How Does Harper Lee Use Sight In To Kill A Mockingbird

Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is an amazing novel that touches on many of the social issues during the time period in which it is written. Narrated by a six-year-old, readers “see” the faults and fallacies of the setting through the innocent, honest Scout. Sight plays an incredible role in the novel, as it is utilized to show what is morally acceptable to Harper Lee. Not only did Lee’s novel capture America’s attention at the time it was published, it brought to the surface all-to real social problems prevalent during the time period. In the novel, Harper Lee uses perception, eyes, and sight to symbolize what she believes to be morally correct. She shows this through various concrete and abstract situations and various characters,

Near the end of the novel, Boo Radley saves the kids from Bob Ewell, who is trying to kill them. Boo rushes them back to the house, but Scout doesn’t see who it is until they are inside. Boo is standing in the shadows of a corner where he can’t be seen. When he steps into the light, Scout sees the mysterious man for the first time. She is so overwhelmed with happiness she starts to cry. On a ABC interview with Oriana R. Aragon PhD. from the department of psychology at Yale University, Aragon states “It's possible that when we're feeling overwhelmed with emotions that we need to balance in some way” referring to tears of joy (Holmes). Up to this point in the novel Scout doesn’t see Boo once; all she knows about him is based off rumor. Scout’s eyes are metaphorically opened when she sees Boo Radley for the first time. She realizes that he is a misunderstood person, one who truly does care for Jem and her. She is grateful for all that he has done and she understands all her father’s teachings. It is at this moment that Scout’s eyes are both literally and metaphorically opened. The phantom Boo, who was once scary to her has become her savior. Now that she can see him, she realizes her perceptions, based on rumors, were completely wrong. It is here the reader understands Lee’s views on gossip. Through Scout’s eyes, the reader can see that Lee believes that gossip is