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To kill a mockingbird
To kill a mockingbird
To Kill a Mocking Bird
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In To Kill A Mocking Bird by Harper Lee, Arthur “Boo” Radley represents misconception and can symbolize Scout and Jem’s guardian angel. The people in the town of Maycomb misjudge Boo Radley as the weird, crazy guy in the town and no one associates with him. When Boo was a boy he got into the wrong crowd and as a punishment he was locked up in his house for awhile; rumors were made about Boo that he stabbed his father, but this was never proven to be true (Lee 13). No one has seen him come out of the house since. From then on, everyone misjudged the Radley house and what goes on in there. Throughout the book, Boo leaves gifts for Scout and Jem in the knothole of an old oak tree. Boo also mends Jem’s pants and put a blanket over Scout one cold
Boo Radley was a white man that no one hardly ever seen or knew. Everyone thought he was mean, and crazy. Scout narrates “As Mr.Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parents leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants and resumed his activities(11). The story was not true, but that’s what everyone thought of when they talked about Boo Radley. Boo Radley was actually the exact opposite of what people thought of him to be. Jem and Scout would find little things in an old tree, and they had realized that Boo Radley was the one who was leaving them things. Also when Jem pants was tangled on the fence, he left and came back to try and pry them off and they were neatly folded across the fence, untangled. Lots of people stereotyped him to be something that he’s not, which means he’s a mockingbird because he is nothing but
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 the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee, the author, wrote about the journey of a little girl, named Scout, as she grows up. Scout’s father Atticus serves as a grand part of her aging because he teaches her many life lessons. The most significant of all the lessons and a pivotal moment in the novel occurs when Atticus tells Scout that “you never really a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them,”, which contributes to one of Scout’s intellectual changes and the theme, understanding requires time (Lee 372).
In the book, the mockingbird symbolizes Arthur ?Boo? Radley in the novel. Both Boo and the mockingbird do no harm and are never anything but pleasant to others. Boo left gifts for Jem and Scout in the tree, such as gum, two indian head pennies, two carved soap figurines, and a pocketwatch. He also mended J...
to the rules of the new teaching system does not allow Jem to read or
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.
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...
But Boo tends to be a misunderstood character, just like the mockingbird. In chapter 28, when Jem and Scout were walking back home from school, they took the shortcut which happened to be pitch black. Jem heard a sound which alerted them. At first Jem thought it was Cecil Jacobs (a boy who liked to pull jokes on Jem and Scout), but then they realized it was someone else. They heard footsteps running after them to find that it was a grown man. Jem called out to Scout to run but she fell due to her costume.When Scout finally got back up to find Jem, the man squeezed her until she could barely breathe. Worriedly, Scout called out for Jem but didn’t get a response. She saw two men underneath the tree besides Jem and herself. She called out “Atticus?” but there was no answer once again. She noticed a man laying the ground that had the awful essence of booze, she got up and made her way over the road, and within the light of the street lamp Scout sees a man carrying Jem. The man headed towards the Finch house, where Atticus let him in. Scout eventually realized that “the man” was no other than Mr. Arthur or commonly referred to as Boo Radley. Mr. Arthur, despite his poor perception of
Boo Radley is the next door neighbor of the Finch’s. He is an outsider of the community, because he does not leave the house. He got in some trouble as a teenager, so his father locked him up inside the house. After his father died, his brother moved in with him. While Boo was locked up inside is house, the people of Maycomb County made up stories about him. The legend of Boo Radley was well-known to the people of Maycomb. Jem describes Boo, “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.” (Lee ). Boo is an innocent character because all he does stay inside his own house, and does not bother anybody. Yet the entire town believes that he could be a murderer. Harper Lee is showing that if you do not fit into southern society, they will make you into an outsider and a bad legend. Another example of Boo Radley being an innocent character is when he gives a blanket to Scout. Miss Maudie Atkinson, one of the Finch’s neighbors, had a house fire. Atticus (Scout and Jem’s father) woke up the kids and made them go outside, in case the fire spread to their house. While Scout was not looking someone gave her a blanket, “‘Someday, maybe, Scout can thank him for covering her up.’ ‘Thank who?’ I asked. ‘Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you.’”(Lee ). Boo Radley is an innocent character because he helped warm up Scout in the cold, yet Scout was still scared that Boo had been near here. Harper Lee is showing us that Boo could do a nice thing, and yet Scout would still be scared because of his reputation. Finally, another
In Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Boo Radley is a man who is afraid to leave his house. But, when Scout and Jem are attacked one night by Bob Ewell, Arthur “Boo” Radley gets involved and saves Jem and Scout from being killed. This act required much bravery and courage, also coming with the challenge of coming face to face with people. This, he had not done in a long time but was brave enough to face in a situation of life or death. Radley put Jem and Scout’s needs before his own.
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
In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, a character named Boo Radley is humiliated by the citizens of Maycomb, Alabama. Boo Radley has stayed inside in his home for most of his life due to a violent incident that occurred with his father when he was a teenager (Lee 13). The novel states: “According to Miss Stephanie, Boo was sitting in the livingroom cutting some items from The Maycomb Tribune to paste in his scrapbook. His father entered the room. As Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent’s
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is an emblem of racial jurisdiction. All throughout the book it shows how the law applies to blacks as opposed to whites. Lee shows how unjust the treatment of blacks is and the disregard for their human rights. Though through the actions of the characters in the book; it can be said that their actions show a glimmer of hope for this very prejudiced society.
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee shows a misunderstanding in society by demonstrating to us how society isn’t perfect. From a child’s point of view children incorporate misunderstanding by learning from their personal experience. I wasn’t aware of how bad our Earth was being destroyed. A similar event happened when Napoleon helped France and everyone thought that Napoleon was France’s savior but what France didn’t expect was that Napoleon had other ideas and was ambitious and planned on destroying cities and killing people in order to obtain power. Nowadays racism isn’t seen as much but people still discriminate and judge people by how they act, look or how economically stable people are.
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.