Maycomb is overall a friendly town. People enjoy visiting their neighbors, sitting on their porches in the evening, and going to church on Sundays. The Radley family is different. They do not do any of these things anymore. Atticus tells Scout that they used to be different, a long time ago. Over time, the Radley family becomes more and more reclusive:
[The Radley family] kept to themselves, a predilection unforgivable in Maycomb. They did not go to church, Maycomb's principal recreation, but worshiped at home; Mrs. Radley seldom if ever crossed the street for a mid-morning coffee break with her neighbors, and certainly never joined a missionary circle (To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 1).
Members of the Radley family are rarely seen leaving their house. They are seldom seen around town. This is one of the reasons why bizarre rumors are able to circulate about Boo Radley. No one in town sees Boo out and about. They imagine what has happened to him. The make up stories to explain his reclusiveness.
Sundays in Maycomb are an especially social time. After church, people visit and socialize. In the midst of this, "the shutters and doors of the Radley house [are] closed on Sundays, another thing alien to Maycomb's ways: closed doors meant illness and cold weather only.... [and] to climb the Radley front steps and call, 'He-y,' of a Sunday afternoon [is] something their neighbors never did."
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