One time he said you never really know a man until you stand his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough. ”(374). From analyzing this quote Scout is finally seeing perspectives
Scout learns what it is like from the beginning of the book from this quote. “The doors of the Radley house were closed on weekdays as well as Sundays, and Mr. Radley’s boy was not seen again for fifteen years” (Lee 13). This quote shows that Boo was locked up in his house for fifteen years. For Boo, that what be a hard time for him because he would not be able to talk with friends or neighbors for that whole time period. The last way Scout walks in Boo’s shoes is what it is like to save a man’s life.
Scout also understands Boo more when she arrives at his house. Standing on his porch after leading him home, Scout realizes the simple trick effect and thinks, “ One time he [Atticus] said that you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough” (374). Scout literally stands in Boo’s position and understands how things my look from his stance in this world. Standing there, Scout understands that Boo was unaccustomed to the world around him and afraid of what it had to offer him, which is why he stayed inside.
Another thing Scout says about Boo is “When people’s azaleas froze in the cold, it was because he had breathed on them. All the stealthy small crimes committed in Maycomb were his work. ”Although Scout has never seen Boo or even knows if any of that information is correct, she says all the rumors that are spread about Boo Radley although she doesn’t know him. But at the end of the book in chapter 31, Scout then realized she was all wrong about Boo Radley, “Atticus was right.
Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.” Scout relives through what Boo Radley must have seen: Jem, Dill, and Scout playing games in their yard, Jem and Scout standing outside while Miss Maudie’s house burnt down, Jem and Scout being attacked. This helps her really understand the man whom she only saw once: Boo
Maya Angelou once said, “Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible.” The book “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee is set in the town of Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s. Despite first appearances, the community of the town festers with prejudice towards anyone who doesn’t fit the mold of an average citizen. This animosity towards so many people can only result in lasting damage. The characters of Mr. Dolphus Raymond, Arthur Radley, and Tom Robinson have been some of the people most strongly affected by the sheer amount of prejudice in Maycomb, Alabama due to being faced with hatred and rejection as a result of their differences.
To begin with, Scout and Jem are clueless about Boo Radley, they've never met or spoke to him. All they know about Boo is all the rumors they've heard. “Boo bit it off one night when he couldn't find any cats and squirrels to eat”(pg.44). Boo Radley has many stories but most of which is not very pleasing. Besides all that, the kids have strong feelings that Boo Radley is not the beast everybody else is making him up to be.
In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, diverse conflicts and events change Jem’s feelings toward Boo Radley from being scared and don’t wanting anything to do with him to being interested and wanting to know everything about him. In addition, this developments in Jem’s feeling suggest that people can change toward others that differ from us getting to know them better. For example, in chapter 4 page 44 Jem tells Scout “‘Don’t you know you’re not supposed to even touch the trees over there? You’ll get killed if you do.’” but after, in chapter 7 page 80 Jem states “we found a whole package of chewing gum, which we enjoyed, the fact that everything on the Radley Place was poison slipped Jem’s memory.”
Rumors swept through the town, ruining a man’s reputation and giving him no reason to step outside of his own home. In To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Arthur “Boo” Radley is the most complex of Maycomb’s residents. Many say Boo is a killer that should not be trusted near children. However, Scout thinks otherwise as she tries to understand Boo herself. She learns more than she figured, as Boo teaches her numerous lessons without even meeting her.
Robert Mulligan’s 1962 adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird” closely follows the coming of age story of protagonist and narrator Scout Finch, as she recounts the events of a prominent trial in her small hometown of Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930s. Mulligan cleverly incorporates cinematic themes that help highlight heroic actions and scenes throughout the retelling of “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Despite the emerging availability of colour film production in the 1960's, Mulligan's black and white format emphasises the context as one of a town where racial segregation and discrimination are the norm. Through the story there are a lot of characters that are presented with times to act heroically, however this essay will focus on
Boo Radley is Scout's neighbor, Scout, Jem, and Dill continually mess with Boo throughout the novel. When Boo was younger generation was arrested for disorderly conduct and disrupting the town. As punishment Boo’s very religious dad locked him in the house for the next 15 years. Rumors began to circulate because Boo was never seen. Jem describes, “he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained… what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped” (Lee 16).
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.
In her life, Scout has learned many lessons about misleading information, trust, and racial discrimination. In the story, Arthur Radley is a questionable character. Rumors have spread throughout the community caused Scout to become terrified of his house due to the gossip. He also gained the nickname “Boo” from many of the townspeople.
Boo Radley is compassionate for the children as they communicate through presents and the mysterious hints. As Scout grows older her perspective on Boo changes, from a creepy guy to a friend. Boo Radley is the mockingbird to Scout's understanding, just like Tom Robinson was a mockingbird to Jem. From Atticus's teachings she has learned to develop into a young lady. Atticus's lessons and Boo Radley impacted her view on the world.
In the middle of the novel, Scout is a critical thinker. Scout begins to think about Boo as a person. As the book progresses, Scout realizes that although the fact that Boo Radley stays in his house is strange, it does not have a major affect on his attitude and acts of kindness. From the presents in the tree to putting the blanket on them during the fire Boo Radley is constantly reminding and hinting at his existence. Scout realizes that she shouldn’t believe everything she hears and should think for herself; instead of going with what everyone else is saying.
