Boo Radley Imagery

Atticus, the father of Jem and Scout, was right when he said, ¨you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.¨ Scout realizes that Boo Radley is not who everyone rumors him out to be. Scout learns that you need to spend time with a person to find out who he truly is. She learns this after walking Boo Radley home after the disturbing experience the Finch kids had been in. Scout finally understood what life looked like from Boo Radley's perspective when she is standing with him on his front porch. Also, when Scout talks to Atticus at the end of the book he shows her how she has turned into a wonderful young lady. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee develops the theme that believing rumors will lead you to false assumptions unless you have walked in that person's shoes through imagery, characterization, and point of view.

For example, Harper Lee uses imagery to develop the theme that believing rumors will lead you to false assumptions unless you have walked in that person's shoes. For example, on page 372, while Boo Radley and Scout are walking back to Boo’s house Scout thinks to himself that, “if Miss Stephanie Crawford was watching from her upstairs window, she would see Arthur Radley escorting me down the sidewalk, as any gentleman would.” In this quote, Harper Lee uses imagery to show Boo Radley walking Scout down

the sidewalk like a gentlemen would. This shows that Miss Stephanie Crawford would always judge Boo Radley without getting to know him and by just believing the rumors. If she saw Boo escorting Scout down the sidewalk she would see that Boo is not a monster after all. After the walk to Boo’s house, Scout thinks back to all of the stuff they took from the tree that Boo gave them, “He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch, a chain, a pair of good luck pennies, and our lives” (373). This is shown through imagery as Scout thinks about all the items him and Jem have received from Boo Radley yet they never gave him anything in return. This made Scout feel upset that they could not give anything back to Boo with all of the nice things he has done. Harper Lee uses imagery to portray the theme that believing rumors will lead you to false assumptions unless you have walked in that person’s shoes.

In addition, Harper Lee uses characterization to develop the theme that believing rumors will lead you to false assumptions unless you have walked in that person's shoes. The words Scout uses to describe Boo when talking to Atticus and concludes the novel, “When they finally saw him, why he hadn’t done any of those things . . . Atticus, he was real nice. . . .”(376). The book that Atticus is reading to Scout as she falls asleep, The Gray Ghost, has a character that is wrongly accused of a crime and his innocence is revealed when he is finally caught. The book is a subtle reminder of innocence and connects to Boo Radley as he was looked at as a monster and rumored to be worse than he truly was. Scout tells Atticus that Boo Radley was “real nice” and Atticus shows love towards Scout as he realizes that she has turned into an amazing and strong young women. Atticus is a loving parent towards his children, Jem and Scout, and this is emphasized in this scene. Additionally, Harper Lee uses characterization to develop the theme that believing rumors will lead to false assumptions unless you have walked in that person’s shoes. When Boo, Mr. Tate and Atticus were sitting on the front porch, talking over the events of that night, Boo asked Scout, “Will you take me home? He almost whispered it, in the voice of a child afraid of the dark” (372). This shows that the people of Maycomb County always assume that Boo Radley was a monster but in reality, Boo Radley has a voice that is as quiet as a boy afraid of the dark. Harper Lee uses characterization to portray the theme that believing rumors will lead you to false assumptions unless you have walked in that person’s shoes.

At last, Harper Lee uses point of view to develop the theme that believing rumors will lead you to false assumptions unless you have walked in that person's shoes. Scout is working on thinking about the world through Boo Radley’s perspective. She thinks “Fall, and his children trotted to and fro around the corner, the day’s woes and triumphs on their faces. They stopped at an oak tree, delighted, puzzled, apprehensive. Winter, and his children shivered at the front gate, silhouetted against a blazing house. Winter, and a man walked into the street, dropped his glasses, and shot a dog. Summer, and he watched his children’s heart break. Autumn again, and Boo’s children needed him” (374). This passage uses point of you to show that after Scout walked him home she stands on his front porch and thinks back on every event and how they might have looked to Boo. Scout realizes that Boo has been silently protecting and showing love towards her and Jem all along. In addition, when Scout tells Atticus that Boo is really nice, he says, “most people are, Scout, when you finally see them” (376). Harper Lee uses point of view to show that Scout’s intentions towards Boo have changed and developed into love towards him. The progress of Scout’s ability to assume another person's perspective understandingly is the peak of her coming of age and development as a character. Harper Lee uses point of view to portray the theme that believing rumors will lead you to false assumptions unless you have walked in that person’s shoes.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee develops the theme that believing rumors will lead you to false assumptions unless you have walked in that person’s shoes through imagery, characterization, and point of view.

At the end of the book, Scout learns to look at life through others perspective before judging them and believing the rumors. Scout succeeds to understand Boo Radley's perspective and fulfills atticus’s advice that ¨you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.¨ Despite all of the rumors, Scout learns to assume another person's perspective before jumping to

conclusions.