How Is Misunderstood Boo's Childhood In To Kill A Mockingbird

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Lee Harper addresses the issues of racism and misconception by bringing the story of a little girl’s childhood to life. Jean Louise (Scout) Finch, a 6 year old girl, tells the story of her childhood and what it was like to live in the south in the 1930s. In the story, we see the prevalence of racism at this time, and not only does Lee address the topic of racism, she also speaks about how misconceived some people can be. Arthur (Boo) Radley, the town recluse, was perceived as a monster, but in reality he was a very nice guy. Boo’s personality traits, such as kindness, being an introvert, and being misunderstood, show us how his character is becoming more revealed throughout the story. Boo’s introverted personality is conveyed throughout the entire story. One of the first displays of his shyness is shown when the kids try to

We first see how misconceived he is when Miss Stephanie is telling the neighborhood legend of how he supposedly stabbed his father in the leg. Legend has it that one day Boo was cutting some newspapers and as his father walked by, he “drove the scissors into his parent’s leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities”. (13) He didn’t really stab his father and this becomes more evident toward the end of the story when we see how gentle and kind he really is. The second time we see evidence of him being misread is toward the end of the book when he is in the Finch home and Scout is talking with him. Scout becomes so used to Boo not being around that she found it odd he had been there that whole time yet “ he had not made a sound”. (371) In this part of the story, Scout is really talking about how Boo is actually sitting next to her and isn’t saying a word, but I feel it is also a metaphor for how Boo has been right next to them this whole time, and they were so mistaken about him, they never actually saw him for who he