How Does Boo Radley Use Power In To Kill A Mockingbird

Like a sword, power comes with tremendous responsibilities. If it lands in the wrong hands, it will be exploited for cruelty instead of good. Powerful people have the ability to harm powerless people before allowing them a chance to help themselves. This choice can either lead to corruption or justice. In Harper Lee’s Bildungsroman To Kill a Mockingbird, those with power tend to take advantage of those without. Maycomb folks believe that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, or to exploit power cruelly. In the town’s society, white people have the upper hand over black people, and the Ewell family utilizes this ideal to accuse a black man of a crime he never commits. Another individual that gets mistreated is Boo Radley because the town perceives

He “[does Atticus] and [Maycomb] a great service [and] it’s a sin [to drag] him with his shy ways into the limelight” (276) and punish him. Mr. Radley is a very reserved and hesitant man, which causes the townspeople to assume that he is a malicious being with bad intentions. Contrary to the common belief of Maycomb folks, Boo Radley does not mean harm to anyone. This is shown when all he does is protect Atticus’s children. He commits a crime for the well being of Jem and Scout because he cares for them. If Mr. Ewell had not been killed, the Finch children would be dead instead. Boo is a timid individual who prefers to stay in the dark than to be brought to negative or positive attention. He does not want praise or retribution for preventing murders with a murder. Even though he does not have the courage to defend himself, Heck Tate understands the situation and bends the rules minutely to ensure the safety of others. Arresting Boo Radley is “sort of like [shooting] a mockingbird” (276). He is a moral person who saves two innocent lives by ending a guilty one. Out of the good of his heart, he defends Jem and Scout, killing Bob Ewell as he does so. Boo means well and has the safety of Atticus’s children in his highest regard. He does nothing with bad intentions. Like a mockingbird, Boo does not do anything wrong. He performs exceptionally to save the lives of the innocent, and should not receive punishment in return. It is wrong to castigate and take advantage of Boo Radley for being ethical and for contributing to the greater