Boo’s heroic actions serve as a sort of life lesson for the
Boo’s heroic actions serve as a sort of life lesson for the
The second example of a mockingbird is Boo Radley. Boo is a social outcast who is deemed evil from rumours that are spread about him. To begin, the town attacks Boo’s personal identity. When Scout explains all she knows about Boo, she is convinced that “inside the house [lives] a malevolent phantom” (13). Scout has never met Boo but she victimizes him by believing the rumours and calling him evil. Moreover, Boo is slowly attempting to befriend Jem and Scout. Boo leaves small presents for the children in a knothole, the first gift he leaves is gum (38). Boo wants to be in contact with other people but he has been in his house for so many years he does not want to leave what is familiar to him so he communicates the only way he knows how. Furthermore,…
From the first chapter, Lee creates mystery with Boo. She doesn’t explicitly introduce him as a main character. She uses the words and actions of others to build interest in Boo and creates a setting for Jem to see him as a human being instead of a “malevolent phantom”.…
Mr. Arthur “Boo” Radley, a neighbor to Jem and Scout, has never been viewed correctly by everyone. Throughout the book, his neighbors imagined him as cannibalistic, mysterious, and monstrous man, however the growth of Jem and Scout result in a change of perspective. After the kids realized Boo had been caring for them by returning clothes, warming them by giving a blanket, and saving them from being killed, Boo Radley’s reputation altered greatly through the eyes of children and families in Maycomb.…
The author created Arthur “Boo” Radley and made Scout, the narrator, fear him. Boo was always a mysterious character throughout the novel. He was never seen and was often times feared by the neighborhood children. They would run by the Radley house every day in hopes to make it past without Boo coming out to get them. Boo was the character that was always a mystery, but in the end, surprised everyone.…
While people see failure as something to look down upon, some choose to realize that without it, no one would mature or come of age. In the beginning of To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout starts out as a normal little girl learning from stories spread throughout Maycomb. But soon, school starts and it starts to broaden her knowledge both in education and opinions. Scout later learns control over her attitude, taking a huge step in the coming of age process. She next shows bravery, again showing yet another leap in maturity. Then, when a stressing trial comes around and is put into Atticus’s hands, Scout is opened to bigger things such as government, racial problems, and the judicial system. Final, Boo Radley changes Scouts…
In the novel, Boo Radley is a victim of prejudice. Boo Radley is not accepted nor does he fit into Maycomb society because he is considered different from the others. He is not normal according to Maycomb civilians and therefore he is punished socially by a community that is very judgmental and biased. Boo does not act like a normal person and his actions are mysterious and abnormal. One day Boo was cutting the newspaper with scissors, and when his father passed "Boo drove the scissors into his parent's leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities" (12). Boo just sat there after stabbing his father. He did not apologize or feel regret for his actions. This event became a topic for gossip throughout Maycomb giving Boo the malicious reputation he has to live with. Boo Radley isolates himself from the people of Maycomb. He stays inside his home all day and nobody ever sees him. He stays inside his home because he knows that his society will ridicule him and will not allow him to let go of his past errors.…
He is also misrepresented by the town, they never see much of him because his father locked him away because he thought Boo brought shame and failure to the family, without ever seeing Boo the townspeople try to make assumptions about his appearance, they were usually really bad. Boo spends most of his time in the house during the day, but at night he goes around town. But besides all the negative things about him he has a nicer side, one night Jem and Scout we were walking to a costume party and Bob Ewell was following them and was up to no good. He planned to murder the finches in woods, but they started to run and Boo came out and saw them running and turned the knife back on Bob Ewell and killed him. Atticus had thought that Jem killed him in self defense but Sheriff Tate knows that Boo Radley did it, “I’m not a very good man, sir, but I am sheriff of Maycomb County. Lived in this town all my life an‘ I’m goin’ on forty-three years old. Know everything that’s happened here since before I was born. There’s a black boy dead for no reason, and the man responsible for it’s dead. Let the dead bury the dead this time, Mr. Finch. Let the dead bury the dead...I never heard tell that it’s against the law for a citizen to do his utmost to prevent a crime from being committed, which is exactly what he did, but maybe you’ll say it’s my duty to tell the town all about it and…
Many assert that Atticus Finch is the hero in the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” by, “Harper Lee,” but I respectfully disagree with that and believe the true hero is Boo Radley. Throughout the book, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Boo Radley was secretive and reticent, although, he had multiple encounters of being heroic. Boo Radley additionally, is somebody portrayed as a mad man. Scout, Jem, and Dill was told that Boo (allegedly), defiantly stuck scissors into the leg of his repressive father. When the children heard about that, they reluctantly tried to find out more information about Boo. By the end of the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Boo is distinguished more as a hero to the children, rather than a shadow of a dreadful person. I conceive…
Boo Radley is associated with a mockingbird, showing how he is an innocent, kind-hearted person, despite the rumors about him. Mr. Tate and Scout states that it would be wrong— even a sin, which would tie into when Atticus told Jem and Scout that “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (119)— to tell the town of Maycomb that Boo Radley had killed a man (Bob Ewell), when it was only done in defense of Scout and Jem and would cause a lot of trouble for Boo. Boo would then be the center of attention in Maycomb, which is something that he does not want, and the rest of the Ewells may even attack Boo, for killing their father.…
The symbolism of the mockingbird relates to Boo Radley because he is of an innocent nature. Such as, the mockingbird which does not feast on things that it shouldn't neither does it nest where it does not belong. Instead, all it does is create marvelous music for people to enjoy. Similarly, as the mockingbird is of an innocent nature so is Boo Radley because he never wished harm to befall anyone. In fact, his only act of violence was accidental. Yet people found it in their hearts to accuse him of something he wasn’t guilty of.…
One of the most important lessons Atticus teaches his children is that you can’t judge someone until you’ve climb into their skin and lived the way they live. Several characters in the book have been judged by people without understanding how they’re living their lives or their day to day problems. Boo Radley, Mayella Ewell, And Atticus Finch are all faced by judgment just based on their actions without anyone caring about what caused those actions to take place. All anyone knew about Boo Radley is that he was a recluse, who rarely comes outside.…
Boo is misread because of his teenage actions that were years ago. Maybe Boo did some questionable things in the past, but everyone has actions that frowned upon. Macomb is a very judgmental town and Boo has been labeled as a threat to society. Rumors are spread around about Boo which symbolizes the innocence killed by society (Marshall 1). Mockingbirds are innocent creatures, but because of the rumors about them, people tend to kill them because they find them as a threat. Similar to the bird, Boo is misjudged by people who do not know the truth. Boo is innocent and like a mockingbird, he does not want that to be ruined so he stays inside because it is the only way to have that sort of feeling. Later in the book, Jem tells Scout that he thinks that Boo stays in his house because Boo knows that if he was to be seen in public he would be judged by Maycomb citizens (Lee 227). Like a mockingbird, Boo’s innocence has been crushed by society. People are too scared to accept what is right so they keep lying to themselves to feel better. As seen as a innocent, loving mockingbird by readers, Boo is misjudged and people are scared that he will harm them which symbolizes that innocent is crushed when you “kill a mockingbird.” Another way Boo resembles a mockingbird is by the way he “sings his tune” by giving the kids of Maycomb gifts showing his joyful…
What is courage? According to dictionary.com, courage is the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain etc., without fear; bravery. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, both Atticus and Boo Radley are both courageous through the challenges they are faced with. Both of these men are citizens of Maycomb and create change within their town. Although Atticus and Boo Radley are very different people, they prove to be similar through their acts of courage. Though their acts of courage are similar, they both generate change to different aspects of their lives. Both men change things through their acts of courage, but the changes are drastically different. Atticus’ courage is a long term change, and it will help Maycomb see African Americans as equals and not as inferiors. Boo’s change on their other hand, will be more of a lesson that teaches not to judge a book by its cover.…
In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch says to his children "As you grow older, you will see white men cheat black men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it – whenever a white man does that to a black man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that white man is trash." (Lee, p. 295) That statement is similar to what he says to his kids about killing a mockingbird. The mockingbird symbolizes discriminated black people. They are innocent and would almost never harm anyone just like the mockingbird. Boo Radley is also innocent and would never harm anyone therefore the mockingbird also symbolizes him. Boo never comes out because he does not want to face the prejudice and corruption of the county and to his knowledge, the rest of the world as Jem said “I think I’m beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in his house all this time . . . it’s because he wants to stay inside.” (Lee, p.304) With all of these examples of symbolism in the novel, one cannot help but think that there is more to it than originally…
Instead of letting Bob kill the kids, Boo Radley, who hasn’t been seen in public for years, saves the children in a brave, heroic act. The local sheriff, Heck Tate, decides that with Boo’s shyness it would be cruel to let him receive the press that comes with being a local hero, so he makes a false story where Bob Ewell tripped on his knife. Atticus refuses the idea immediately, but Scout agrees, explaining that if they do that to Boo “it’d sort of be like shootin’ a mockingbird” because Boo is shy and any attention would be a punishment. In the story Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are two characters who symbolize…