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Essay about scout finch in to kill a mocking bird
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Loss of Innocence “Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird." A quote from the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. To Kill a Mockingbird depicts the hardships of growing up and seeing the world around you being controlled by prejudice and racism. Lee implies that innocence is not seen as the assumption that people are naturally good but is more of a mature perspective gained from facing immorality. Throughout the book we watch the narrator, Scout Finch, go from a naive first grader that think Maycomb is the best place out there, to finally maturing and understanding the world around her. Throughout the book Scout is impressioned by so many people that Boo Radley is a monster that should be kept in at all times. Later we learn he isn’t, but one of the first impressions we get from him is a brute …show more content…
He was a black man, accused of raping a white women. The Tom Robinson trial was a true trial of good versus evil. Scout’s father was chosen to defend Tom in his trial and tried his hardest providing with all the information that Tom was a innocent man. He fought, “The witness for the state, with the exception of the sheriff of Maycomb County, have presented themselves to you gentlemen, to this court, in the cynical confidence that their testimony would not be doubted, confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on the assumption—the evil assumption—that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women, an assumption that one associates with minds of their calibre.”(Lee 205) At this point in Atticus’ closing speech he and just about everybody else in that courtroom knew Tom Robinson was innocent. The evidence just did not match up with what was presented. Though Tom was innocent, the jury didn’t look past the color of his skin, so was sentenced to
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
Although Boo Radley only actually physically appears in the story once, he serves two essential purposes. At the beginning of the novel, Boo serves as an enigma to the children, giving them something to make the focal point of their games, as well as a topic of conversation. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Boo embodies more character than most of the citizens of Maycomb, emerging as a symbol of what is truly just and right. Boo stands up for what he believes is right, no matter what people think of him.
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 Maycomb almost every person alienates Arthur Radley. The reader never really understands who Boo Radley is. Instead the reader hears the many opinions of the people in Maycomb. Harper Lee does this on purpose to demonstrate that no one has the right to judge another person because no one can be sure of another person’s position. People of Maycomb choose to believe what they hear about Arthur because “[p]eople generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for…(174). There are many rumors about Boo Radley, for example some “[p]eople said he went out at night when the moon was down, and peeped in windows” (9). Stories about Boo are pasted around Maycomb quickly but the truths of injustice are kept quiet. Arthur’s behavior suggests that the lack of tolerance and understanding was apparent to him. Jem explains that he used to think there was “…just one kind of folks”(227). He goes on to say that he understands why Boo Radley’s stays shut up in the house all the time “…because he wants to stay inside”(227). This suggests that Jem is starting to recognize the injustices in the world around him and is struggling to understand how he will deal with them without alienating himself. No one in Maycomb wants to be the one to rock the boat including Arthur Radley.
Boo Radley changed from being a monster to a hero in To Kill a Mockingbird. At the start of the book, the majority of Maycomb sees him as insane or crazy. This is shown in the novel by the rumors spread about him. One includes a story on how Boo allegedly, “...Drove the scissors into his parents leg, pulled them out, wipe them on his pants, and resume his activities,” (Lee 13). Another one is that “Any stealthy small crimes committed in Maycomb were his work,” (Lee 10). These comments show how the majority of Maycomb sees Boo and they shape him out to be a monster. Since Scout is a child, she’s easily influenced into thinking about Boo in that way too. However, when Scout has a conversation with Miss Maudie, she learns more about Boo. Miss
In To Kill a Mockingbird, racism is an evident problem in Maycomb that shows no signs of going away. There are many symbols in the book that represent racism in the small town, but none such as the mockingbird that Atticus speaks of to Scout. The mockingbird is also the most recognizable symbol, because it is in the title of the book itself. In chapter 10, Atticus informs Scout and Jem, on page 103, that it is okay to kill blue jays, but never okay to kill a mockingbird. “Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em. But remember it is always a sin to kill a mocking bird”. In this quote, the mockingbird represents innocence. The “Innocence” shown here can represent many of the characters, such as: “Boo” Radley, Jem, Tom Robinson, Dill, and Mr. Raymond. These characters have all been
The first important character who symbolizes the mockingbird is Arthur Radley who is given the nickname Boo by the children. He suffers from destruction yet still demonstrates innocence. Scout reveals the reader of a story in that Boo Radley was bound to be sent off to an industrial school. A benefit to refine young men into responsible adults who turned away from their childish actions as an adolescent. Although this proposal was offered by the judge, Mr. Radley suggested Arthur be locked in the
In the town of Maycomb, Boo Radley is viewed as an evil, social outcast who is actually a kind man. Unfortunately, the way he is described by the townspeople is no indication of his true character. Boo Radley is first described as a monster more than a man. The main character, Scout, says that her brother Jem told her that Boo, “Dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were blood stained” (Lee 16). This description shows prejudice since it's not realistic to eat raw meat with just bare hands. It also depicts an image of a savage because his hands “were blood stained.” In fact Boo’s true nature comes to the reader’s attention when the exaggeration of others words come to lament. For example, “Mrs. Radley runs
Tom Robinson was one of the most talked about characters in the novel ¨To KIll a Mockingbird¨ He was known as any other black man pretty much. He was very discriminated, but he was also very innocent. The reason many people were familiar with Tom is from his court case. He was accused by Mayella Ewell and her father for beating her and raping her. This drew many people to the courtroom to see what would go down, and as expected he
“Jem, see if you can stand in Bob Ewell's shoes a minute. I destroyed his last shred of
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...
Despite what people say about him, he shows that he is kind, reclusive, and courageous. He is kind by folding Jem’s pants. He is reclusive by staying inside his house. He is also courageous by saving Jem and Scout. Boo is a important person in To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee. The reason he is, is because without him Jem wouldn’t have his pants and Jem and Scout would be dead and Bob Ewell would be alive. That shows that Boo Radley is a kind, reclusive, and a courageous person, also is
Level Headed- It has been a few days since poor Tom’s trial, and I had an encounter with Mr. Ewell today. I was leaving the post office when he approached me. He was really mad and he started cursing at me, he then proceeded to spit on me, and then he threatened to kill me. I just sat there and took it, he needed to get his anger out somehow, so why not let him. I understand why he was angry, who wouldn't be in his situation.
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.
Ever since Atticus’s: “It’s a sin to kill a mockingbird,” line, almost every person we meet in the story fits the bill as the mockingbird. None more prominently than Boo Radley himself. Scout even goes as far to compare him as one. Boo does nothing but good to the Finch’s: giving Scout a blanket on the cold night, gives the children gifts in the tree, and even saves their lives at the end. Yet, everyone believes that his is the monster in the night. This is the second time we see how wrongly the people in Maycomb treat those who are labeled before they get to understand