Boo Radley Evil

Samson Bennett TKAM Jenn The Real Monster
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird the main theme is not racism or that it focuses on the trial, but the book’s real main theme is how Scout grows up into a mature and decorous young woman from innocent child. Nothing in the novel is a better symbol of her development than Boo Radley’s character and how she views him. At the beginning of the book, Scout’s opinion on Boo Radley’s image and character is shrouded by myths and rumors that she hears from adults and children alike. He is like the not real monster in Scout’s closet. However, when she begins to see the ugly reality of people around her then she realizes the real monsters are the anger and hate and xenophobia living in those around
her. Her views of Boo at the start in comparison to her understanding of him by the end of the novel reflects her progression in her maturity and emotional intelligence.
At the start of the book, Scout views Boo Radley based on the rumors and myths she hears.
When Dill, Jem, and Scout discuss the rumors they hear about Boo, Jem gives a description of the mystery man: "Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained—if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time"(16). This description indicates that the children assign characteristics to Boo without validation; they want to see Boo not as their neighbor, but as scary, creepy monster, showing Scout's immaturity at the beginning of the novel. While Dill describes Dracula, he also says he is fascinated by Boo Radley. Then he tells a story he heard about Boo:"His father entered the room. As Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent’s leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities."(9). This rumor indicates that Scout has not credible sources, resulting in her judging a book by it´s cover and not it´s character. This also exemplifies lack of
empathy.
In the middle and end of To Kill a Mockingbird Scout starts to develop empathy. A quality evaluation of this is how she treats and views Boo Radley. In Chapter 7, Jem tells Scout that he went back for his pants, but instead of being in the tangle as he left them, they were neatly folded across the fence: “They had also been sewn. He had torn them when he tried to get through the fence. Jem told Scout that he person who did the sewing did not do a very good job. Jem said it looked all crooked. It wasn't sewn as a lady would sew it, but like he would have repaired them himself” (58). This demonstrates how Scout is starting to mature and feel for Boo because he didn’t do the best sewing job on Jem’s breechers, but he put in effort and she is grateful. In the final scene of the novel, after Heck Tate leaves, Scout and Atticus are discussing"Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?"(370). This demonstrates that Scout has empathy because she doesn’t want him to be thrust into the limelight. This also implies that Boo is a mockingbird because he is quiet and doesn’t do anything to harm anyone else just like a mockingbird.
At the beginning, Scout thinks the real monster is Boo Radley, however, as the novel progresses she begins to see that the real monsters are the abominable and racist people around her, a sign that she is starting to develop emotionally. As the novel progresses she begins to also see that Boo is a quiet and kind man and not the monster that he is portrayed as.