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One thing Scout and Jem learn are people and events aren't always the same as we believe. At the beginning of the book both Scout and Jem are afraid of Boo Radley. In the town Boo is referred to as a malevolent phantom and is feared by most children. The children make many quick judgments about Boo from the rumors they have heard. Dill who doesn’t even live in Maycomb has heard the rumors and has made a snap judgment about him. “I hope you've got it threw your head that he’ll kill us each and every one” (Lee 14). Dill doesn’t know or understand what happens Boo’s life. This is just the imagination of a seven year old running wild after hearing so many rumors. Because of all the rumors they have heard and believed the kids are afraid of Boo
First impressions of people are often lasting impressions, especially in the minds of children. Many times these impressions, aided by misunderstanding and prejudgment, cause unjust discrimination against an individual. To kill a Mockingbird depicts the themes of misunderstanding and prejudice that portray Arthur (Boo) Radley as a villain. Through the progressive revelation of Radley's character, the children realize that their negative impressions and fear of him were unfounded. Through gradual stages of change, from total misunderstanding of Boo, to a realization of an error in judgment, to a reevaluation followed by a change of heart, to a growing trust and acceptance of Boo, and finally to an appreciation of his true character, Jem's, Scout's, and Dill's impressions of Radley are dramatically altered.
It teaches them to not be prejudice and get to know a person before making a judgement. Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley, was frowned upon by many people in the Maycomb community. He was rumoured to have been locked in the basement by his father and older brother after an incident involving scissors. Though never seen stepping outside his house, he intrigues yet also frightens Scout, Jem and their friend Dill. After different events in the novel, the children come to find that Boo Radley is not intimidating, but a man who due to his father, is emotionally damaged. Miss Maudie, a neighbour of the Finch’s, explains to Scout that "Mockingbirds don 't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don 't eat up people 's gardens, don 't nest in corncribs, they don 't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That 's why it 's a sin to kill a mockingbird.” The mockingbird is a symbol for innocent people, who are judged for no reason. Like the mockingbird, Boo Radley has people prejudiced against him when he is an innocent man. By using this metaphor, the reader is able to understand the link between Boo Radley and the innocence and morality. As well as the mockingbird, he also symbolises goodness. By secretly watching over Scout and Jem, he protects them from later being attacked by Bob Ewell, a symbol of evil. When Jem and Scout begin to trust Boo, they are paying the highest tribute they could pay him.
I am reading, “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. In the first three chapters Jem and his younger sister Scout meet Dill, who stays over at his Aunt’s house in the summer. Dill becomes fascinated with the Finches neighbor; also know as the town creep Boo Radley. He is so interested in Boo because he allegedly killed his father and ever since never comes outside. In this journal, I will be predicting that the kids will not meet Boo.
After learning more about Boo and getting to know him they realize he is opposite of what they thought. Because Jem and Scout are influenced by other people’s opinions they are able to learn from their mistakes and develop a new perspective on people. In the beginning of the novel Jem and Scout believe Boo is a ghost until they get to see the real him. Everyone in Maycomb has a negative judgment of Boo, in the beginning Jem and Scout go along with it.
Have you ever wondered what it was like to be looked down upon by your entire town, no matter what you do, just because of rumors?
In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Atticus tells Jem and Scout to, "Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird," he is referring to the notion that a mockingbird is a harmless creature and does nothing but sing and bring happiness to the world. Harper Lee takes the title for her novel from this passage because the imagery of the mockingbird is analogous to the characters of both Boo Radley and Tom Robinson. These two characters are "harmless songbirds" who are sinfully destroyed.
In the case of Scout and Jem, they believed that Boo Radley, who is an outcast of Maycomb, possesses a horrific appearance, and that he is a savage, "he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained." However, as the story progresses, it is revealed that Boo is actually a kind-hearted person who has not done anybody wrong, but unfortunately, he was ruined by the hands of his family. Thus, Boo is an example of a mockingbird, as mentioned by Atticus. The disclosing of the character of Boo demonstrates Scout and Jem's loss of innocence. They can no longer see Boo as a mysterious threat in their life, instead they saw Boo as a person. "...he's crazy..but Atticus I swear to God he ain't ever harmed us, he coulda cut my throat...but he mend my pants instead..." In a way, Boo serves as a symbol of the transition of Scout and Jem's maturity, as the kids exhibit their ability to empathize with
They have many misconceptions of people, places, and concerts in Maycomb county. However as they are young and don't really have opinions themselves. They abide by those presented them. At the start of the novel Scout and Jem see Mr. Arthur Radley or "Boo", as a dangerous, crazy, and rather isolated man. Although never being in his presence or in association with him they always make assumptions about him. They constantly pestered his household and played games that mocked him, "..time to play Boo's big scene...steal the scissors...Jem would fake plunge into Dill's thigh..."(LEE40).They also had the misconception that Boo was kept inside forcefully by his family. Boo was also blamed for unresolved events. As time goes by they mature and start to develop more of an understanding of Boo, "..I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in his house all this time...he wants to stay inside"(LEE227). Jem develops an understanding as to why Boo Radley stays inside. It's not because his family forces him to stay inside. He realizes that when living in a town like Maycomb, there is an incredible amount of judgement and labeling that occurs. It becomes evident to him that Boo has no place and isn't welcomed into the society. Especially with having a stereotype "glued" to his identity. Scout then has an
Boo Radley is thought to be a malevolent, soulless, deceitful person, but he proves to be a caring, good-natured person. In Chapter 1, Jem offers his perception of Boo Radley to Scout and Dill: " ‘Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained—if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time’ " (16). Jem perceives Boo Radley as being a “monster” instead of being a man. Jem comes to this conclusion despite having never even seen Boo Radley in person. Jem’s understanding of Boo Radley is based on the rumors that he has heard about him. In Chapter 8, after the fire at Miss Maudie’s house, Scout notices that she was wrapped in a blanket that she did not have with she left the house. Scout asks Atticus who was the person that put the blanket around her. Atticus tells Scout, "Boo Radley. You were so busy watching the fire you didn't know it when he...
...l along Boo just wanted to have someone to call a friend because of suffering from lonesome. Even though he may have been involved in the fires and other acts he did in Maycomb he was not like what anyone said a bout being a nocturnal monster or a heartless person. Boo was a normal human being living in his own world for the longest time till he broke out of his shell when Scout and him met on Halloween night. The Change that happens in the Radley house is dramatic Boo goes for being the towns "night phantom" to being a Hero in the end. Lastly how did Scout have the courage to walk up to the Radley's porch was because Scout believed Boo to be a big hero for what he had done. Another reason Scout had walked with Boo home was to go see Jem who was there from when Boo carried him from the fight that night back home. Scout saw Boo as a positive at the end of the story.
Boo Radley, also known as Arthur Radley, is the scary, evil creature that lives in the creepy old house down the street from Jem and Scout, and is misjudged at first. Jem and Scout, two main characters, first see Boo as some sort of scary monster. Jem described him in the first chapter as “...six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks...” and said “...he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained- if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off...” Jem also mentioned Boo had a “...long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time.” Scout and Jem also call Boo a “...malevolent phantom...” As if that isn't bad enough, the kids hear and tell horrible stories about Boo. One is of how he stabbed his dad with a pair of scissors; another tells how he was locked up in the courthouse basement. Even with such a grisly initial perception at the beginning of...
In particular, Boo Radley’s tenderness towards Jem demonstrates how he was frightened as he approached Jem and how he had the urge for human contact but resisted from it due to the horrible image the neighborhood had given him. Once reassured by Scout that Jem was in fact sleeping and will not care if he touches him, “You can pet him, Mr. Arthur he’s asleep . . . Boo’s hand hovered over Jem’s head . . . His hand came down lightly on Jem’s hair” (372). The scene of Boo Radley touching Jem, delicately with kindness juxtaposes his image from what the neighborhood he resides in thinks. The characterization of Boo is completely changed after we see an innocence from him as he is not the monster everyone thought he was. Before Boo Radley had come out of the house, he was seen to the neighborhood as a ruthless, monster who harmed people, only to learn how afraid he was of human contact. As Scout looks through his perspective of this incident, she finds someone terrified of being around due to the unreal rumors that circulate in the
The story takes place in a little town over the time span of three years (1933-35) during the Great Depression in the fictional “tried old town” of Maycomb, Alabama. It focuses on six-year-old Jean Louise Finch, nicknamed Scout, who lives with her older brother, Jeremy, nicknamed Jem, and their widowed father, Atticus, a middle-aged lawyer. Jem, Scout and their friend Dill are frightened of, and fascinated by, their neighbor, a reclusive man named Arthur Radley, know as Boo. Most adults of Maycomb are hesitant to talk of this man and very few people ever see him. The children's imaginations run wild as they feed each other rumors about Boo’s appearance and reasons for his hiding. After two summers of friendship, Dill, Scout, and Jem find that
Think you know Boo Radley? Not many people do. Boo Radley is a shy, mysterious character from Harper Lee’s: To Kill a Mockingbird. Throughout the book, Boo is thought of as a monster within the book’s setting of Maycomb County. He’s also known to be mentally ill and violent due to many stories about his past. However, I believe he’s just misunderstood. Boo Radley is actually a caring and courageous human being. Examples that benefit this idea include: Boo Radley giving gifts to Scout and Jem and saving Scout and Jem from Bob Ewell. Furthermore, throughout To Kill a Mockingbird; Boo Radley is shown to be misunderstood, caring, and courageous.
When Jem is taught by Atticus what true bravery is, Jem struggled to understand and realize that Mrs.Dubose was a great lady, even after everything she had said to Atticus. Mrs.Dubose fighting her morphine addiction also taught Jem that it’s important trying even if you know you can’t win, which translates directly into why Atticus defended Tom Robinson, even though Atticus knew they couldn’t win the trial. Understanding why Boo Radley never comes out of the house is something Jem struggles with for a very long time, showing that he and the other children don’t yet fully understand that people live different lives than their own, and that they must respect other’s ways of living. Since Jem’s and Scout’s lives are so closely intertwined Jem has a great amount of control and influence over Scout’s lifestyle. Jem often feels like he is superior to Scout and tell her things like “It’s time you started bein‘