Examples Of Outsiders In To Kill A Mockingbird

Society tends to place those who are seen differently as an outsider or an outcast. This position places a lot of judgment on them. When people see outsiders within a tight community, they see how they engage with the more “normal” society and how their views and actions contrast with the main society. In reality, outsiders tend to have the desire to save others. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, Boo Radley and Atticus Finch are viewed as prominent outsiders. Boo Radley is the neighbor of the Finch Family and is seen as a sinner. He is not considered to be on a social hierarchy within their community, as he is silent within his home most of the time. Boo might seem like one who isn’t notable in the community, but in fact, he

In the community, the whites do not accept the black. The white see themselves as above and deserve to have more privileges. In chapter 12, Calpurnia is taking care of Jem and Scout, when she asks if they want to go to church. Scout starts describing the church saying, “It was an ancient paint-peeled frame building, the only church in Maycomb with a steeple and bell, called First Purchase because it was paid for from the first earnings of freed slaves. Negroes worshipped in it on Sundays and white men gambled in it on the weekdays” (134). There is a clear divide between the black and the white community. While people don’t regularly gamble in a church, here in Maycomb it’s normal because they feel that they don’t have to respect them. As the Cunningham family came to light within the community, there is a huge difference between their lifestyle and the Finches, revealing the divide between the rich in the poor. The Cunninghams don’t have the more “luxurious” lifestyle of the Finches. Scout adds, ‘... I asked Atticus if Mr. Cunningham would ever pay us…’ “Not in money, Atticus said, but before the year’s out I’ll have been paid. You watch” (23). Later, Jem and Scout found stacks of wood in their backyard as well as turnip greens and hickory nuts. Scout asks, “Why does he pay you like that?”, and Atticus replies, “Because that’s the only way he can pay me. He has no money” (23). Later when Walter

He meets Jem and Scout and offers to work together to make Boo Radley come out, the neighbor who Scout describes as a ‘malevolent phantom’. Growing up, Boo’s siblings had an education, while he was locked up in his house for fifteen years, never seen by Jem or Scout. Because of this, the kids were intrigued to figure out if Boo was still alive and, if he was, what he’d been up to. One day, Dill had the idea to sneak around his yard. As they sneaked around his house, they heard the sound of a shotgun. They quickly tried to hurry back, when Jem’s pants fell off as they were struggling. Later, when they got home safely, Jem tells Scout, “When I went back for my breeches—they were all in a tangle when I was gettin’ out of ‘em, I couldn’t get ‘em loose. When I went back—”... “When I went back, they were folded across the fence…like they were expectin’ me” (66). Along with this, the kids had another experience where a ball of gray twine was left in the tree as they passed his yard. After a while, the kids start gathering little gifts every time they pass Boo’s yard. I believe the children are given these gifts so Boo can let them know that he is still present, but if he were to come out, the community would see him as one who is dangerous. Maycomb can’t see that innocent side of Boo and only see him as an evil