How Is Boo Radley Deceptive In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Oxford dictionary defines deceptive as “easily mistaken for something else or as having a different quality.”(Oxford 299) The two characters; Boo Radley and Tom Robinson from Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird are both deceptive characters because the way they act and the things they do are misconstrued by the town of Maycomb. Boo Radley and Tom Robinson both display innocence, both are discriminated against by the people in their town and they are both people who do the morally right thing. Boo and Tom are alike because both characters are prejudiced against, therefore, they both demonstrate the theme of putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. Firstly, Boo Radley and Tom Robinson both display innocence. Boo Radley is judged for being an evil person who is said to eat children, but ends up being a good person who cares for and protects them. From a child who regretted judging Boo radley from what she has heard, she says,“‘Atticus, he was real nice’... ‘Most people are Scout, when you finally see them.’”(Lee 376) Boo Radley is a mystery to the citizens of Maycomb and a phantom to the children. Although his looks and actions might be deceptive because he is the only one in Maycomb who spends his life inside closed doors, he is actually a caring, selfless human. Tom Robinson is accused of sexual harrassing another character in the novel named …show more content…

Boo and Tom being misunderstood is what sparks the negative accusation of them. Both Boo Radley and Tom Robinson display innocence throughout the novel and even with all of Maycomb’s judgement of who they are, they both prove to be good people who make morally right choices. It just goes to show, “‘You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in