Boo's (Arthur Radley’s) Diary

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Dear diary, things have been awful different 'round here lately with them Finch kids running amuck. I can see them playin' outside when I sit by the window. There's something about them... Maybe they remind me of myself when I was young. The other day the older one, Jem I think his name is? Anyway The batch of them came around here the other day and Jem came right up to touch the house. I know they think I'm a monster or some sort, but I just wanna keep 'em safe. My pa here ain't the kind of man to take kindly to curious little ones creeping 'round here, no, he wouldn't like that at all. And then there's the girl, Scout I've heard 'em call her. They're a nice distraction if they ain't nothing else. It's been a right long time since I've been around other people, seeing them takes my mind off all the other stuff, all the memories. They're just so tiny, so innocent. The don't know all the bad stuff 'bout life, and somehow I don't want 'em to. They're proper children, and I wanna keep them that way. They're the only hope, the only light I've seen in an awful long time... And like any light that ya might have in the dark, I ain't gonna let it die out. That's just they way they are when they're young, all innocent and unknowing of the world and it's evil... I think of 'em as lil candles, flickering in wind, unknowing of danger.
Dear Diary, Maycomb is in uproar. You know I’m not the type of fella to be knowin’ bout the latest gossip, but even I've heard it. I think it was Stephanie Crawford i heard, ‘least thats what the person with ‘er called her. She seems like a right gossip. Anyhow I heard her talkin’ bout some upset bout a trial. She said it twas a black man accused of rape by Ewell’s gal Mayella. She also said the black man, To...

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...ittle candles. Today I held Jem in my arms. Today I held Scout's little hand. Today I showed myself. I was not hiding in the shadows listening to people chatter about the terrible monster they thought I was. But today I emerged as a real, person, not a monster. They're awestruck, their little game is over. It felt good to have someone see the real me, to have someone call me by my real name. Not Boo Radley, but Arthur Radley, not a nickname created with fear, but the name i was given when i was just a baby. Always I was the quiet neighbor who no one knew but everyone was scared of. Now Scout knows me. Jem will know me from Scout. Maybe the neighborhood will get new rumors, ones more exciting. More accurate. Maybe now people will realize that I'm no different than them, I'm just another person trying to figure himself out. Today was the day i will cherish forever.

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