In writing a monologue, I have to pretend to be a character from To Kill a Mockingbird and use I and we, but I would like to know which tense to...

The tense you use is totally up to your teacher, but if I
were given a choice, I would use the present tense. Writing in present tense keeps the
written material flowing with a sense that it is happening right now. Every time one
reads a literary work, it is important to think of the story as occurring in the
present. It keeps the literary work fresh and it makes the material much more meaningful
or relevant.

Remember to write about literature in present
tense because:

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...you are currently reading or thinking about
it. Every time you open a book it seems as though the events are currently happening;
every time you read an essay it is as though you are currently speaking to the
writer.

Of course, if one is
writing about an historical event, one must write in past tense. Most importanly,
whatever tense one begins writing in is the tense that one must use throughout the
written material. If the writer switches back and forth form present to past tense, it
can be confusing for the reader.