Decide how the relationship between Scout and Boo Radley evolves providing sufficient evidence In ‘To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, Scout develops a strange relationship with a mysterious character, Boo Radley. Scout, Jem, and Dill are interested in Boo Radley because of the mystery that dominates around him and the Radley house. The town people poorly judge Boo Radley and hearing stories from Miss Stephanie Crawford frightens Scout and Jem. Although the relationship starts out as fear and mystery, as time passes, Scout begins to realize that Boo isn’t the monster they described him as, he is rather a nice and caring person. In the beginning of the book Stephanie Crawford, the town gossiper, justifies that she knows everything about Boo Radley. Scout and Jem are frightened by Boo Radley because of all the stories they have heard. Scout is terrified of the Radley place and calls Boo, a “malevolent phantom.” According to Miss Stephanie Crawford, Boo Radley was sitting in the living room cutting some items from the newspaper and when Mr. Radley had passed by him, Boo drove the scissors into his leg. They also learn that the reason Boo Radley’s hands are bloodstained are because he eats any squirrels or cats he finds. Jem also describes him as a horrific scary monster, but these are only based on facts that Stephanie Crawford has told them and the town. Jem and Scout are curious with these tales as they try to get Boo out of house, so they can see how he looks like.
Boo Radley is a very quiet man who got into trouble with the law at a young age and has stayed inside his house since. Around town, he is seen as a bad man who is very weird for staying inside his house, and rumors about him are everywhere. Scout and Jem hear about this and are very interested about this, so they go and mess around at his house. Even with all these people thinking he is a weird, crazy person, Boo Radley is still a great person. When there was a fire, the kids were outside when it was cold, and Boo Radley was nice enough to wrap a blanket around Scout.
In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout’s perspective of Boo Radley changes as others influence her. Initially, Scout thinks as Boo as a malevolent phantom, and is scared of him because of the stories she hears. Midway through the novel, Boo starts to reveal himself to Scout, and she starts on her journey to realizing who he really is. Finally, after Boo saves Scout and Jem from Bob Ewell, Scout walks Boo back home. Now on the porch of the Radley place, Scout looks at her street from Boo’s perspective, and she realizes that Boo is just like anyone else, but he just rather live a reclusive life. Ultimately, Scout learns that she can not judge anyone until she is able to see life from their perspective.
Scout and her brother, Jem have both been told untrue and rude stories, myths and claims about Boo Radley but these ideas of him start to change by the end of the book. We can see their
When Dill arrives, Scout’s interest in things gets stronger as Dill has a curiosity even greater than hers. She especially desires to know more about the Radley house and the stories that surround Boo Radley, who is supposed to be a cruel character. Dill also immediately has the same longing once he learns about Boo Radley, and together along with Jem they try to figure out what really goes on in the Radley house. Another example of Scout’s curiosity is when she hears about Tom Robinson. She comes to his trial and stays through it even though she is not allowed to know the events that occurred to make Tom accused of the crime and the ending verdict.
In the story Boo Radley plays the role of Scout and Jem’s guardian angel. He watches over them and helps them when they get into trouble. In the first chapters, the kids make fun of Boo, they taunt him. All they know about him is what they have heard, that he is a crazy man. Throughout the story though, Boo proves them wrong.
Compassion and forgiveness is not something everyone gives but is something you should give to everyone. Even when they don’t deserve it. Compassion and forgiveness is a theme in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee when Atticus tells Scout not to be angry at the people who are against him, when he defends Bob Ewell’s behavior after the Tom Robinson case, and when Scout saw the world in Boo Radley’s shoes. And in real life, when a woman pardoned a man on the gallows, before he was hung, even though he murdered her son, and a woman forgave two boys that pushed a cart over a railing onto her, causing many injuries When word goes around about Atticus’s decision to try to defend Tom Robinson, Scout becomes irked by everyone who mocks Atticus for defending Tom Robinson. Atticus tells her, “It’s different this time [...]
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee many characters are victims of the harsh conditions of Maycomb County. Often those who are seen to be metaphorical mockingbirds are punished the most. A mockingbird is one who only wants and attempts to do good. Characters such as Boo Radley, Jem Finch and Tom Robinson are exemplars of mockingbirds in Maycomb. In the novel it is explained by Atticus that killing a mockingbird is a sin because they do not do anything to harm to us like nesting in corncribs, or eating up the gardens, they only sing for us.
If not for the major characters, the minor characters have played an equally important role in Maycomb with their contrasting views. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is mainly about Jem and Scout growing up under the difficult situations created in Alabama during The Great Depression. Stereotypes and discrimination are major problems in Maycomb. Scout and Jem Finch are raised by Atticus, with the help of Calpurnia, their maid. In the first part of the book, Scout, Jem and Dill are fascinated by Boo Radley because of the rumors they hear about him, and they try everything to make him come out of his house.
Arthur Radley, colloquially known as Boo Radley, is a reclusive man who refrains from leaving his house. This is a significant social faux pas in Maycomb, and as a result, he is highly gossiped about by the townspeople and negative rumors constantly circulate regarding him and how he is mentally ill and should be feared. At the beginning of the novel, Scouts perception of Boo Radley is no different. As the novel progresses Scout slowly begins to empathise more with Boo; and she begins to fear him less after various events in the novel, such as the times Boo leaves Scout and Jem presents (59-60) and the time Boo places a blanket on Scout 's shoulders during the fire at Miss Maudie’s house (71-72). Scout’s empathy towards Boo Radley is really only fully developed by the end of the novel when Boo saves Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell.
After three years, Scout learns to have patience when trying to reach out to someone and not judge others due to insubstantial rumors. She also understands what Atticus means by viewing another’s perspective. In an attempt to learn about Boo, Scout follows Jem and Dill impatiently as they try to bring Boo out of his house. Having never seen Boo, they do anything they could to just have a glimpse of him so they could learn about him.
In the passage Jem and Scout walk home during the dark hours,giving Bob Ewell an opportunity to stage an attack. As Bob Ewell attacks them Boo Radley rushes in to rescue Jem and Scout. After this Scout now understands what Atticus meant it is a sin to kill a mockingbird. The killing of a mockingbird is much like killing the innocent. It is beyond a crime and worse than the most heinous atrocities.
Throughout the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” written by Harper Lee, the readers can see how Scout changes her view about Boo Radley. Because of their nosiness, Jem, Scout, and Dill try to drag Boo out his house and to the outside world. Their innocent actions combined with Boo’s actions changed the image of Boo, in their minds, from “a malevolent phantom” (10), a person who kills cats and eats squirrels to a neighbor they can trust, who saves them from Bob Ewell. Scout says at the end, “Boo was our neighbor” (373). The readers can see a great change in their relationship.
In Maycomb, people fear what they do not know and what is unusual to them, hence shaping the rumours of Boo Radley to cope with the unknown. Considering he is unseen from the public eye, and has a messy past, many begin to fantasize what is happening with him currently by constructing stories. Anyone who claims that they know information on Boo, have no proof or firsthand experience to support it as the truth. Scout knows that Jem’s information source on Boo Radley is from another individual and their fantasies, “So Jem received most of his information from Miss Stephanie Crawford, a neighbourhood scold, who said she knew the whole thing.”
Boo Radley taught them, in the sense, that you can’t Judge a book by its cover. At the beginning of the novel, Jem and Scout pictured Boo to be this “...malevolent Phantom (Lee 10).” that went out at night and looked through people’s windows. But after leaving them gifts in the tree and putting a blanket on Scout while she was standing out in the cold, Jem’s and Scout’s Perception of him began to evolve from a monster to a person.
Boo Radley never harmed anyone, but was victimized by the social prejudice of the Maycomb community. Although not established until the end of the novel, Boo Radley is set up to be the last discovered symbolic character for the image of the mockingbird. Harper Lee has done this to illustrate all points of injustice in the 1930s societal town of Maycomb, where rumours and old tales define Boo's life story rather than his authentically generous heart and personality. During the concluding chapter of the novel, Scout comes to the realization that blaming Boo for Bob Ewell's death would be "sort of like shootin' a mockingbird." Boo does many kind-hearted things in the novel such as leaving gifts in the knot-hole for Scout and Jem, repairing Jem's pants, putting the blanket on Scout discretely in order to keep her warm, and even saving them from the evil Bob Ewell.