Mr. Zameroski
Honors English 2
1 November 2011
To Kill A Mockingbird Essay A mother of a gay student that faced bullying stated in an article, that anyone who has “‘’hate in their hearts’” should accept people with differences because they are “‘going to be who they are’” (James, Boy Assaults Gay Student as Cellphone Captures Attack). In a perfect society, everyone would accept each other and not judge others based on appearance or social status. However, today many people still face the problem of acceptance. Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, illustrates how others can learn to be accepting from the characters in the novel. Scout leaves her naïve childhood behind and changes to into an accepting young adult through with the help of Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Atticus.
One of the characters in To Kill A Mockingbird that helps Scout to become an accepting young adult is Boo Radley. At the beginning of the novel, Scout believes the vicious rumors about Boo Radley such as his “‘din[ing] on raw squirrels and any cats he [can] catch’” (Lee 55). neighborhood’s rumors that Boo Radley is a vicious and scary monster, when Jem is describing Boo’s appearance to Dill. He explains that Boo Radley’s physical appearance is six and a half feet tall, yellow and rotten teeth, popping eyes, and “‘a long jagged scar that [runs] across his face’” (Lee 13). Also, the children believe that Boo “‘dine[s] on raw squirrels and any cats he [can] catch’” (Lee 13). Scout imagines hearing “[scratching] feet on gravel [which is] Boo Radley seeking revenge” and his “insane fingers picking the wire to pieces” (Lee 55). Boo Radley’s reputation in the neighborhood of Maycomb is a horrible one, and Scout at first, believes the rumors even though she has never met Boo Radley; she fears him because she never met Boo and does not know him personally. However later on, Scout begins to learn little bits of facts about Boo Radley, after receiving surprises from him. One afternoon,