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Boo Radley Discrimination

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Just one year after To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee was published, it was awarded the illustrious Pulitzer Prize as well as several other literary awards. This novel displays the prejudice and discrimination against African American people that was present in the south during the 1930s, which was during the Great Depression. Prejudice is an unfavorable opinion that is formed before actual knowledge or experience, and discrimination is the unfair treatment of others. Discrimination includes but is not limited gender, race, and social status. Some examples of prejudice and discrimination shown in To Kill A Mockingbird are Aunt Alexandra pushing Jean Louise (Scout) to behave “like a lady” would, Boo Radley being prejudged for staying inside …show more content…

Boo Radley is one of the many victims of prejudice in To Kill A Mockingbird because he is not considered normal in their judgemental society. The town of Maycomb blames Boo for anything bad that happens. He is always gossiped about just because he does not come outside. Since so many rumors about him have been spread, people think he is an awful person and that he has a mental illness. When Jem, Dill, and Scout are trying to get Boo Radley to come out, Jem thinks Boo would “kill [them] each and every one” (Lee 15). He continues to say that he would gouge their eyes out. This is because the town’s gossip has made him believe Boo is not a good person. As the story progresses, Scout and Jem realize that Boo Radley is reasonable for staying inside, which is shown in the text when Jem states that he is “beginning to understand why Boo Radley’s stayed shut up in the house all this time… it’s because he wants to stay inside” (Lee 259). Jem realizes that nobody can get along, and this is a reasonable reason to stay inside. Boo is finally being understood. The more the story continues the more they realize that they were wrong about Boo Radley. Later in the story, Bob Ewell tries to murder Scout and Jem, and Boo Radley saves their lives. They learn that Boo never did any of the bad things that were said about him, and this teaches them that judging someone with actually knowing them is not …show more content…

Tom Robinson, a black and disabled man, was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. The Ewells were a low status family that were poor and not liked by most of Maycomb. However, during the case, people supported the Ewells just because Tom was not white. It is made obvious in the story that Tom did not commit this crime, but he was convicted due to the color of his skin. During the trial, Tom was treated disrespectfully, and this made even white people start to feel like the whole situation was wrong. For example, Dill starts crying at the trial due to the way Mr. Gilmer is hatefully treating Tom by referring to him as “boy” and “nigger” when Tom is a married man with a wife and children. Scout tries to reason that Tom is “just a Negro,” but Dill doesn’t care and responds, “‘I don’t care one speck. It ain’t right, somehow it ain’t right to do ‘em that way. Hasn’t anybody got any business talkin’ like that—it just makes me sick’” (Lee 226). Dill learns from this trial that it isn’t right to treat anyone disrespectfully. Jem also realizes that discriminating people based on their race is wrong. This is shown when he cries in the novel because “it’s not right” that Tom was convicted (Lee 242). Jem realizes that it doesn’t matter if one is the most honest person alive because the citizens of Maycomb will not support a black person over a white person. Scout learns about the

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Primary Evidence: Jem tells Scout that he thinks that Boo stays in his house because Boo knows that if he was to be seen in public he would be judged by Maycomb citizens (Lee 227). 2. Interpretation: Like a mockingbird, Boo is misjudged and people are scared that he will harm them, but he is actually innocent and loving. B. Claim: Boo radley is a loving giving man who likes to bring joy to

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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.

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The main characters aren’t the only ones who contribute to the innocent perspective of Maycomb. Dill, the best friend of both Scout and Jem uses his emotions and past experiences to relate to the hatred black people like Tom Robinson face on a daily basis. During the Tom Robinson trial, Dill gets upset over the way Tom is treated by Mr. Gilmer: “This was as much as I heard of Mr. Gilmer’s cross examination, because Jem made me take DIll out. For some reason DIll had started crying and couldn’t stop; quietly at first, then his sobs were heard by several people in the balcony” (Lee 265). Dill later tells us that he didn’t appreciate Mr. Gilmer’s attitude toward Tom Robinson.

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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.

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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.

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The novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” was written in 1960 by Harper Lee in the point of view of a young innocent girl named Scout. One of the main messages that Lee has (need a new word than – indicated or set out) is racism, it plays an important role which strongly impacts many character’s lives unfairly and changes the relationship between two. Harper Lee’s “To Kill A Mockingbird” shows that it is wrong to hurt someone who does no harm to you, for example, black people are innocent but no way did they have as many rights as white people did. Black people lived hard lives because society was judgemental, irrational and most importantly, racist. As Scout and Jem grow older they learn to cope, take responsibility and are introduced to new aspects of life, one of which is racism.

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Boo Radley had been kept in isolation for so long, he didn’t know how to communicate or socialise properly. He has been misunderstood as a malevolent person, when he actually is a benevolent person. He displays this when he put a blanket around Scout, whilst she and Jem watched the fire. As readers, we are shown social prejudice by the assumptions made about the Radley’s. Another example of social prejudice is the

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Also, one day Scout, Jem, and Dill travel into town against their father’s commands, and behind Calpurnia’s back, to watch Tom Robinson’s trial. They thought that going to watch the trial would be interesting and fun. Disobeying her father is an act of immaturity. A mature child would have listened to their father because he knows what is best for his children. In addition, Scout thinks it is okay to be mean to others.

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