In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the main character Scout tries to figure out her neighbor Boo Radley. Boo is seen as a monster; he is known mainly for stabbing his father in the leg. He has been his house ever since the incident. During the book Scout’s relationship with boo grows closer, but she does not realize it. Scout says at the end of the book, “neighbors give in return. We never put back into the tree what we took out of it: We had given him nothing, and it made me sad.” Scout actually gave a lot back to Boo that she didn't realize. She gave him a chance when everyone had pushed him out, she gave him the privacy he wanted even if she didn’t really want to, and she protected him from meeting an awful fate.
Scout gives Boo a chance by trying to get to know him for herself. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird the mysterious Boo Radley is considered an outcast in Maycomb County. Scout still sees him as this monster, but still wants to learn more about him. She would even bribe him with food. She shows how desperate.” We're asking him real
…show more content…
Bob Ewell follows them from the school and attacks them with a knife. Boo protects them and Boo pulls Bob off the kids and stabs Bob. Atticus thinks that Jem killed Bob Ewell but during a conversation with Sheriff Tate he realizes Boo killed Bob. They agree that Bob fell on his own knife. They don’t want to put Boo through all of that for doing what was right. “I never heard against the law for a citizen to do his utmost to prevent a crime from being committed, which is exactly what he did, but maybe you'll say it's my duty to tell the town all about it and not hush it up” (pg. 369). Officer Tate and Atticus both see the danger saying Boo killed Bob Ewell. After this is over Scout walks Boo to his door and he goes inside. Scout knows that in order to keep her new friend she can’t tell anyone Boo killed Bob
Bob Ewell decided to get back at Atticus for the Tom Robinson case by attacking his kids. Boo Radley saved Scout and Jem by stabbing Bob but Heck Tate is insistent on saying that Bob fell on his knife. Atticus agrees and then explains the situation to Scout. Scout explained to him, “‘ Yes sir, I understand,’ I reassured him. ‘Mr.Tate was right.’ Atticus disengaged himself and looked at me. ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Well, it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?’” (Lee 370) This excerpt depicts that Scout understands how turning in Boo for doing a good deed would be comparable to that of killing a mockingbird. Killing a mockingbird in these times was considered a sin due to the fact that they were completely harmless. This relates to the topic sentence because Scout compares Boo to a mockingbird, more specifically she compares the innocence of the two. She sees that a mockingbird does nothing except make music, similarly to Boo who does nothing except mind his own business and in the end save the Finch kids and the town from the burden of Mr.Ewell. Neither of the creatures cause any harm to anyone so they should not be punished for their simple ways. Another time Boo shows how he connects to Scout is when Scout walks Boo home after he saves her and Jem from Bob. She is standing on the Radley porch and reflects on the past years events through Boo’s eyes. Scout thinks, “ Autumn again, and Boo’s children needed him. Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.” (Lee 374) This quote shows how Scout begins to see things from other people’s point of view. She looks back at the past few years but this time from Boo’s perspective.This connects to my topic sentence because Scout finally sees the innocence of Boo. She sees that he is exactly like a mockingbird, this whole time they
Near the end of the book, Bob Ewell was trying to kill Jem and Scout because he wanted to get his revenge against Atticus. Mr. Tate, Atticus, and Scout had figured out Boo Radley was the one who was protecting the children and killed Bob Ewell. They figured it would not be right to bring Boo and his shy ways into a courtroom to plead not guilty. Especially since he did it out of good, protecting Jem and Scout, giving them life. At the end of chapter 30, Atticus tells Scout, “‘Scout. Mr. Ewell fell on his knife. Can you possibly understand?’ . . . . ‘Yes sir, I understand. Mr. Tate was right.’ Atticus disengaged himself and looked at me. ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Well, it’d be sort of like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?’” (Lee 370). This quote represents how everyone felt it would be immoral to punish Boo for protecting the children and what is left of their innocence from the evils of the world. It is like saying, these children do not need their innocence anymore, which is untrue because that is what needs to be defended the most. Boo did nothing but a great service to Atticus and Maycomb County, so punishing him would be like destroying the shield of these children. In conclusion, it is sinful to harm those who only
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...
...hildren: he left them toys in the knothole and put a blanket around Scout’s shoulders when she was outside in the cold. Though they probably were unaware, Boo looked out for them. If Boo had not stopped Bob Ewell from getting to the children on their way home from the Halloween pageant, he probably would have killed them. Added to these things, Boo’s madness played an important part in Scout’s growing up and maturing. Meeting Boo, talking to him, and standing on his porch looking at the neighborhood through his eyes really enabled Scout to learn to stand in someone else’s shoes and look at things from others’ points of view.
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...
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
When Bob Ewell spit on Atticus’s face, Atticus made the decision to just walk away. Jem was confused why he did this, but Atticus asked him if he can stand in Bob Ewell's shoes a minute” Atticus explained that he “destroyed his last shred of credibility at that trial, if he had any to begin with. The man had to have some kind of comeback, his kind always does“ (Lee, 1960, p. 292). This shows the kind of character Atticus is and how he steps up and is the bigger person. Scout grew as a character because of this lesson, and readers could really see that demonstrated when she walked Boo Radley home. . Scout was standing on the Radley doorsteps and she stated that she “had never seen our (her) neighborhood from this angle” (Lee, 1960, p. 39). Scout saw how Boo sees the neighborhood physically and she was also realizing at this point how life is for Arthur. Scout and Jem both changed by learning this lesson for the good because it helped them think about other people's
They want to get to know him as he leaves them surprises in the tree, and even saves Jem’s life (Best). Finally, Scout decided to put herself in Boo Radley’s shoes. She began to see the view from his side. Kasper says, “Scout at last begins to see Boo Radley as a human being.” (Kasper).
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 the beginning of the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout Finch is a good-hearted, innocent five-year-old who has no experience with the evils of the world. However, throughout the novel, Scout has her first contact with the evils of the world in the form of prejudice. Arthur “Boo” Radley — one of the two cases — is a harmless human-being who falls victim to this evilness. Regarded as an evil person, Boo is the “ghost” of Maycomb and is used as the scapegoat for anything bad which happens. However, growing up in the house of Atticus Finch, Scout learns that humanity is evil at times, but there is also a lot of good humanity has to offer. Not only is there good, but what may seem evil at the time, if approached with an outlook
Scout is a really curious girl but she is often scared of what she is seeking to find. Scout is curious but scared of Boo Radley the reason being of all the rumors people are saying about him. “Through all the head-shaking, quelling of nausea and Jem yelling, I had heard another sound, so
...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.
As Scout grows, she starts to see Boo as a person, as apposed to some sort of an evil creature. By stopping her games, and the tormenting of Boo, she shows respect for him and shows dignity in herself.
Atticus has a hard time choosing whether to tell the town that Bob Ewell died of an accident, or whether his son or Boo Radley killed Bob Ewell. Atticus is a famous lawyer in Maycomb and he believes in legal justice. Atticus learns what had really happened from Scout?s explanation of what she had seen, and heard when Bob Ewell attacked them while walking back from the school play. He understood that Bob Radley killed Bob Ewell in order to save Jem?s life. Atticus does not want to send Boo to court for the fact that Boo saved his children?s life.