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How Does Lee Show Innocence In To Kill A Mockingbird

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To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is a controversial novel about rumors and innocence, which Lee shows through Arthur “Boo” Radley with his poor image, when he puts a blanket on Scout’s shoulders to keep her warm, and when he gives presents to Jem and Scout and later saves them. For example, Lee shows that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird using Boo’s image and how he is a worthy person with a poor image given to him based on rumors from other people’s opinions, just like a mockingbird, Boo is innocent. Scout states: “Jem gave a reasonable description of Boo: Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch. That’s why his hands were always bloodstained-if you ate an …show more content…

Finally, Boo shows characteristics of a mockingbird by leaving Scout and Jem presents in the tree, mending Jem’s pants after they ripped, and even kills Bob Ewell to save Scout and Jem. Resembling a mockingbird, all Boo does is contribute to others, he never arms them. Scout says: “Mr.Arthur, bend your arm down here, like that. That’s right, Sir. I slipped my hand into the crook of his arm. He had to stoop a little to accommodate me, but if Miss Stephanie Crawford was watching from her upstairs window, she would see Arthur Radley escorting me down the sidewalk, as a gentleman would do.” (Lee 372.) This clearly demonstrates the theme by the kindness and innocence he shows when he asks Scout to walk him home. Scout finally sees Boo as more than a person, but a mockingbird, when she calls him “Mr. Arthur” and “Sir.” As shown, To Kill A Mockingbird develops the character Boo as a metaphor for a Mockingbird using how his image is based on lies and rumors, his caring heart when he puts a blanket around Scout’s shoulders, and his kind heart when he leaves presents for Jem and Scout and saves them from Bob

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Miss Maudie tells Scout that Miss Stephanie is only lying about seeing Boo outside her window. The only other event where Boo was bad was when he was with his “gang” and he was still punished by his father for his actions. Another reason Boo is shown as the mockingbird of the book is because he has only hurt one person. The only person that Boo has hurt was his father and that is still just a rumor. When Boo stabbed his father with the scissors his father punished him and did not let him go without consequences.

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672 Words | 3 Pages

In Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout’s perspective of Boo Radley changes as others influence her. Initially, Scout thinks as Boo as a malevolent phantom, and is scared of him because of the stories she hears. Midway through the novel, Boo starts to reveal himself to Scout, and she starts on her journey to realizing who he really is. Finally, after Boo saves Scout and Jem from Bob Ewell, Scout walks Boo back home. Now on the porch of the Radley place, Scout looks at her street from Boo’s perspective, and she realizes that Boo is just like anyone else, but he just rather live a reclusive life. Ultimately, Scout learns that she can not judge anyone until she is able to see life from their perspective.

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991 Words | 4 Pages

Boo Radley. Boo is an older man, “about six and a half feet tall,” (13) that lives down the street from Jem and Scout. He is constantly locked up inside his house because of an incident when he, “ drove the scissors into his parent’s leg,” (11) causing him to be locked up in the basement of the courthouse. Lee portrays Boo to be a scary psycho character but everyone has their own opinions and stories about him. When Miss Maudie’s house caught on fire and sent smoke everywhere, “Smoke was rolling off our house,” (70) it was Boo Radley who gave Jem and Scout a blanket, “Yes ma’am, blanket.

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591 Words | 3 Pages

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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586 Words | 3 Pages

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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The Plight of the Child The struggle of the youth in judgemental environments can be incredibly taxing. The world is a complicated place, full of opinions and hatred for ideas that are unknown. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the idea of a society’s effect on a child is evident through the theme of loss of innocence. More specifically, however, she highlights the contribution of adults to that theme. Adults have seen the prejudice of mankind, and because they have experienced it, they spread it as well, whether they want to or not.

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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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Many of the townsfolk viewed him as an evil or mean spirited person. An instance of him being a mockingbird is first seen when Boo begins to put things in the hole of a tree for Jem and Scout to have until it gets filled with cement (44-45). Another example is when Boo puts a blanket around Scout while she is watching the fire at Miss Maudie's house and Scout does not even notice (94-95). The last and biggest act takes place while Scout and Jem are walking home from the play and they are attacked by Bob Ewell. Then to save them Boo stabs Bob

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977 Words | 4 Pages

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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1339 Words | 6 Pages

A day came when they were acting out Boo’s life and Atticus says, “that you never really understand a person until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (36). Boo teaches Scout and Jem not to judge a person based on rumors because later in the book, they find out that Boo is not this evil person as the society perceives but he is an innocent and kind person, symbolic of a mockingbird. Boo also teaches Jem and Scout a major theme of the book which is that it's terrible to do harm to an innocent person as Atticus would say, “It is a sin to kill a mockingbird.” At the end of the book, when Tate and Atticus are hiding the case of Boo killing Bob, Scout reminds Atticus that charging Boo with murder would be, “Like shootin’ a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?”(276) It refers back to when Atticus told them it’s a sin to kill mockingbird because they don’t harm you. Boo is symbolic of a mockingbird because he didn’t do harm to anyone.

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638 Words | 3 Pages

In which Scout says “Well, it’d be sort of shootin a mockingbird, wouldn’t it?” (317). Boo is an important symbol of the good (innocence) that exists within people. Despite the pain that Boo has suffered from others, his kindness shows with his interaction with the children.

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980 Words | 4 Pages

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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732 Words | 3 Pages

In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee the term mockingbird symbolizes innocence in a person. In the novel it focuses on the fact that innocence, represented by the mockingbird, can be wrongfully harmed. There are two characters: Tom Robinson and Arthur “Boo” Radley that are supposed to represent the mockingbird. In the novel, Tom Robinson is the best example of a mockingbird because he is prosecuted for a crime he did not commit. Also, he was judged unfairly based on the color of his skin in his trial.

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892 Words | 4 Pages

Decide how the relationship between Scout and Boo Radley evolves providing sufficient evidence In ‘To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, Scout develops a strange relationship with a mysterious character, Boo Radley. Scout, Jem, and Dill are interested in Boo Radley because of the mystery that dominates around him and the Radley house. The town people poorly judge Boo Radley and hearing stories from Miss Stephanie Crawford frightens Scout and Jem. Although the relationship starts out as fear and mystery, as time passes, Scout begins to realize that Boo isn’t the monster they described him as, he is rather a nice and caring person.

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In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee shows that we shouldn’t be too quick to judge another person’s character based on outward appearance and the stories and rumors we have heard. The character Boo Radley is a perfect example of why we shouldn’t be hasty to judge. On the outside, Boo looks like a scary neighbor that lives just a few houses away. “.....he had sickly white hands that had never seen the sun. His face was as white as his hands…..”

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