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Innocence in american literature
Character analysis to kill a mockingbird
Scout to kill a mockingbird character analysis
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In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the setting of the book is placed in a Southern town after the great depression. The title refers to an innocent, nice, respectful person, or creature that is being agonized, and Atticus says, “Remember, it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird,” which means killing something innocent isn’t the right thing to do. In this novel, the mockingbird is a symbol for Boo Radley. The symbol of the mockingbird supports the theme, “People often distrust what they do not understand,” since people never seen or heard from Boo, they made rumors about him and made him out to be a bad person. Boo Radley is the character that fits the symbol to be a mockingbird. When Jem went back for his pants, he told Scout …show more content…
that “they were folded across the fence …. like they were expecting me. They’d been sewed up.” It was to believe that Boo Radley was the one that fixed Jem’s pants, being commendable. According to Atticus, one day when he caught Dill, Scout, and Jem near the Radley’s, they were tormenting him. This shows that people picked at him and treated him wrong. Many people make up things about good people because they don’t know the truth and they go off of what they heard. The symbol of the mockingbird, Boo Radley, does support the theme, “People often distrust what they do not understand.” Jem said, I don’t think he’s still there. He died years ago and they stuffed him up the chimney,” Boo’s neighbors and people in Maycomb made rumors about him without knowing the truth, and to the all of them he was done for. According to Miss Stephanie, “Boo was sitting in the living room cutting items. As Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities.” She didn’t actually understand or know what really happened, so she made something up. These people also never really trusted the Radley’s, or understood their actions of what little bit they did see. This theme is also supportive because the children and adults were afraid to go near the Radley’s house.
You hardly ever seen anyone get close to the Radley gate and the children stayed as far away as they could, but after accidentally rolling a tire into the Radley gate, when trying to get Jem to retrieve it Scout exclaimed, “Go on inside, it’s not that far.” Jem was panic-stricken and seem to be walking on cold feet by thinking that Boo’d come out and get him or something. No one had ever went that close to the Radley’s house because it seemed to be a near death experience. The night Miss Maudie’s house caught on fire, Jem and Scout were standing in front of the Radley gate in the cold, and later discovered there was a blanket placed on Scout. “Boo Radley,” said Atticus. The thought of almost being able to see Boo for the first time intrigued her. Scout seems be in a daze since she came that close to Boo, but also seems to wonder how he did it. He was the type of person to blow one’s mind. The thesis, “People often distrust what they do not understand” is true. The people of Maycomb made rumors and acted as if the Radley’s were a weird, unordinary, murderous family, especially Boo, but no one knew the truth about anything: the lies people tell. You should never judge people based off of what others have tried made you
believe.
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...
Boo Radley is more subtle in showing how he represents the mockingbird, as he is more of a quiet, shy character. Boo was confined to his home but is still aware of the people around him. The children view him more as a superstition than a person in the beginning of the novel but Scout realizes just how good of a person Boo really is when he saves her and Jem from Mr. Ewell. Tom Robinson represented the killing of the mockingbird. He was looked down upon by most of the community but he was an innocent man who had no intention of harming anyone, yet he was still convicted of the crime and sentenced to
Among the many plots within the story, many of them surround Boo Radley or attempting to have Boo Radley come out of his house. In these stories show Jem, Scout, and Dill are terrified of the Radley house and what be inside. However, they are mistaken, for Boo Radley wants to do the exact opposite of scaring the children. For example, Boo tries to show friendship to Scout and Jem by leaving them gifts in the tree outside of his house. These gifts include dolls, gum, a knife, a watch, etc. Boo also is thought to have wrapped Scout in a blanket during the chapter in which Miss Maudie’s house had burned down. Boo Radley is thought to have done it because Atticus says “Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you.” (Lee 96) supporting the fact that Boo Radley was looking out for Scout. Lastly, Boo Radley saved Scout and Jem when they were attacked by Bob Ewell. This heroic effort was not only full of care, but also, full of
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...
The two characters in this book that represent this symbol are Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley. Tom Robinson is a “mockingbird” because he is wrongfully accused of raping a white girl. Through the prejudice of the people in Macomb he later convicted and killed, even when he never did anything to Mayella Ewell. Boo Radley is also another great example of a “mockingbird” because no one accepts him throughout the town, which forces him to hide in his home. He had rumors spread about him saying that he was a bad guy.
Examine the Themes of Innocence and Experience in To Kill a Mockingbird. Innocence is a time when a person has never done something; it is the first step in the journey from innocence to experience. The second step in this movement is experience and this is what is achieved after. a person has done something they have never done before or learns something they have never known before. This theme of growth from innocence to experience occurs many times in To Kill a Mockingbird and is one of the central themes in the first part of the novel, because it shows how Jem and Scout change and mature over a small period of time.
"You know the truth, and the truth is this: some Negroes lie, some Negroes are immoral, some Negro men are not to be trusted around women—black or white. But this is a truth that applies to the human race and to no particular race of men. There is not a person in this courtroom who has never told a lie, who has never done an immoral thing, and there is no man living who has never looked upon a woman without desire." (273) Whether a man is black or white, Atticus Finch knows that all men have done immoral things. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, many of the characters and objects portray deeper meanings than what meets the eye. Atticus Finch represents upstanding morals and rational philosophy, the Mockingbird represents innocence, and the snowman represents that white and black people are the same.
In order to understand why Arthur” Boo” Radley is a mockingbird, it is important to know that he silently watches Jem and Scout. He resembles a mockingbird because of his natural desire to make the children happy by putting gifts in the tree, his compassion to help them when they stand outside in the cold watching Miss Maudie's house on fire.When Bob Ewell was killed the sheriff of the town is determined to report that Mr. Ewell fell on the
Arthur “Boo” Radley appears only once in the novel, yet is discussed frequently by Jem, Scout, and Dill. Their imaginations run wild with ideas of a scissor wielding maniac who peeks in town windows and dines on raw squirrels. As they mature they start to forget about him, leaving their childish stories behind with the rest of their innocent ideas. However, Boo never stops noticing them:
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.
To Kill A Mockingbird is a classic book by Harper Lee. Justice, being righteous and morally right, is a recurring theme in this book. Set during the Great Depression, the story takes place in a small town full of judgemental Southerners in Alabama. At the end of the tale, Boo Radley, who never left his house, saves two children from an attacker by fatally stabbing him. Boo was the gossip topic of children and adults. The townspeople thought he was mysterious and creepy. Because he was trying to protect Boo from further discrimination, from further humiliation, and from becoming a public spectacle, the usually law-abiding sheriff declared that it was an accident; that the attacker actually fell on his knife. This declaration is wrong for three reasons. First, the murderer should be punished for his actions. Second, the sheriff lied about what actually happened. Third, the sheriff made an exception to the law. “reasons, decision, justice” sentence
Jem takes Scout up to his room after an incident with aunt Alexandra. There they talk about the incident and they families history. At the end of their conversation Jem tells Scout why Boo Radley stays inside.
In To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout is the Narrator and the story depicts her life as she is growing up. One of the first points Harper Lee made when writing the book is Scout and Jem's boundaries, they were “Mrs.Henry Lafayette Dubose’s house two doors the north of us, and the Radley Place three doors to the south.” this was Scouts safe zone, and for the first few years of hers of her life, she rarely left it. Because of this she saw the Radley Place as a bad place, for example, when she rolled toward the house in a tire while playing with her brother and Dill she ran away because she was scared. This is because when she was little she saw the Radley house as the worst of the worst because she had heard stories that Boo Radley was a crazy guy that went around hurting people. For the
To Kill a Mockingbird demonstrates modern society. In the book, Boo Radley is represented as a criminal.Who has spent all of his life on his dad’s house.Thus no one really knows he is only hiding away from people, in which create the discriminating society of today .To kill a mockingbird was viewed as one on of the most controversial novels of its time and is still considered that today, decades after it was published. It was controversial by demonstrating discrimination based on old stories,looks and social status .The people that were known as the mockingbirds were Boo Radley, Tom Robinson and one may also say Mayella Ewell.
To Kill a Mockingbird portrays life and the role of racism in the 1930’s. A reader may not interpret several aspects in and of the book through just the plain text. Boo Radley, Atticus, and the title represent three such things. Not really disclosed to the reader until the end of the book, Arthur "Boo" Radley plays an important role in the development of both Scout and Jem.