Sheriff Campbell

Sheriff Campbell is the protagonist of the story. He is a man of social standing and wealth, and he is respected in his community. The sheriff is strongly ruled by his sense of duty; it leads him to defend the prisoner from the mob, even at a threat to his own life; it leads him to refuse to allow Tom to escape, even when he believes Tom is innocent. Through the conversation between the sheriff and the prisoner— the father and son—more is revealed about the sheriff's background and personality than had been previously. The reader learns that the sheriff is a passionate, bullheaded man, and also that despite his seeming morality in defending the prisoner, he has acted in ways that might seem unacceptable and surprising; that is, in selling his son and the boy's black mother instead of securing his son's freedom...