on the fictional Alfred Jingle. Sources say that Jingle is an actor and trickster who is known for telling bizarre stories. He is also known for his “distinctive mangling of English syntax,” which is probably what brings him to mind when Scout hears Mayella’s testimony.

I also read that Orson Welles played Mr. Jingle in a 1938 radio broadcast production of “The Pickwick Papers.” My first thought was that Scout may have also heard this radio broadcast, but this wouldn’t have been possible. Tom Robinson’s trial took place in the summer of 1935, which would have been about three years before the radio broadcast was aired.

There were many print editions of “The Pickwick Papers” in circulation in 1935, including a hardcover edition published that year by Dodd, Mead & Co. That illustrated book was 637 pages long, and with a little imagination you can picture Scout totting this hefty volume around. Copies of this particular book are still in circulation today, and I found one being sold online for around $60.

In the end, if anyone in the reading audience has any additional information to add or has a different theory about Scout’s Mr. Jingle remark, let me hear from you at news@monroejournal.com.