Sunday, January 10, 2010

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, who is Boo Radley? Why is he important to the story?

Boo Radley's real name is Arthur Radley. He lives in a house a couple of doors down from the Finches and he never comes out of it. He is taken care of by his parents, until they pass away; then, his brother Nathan Radley moves in to take their place. He probably suffers from a mental illness or a mental disability, but no one is quite sure. Rumors and lies spread about him all over Maycomb to the point that children believe they will die if they eat nuts from his yard. Some adults believe that he comes out at night to do mischievous deeds or to peek into people's windows. He is significant to the story because he represents a mockingbird--someone who is innocent and harmless, but may receive ill treatment because of these traits.


The mystery that surrounds Boo Radley is a vehicle that drives some people to show their true character. For example, Miss Stephanie Crawford loves to gossip and tells Jem everything there is to know about Boo Radley simply to make herself seem important. How people treat Boo, therefore, determines what kind of values and beliefs they have about humanity. 


Scout and Jem are influenced by Boo Radley's story and existence because at first, they are scared of him and they believe the superstitions surrounding him. Eventually, though, he is key to their development as kind and tolerant people because they learn to move past the rumors and superstitions to see who the man is as a person and a friend. For instance, Boo Radley extends a hand of friendship by leaving Jem and Scout little gifts in a knothole in his tree. He even mends Jem's pants when they get caught in his fence. Once Jem catches on that Boo Radley is kind, he also realizes that Boo isn't the boogeyman that Maycomb makes him out to be. Jem's revelation is vocalized on the night of Miss Maudie's house fire. When Scout comes home with a strange blanket around her shoulders, Jem declares that it must be from Boo Radley.



". . . Atticus, I swear to God he ain't ever harmed us, he ain't ever hurt us, he coulda cut my throat from ear to ear that night but he tried to mend my pants instead . . . he ain't ever hurt us" (72).



Just like mockingbirds don't hurt or pester anyone, Boo Radley doesn't either. People should respect his name by not gossiping about him or spreading superstitious tales. In fact, Boo Radley is such a great guy, he saves the children's lives from Bob Ewell's knife attack on Halloween night. It turns out that the children learn not to judge a book by its cover because things aren't usually as they seem.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thomas Jefferson's election in 1800 is sometimes called the Revolution of 1800. Why could it be described in this way?

Thomas Jefferson’s election in 1800 can be called the “Revolution of 1800” because it was the first time in America’s short history that pow...