Boo Radley Figurative Language

In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the small-mindedness of the Maycomb community hiders Maycomb people to truly understand each other. Arthur Radley, also known as Boo, is assigned with negative characteristics without validation by the Maycomb community. As the story unfolds, Scout, the narrator, starts to know more about Boo Radley, Boo transforms from a mysterious and fearful person to the most heroic and sympathetic character in the novel. Scout experiences that hatred and biased will sully her knowledge of human goodness. Lee uses first person narrative in the novel, which created a limited view of the events in the story. The story begins when Scout is five and ends when she is eight, this gives reader a feeling that we are growing up with Scout. Most of the time, we get descriptions of events from Scout’s point of view, sense of naivety is evoked as we get to experience just as Scout does. Lee’s figurative language shows how Scout, as a child, sees the world. For example, “Calpurnia was something else again. She
was all angles and bones; she was near-sighted; she squinted; her hand was wide as a bed slat and twice as hard.”, in this case, how Scout sees Calpurnia. The advantages of having both child’s eye view and adult commentary are they can work as a complement. Scout’s innocence highlights social prejudice, injustice and racism, we see events through her perspective rather than the coloured eyes of the Maycomb community. However, the shortcomings of two perspectives are adult Scout cannot recall her memories or details precisely, this makes reader doubts the reliability of the narrator. The Maycomb community depicts Boo Radley as a completely different person because they know too little about him. In the beginning, the existence of Boo is questionable as “People said he existed, but Jem and I had never seen him.” Boo is described to be a mysterious person, who is tall, with bloodstained hands, long jagged scar across his face, yellow teeth and popped out eyes. He is so fearful that townspeople do not dare to walk near the Radleys house. Even a Negro, who is supposed to be strong and brave, has to boost his confidence by whistling as he cut across to the sidewalk opposite to the Radley Place. Lee further describes Boo as a horrible character by exaggerating “Radley pecans would kill you.” It is clear that townspeople make up stories of Boo Radley and false assumptions are spread by rumours and gossips. In reality, Boo Radley is lonely and kind.
Long term isolation and Boo’s reclusive personality causes him to have no friends. Boo tries to reach out to the children by leaving them gifts in the knothole of a tree for them to discover. Obviously, Boo treasures the gifts a lot. Even though 2 Indian-head pennies are worth a fortune, he is still willing to give them to the children because he wants them to be fascinated by the gifts just as he does. Boo shows kindness to the children when Jem and Scout are watching Miss Maudie’s house go up in flames. As mentioned in the story, “'Thank who?' I (Scout) asked. 'Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn't know it when he put the blanket around you.'” Boo is courageous and protective, he saves Jem and Scout from being killed by Bob Ewell. Above incidents proves Boo Radley, after all, is not a harmful person described by Maycomb people, in fact he is caring and
friendly. Boo Radley asks Scout the first and only question in the entire story, “Will you take me home?” This is an important quote because it shows that Boo needs a company, he is afraid of walking home alone. He is cautious about something, most likely the Maycomb community. Although he stays inside the house most of the time, he is not oblivious of what people gossip about him. When Scout turns to leave the Radleys house, she sees her familiar neighborhood from Boo’s perspective. She finally gets to know what the events might have looked like to Boo, he is a guardian angel who looks after them throughout the years. What Atticus says is right you never really understand a person until you consider things form his point of view … Until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." (35)
As the story progresses, children know more about Boo, “Scout, I think I'm beginning to understand something. I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time... it's because he wants to stay inside." Having seen the horrible things Maycomb people can do, isolation and free from the mess of humanity seems to be a wise choice. Boo Radley symbolizes the Mockingbird, “Who don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us”, he resembles innocence and harmless. Lee portrays Boo as from a ‘malevolent phantom’, misjudgments and superstitions to a sympathetic human illustrating the beauty of humanity.