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Boo Radley's Reputation In To Kill A Mockingbird

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“You can't really get to know a person until you get in their shoes and walk around in them.” (Harper Lee) In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Boo Radley sheds his reputation as a freak and forges a strong friendship with the Finch children. Initially, Boo is seen as an invisible monster by the Finch children largely because of rumors spread around Maycomb County. Over the course of time, however, Scout and Jem begin to understand Boo and learn that appearances are not always what they seem. Through various events and circumstances, Boo Radley’s real persona as a kind, thoughtful and courageous person is revealed, as he and the Finch children develop a special friendship. Rumors, especially untrue ones, can destroy a person from the inside out. …show more content…

His fingers found the front doorknob. He gently released my hand, opened the door, went inside, and shut the door behind him. I never saw him again. Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between. Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good luck pennies, and our lives. But 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. (Lee 320). Scout also likely felt sad because she criticized and mocked him before she really got to know him. Jem and Scout discovered Boo was misunderstood, as he was gentle, shy, kind, and courageous. Boo was their good friend. “Most people are [nice], Scout, when you finally see them.” (Lee 323). Boo Radley was portrayed as a reclusive freak by the town of Maycomb. The foolish curiosity about this invisible monster led Jem and Scout to discover that Boo was not a monster at all. Once they finally saw him, Scout and Jem realized he was kind and courageous. The relationship between Boo Radley and the Finch children that was once nonexistent developed into a wonderful

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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.” Little do they know that Boo Radley will play a huge part in their survival at the end of the book when the crazy Bob Ewell Attacks them and Boo Radley protected them, something that Jem and scout would’ve never imagined, But something that the reader could foreshadow. Due to Boo’s acts of kindness like when he returned Jem’s pants sowed after he got them caught on the barb wire fence while he was snooping and around and also the gifts he left in the knot of the tree that helped him build a deeper sentimental relationship with Jem and Scout even if the kids did not know it. Boo had built such a relationship with them that he had done something extremely courageous and protects Jem and scout from Bob

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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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Just standing on the Radley porch was enough. ”(279). Scout uses her imagination to try and view all the past events that have occurred through Boo’s eyes. When she does this she realizes that Boo isn’t a bad person at all, he is actually kind of like a guardian angel. Boo Radley’s character proves a great point that we should never judge or assume things about another person that we know nothing

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To the children, so much as entering the front yard of the Radley house is a terrifying feat. At this time, the children do not understand Boo’s situation, as they have yet to meet him and know little about him apart from the stories. In the end, the children learn that Boo has been watching them all along and has even been a helpful presence in their lives. He was the one who left gifts in the tree outside the Radley yard for Scout and Jem, and he gave Scout a blanket during the fire. More importantly, however, Boo was the mysterious figure who saved the Finch children from Bob Ewell’s attack.

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(20) Jem’s exaggerated description demonstrates the community’s intense prejudice towards Boo Radley. The people are able to alienate a member based off of speculations. Scout, an innocent member of Maycomb, has grown up with the idea that Boo acts and looks like

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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.

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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.

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Boo Radley who “was not seen again for fifteen years”, is the most misunderstood person in Maycomb. His childhood mistakes marginalise him from society by a “form of intimidation Mr Radley employed to keep Boo out of sight.” To elaborate, Boo did not intend to separate himself and be perceived as a “malevolent phantom.” In truth, Boo is intensely lonely and wants to befriend the children in which he saves their lives. Similarly, in The

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