Rumors In To Kill A Mockingbird

People quickly believe things that they are told about anyone and anything Rumors can be spread around fast and sometimes they carry untruths. It’s also very easy to listen to rumors, especially when they are coming from trusted adults and people near you. Often, the people on the other side of these rumors are portrayed as a bad person. The information that is dispersed about them is rarely uplifting or positive. Some people can be affected greatly by gossip, and could force them to do drastic things. Other individuals might be curious to seek out the truth about the fabrications, and what they find might not live up to their expectations.

In the story To Kill A Mockingbird, there is an infamous character by the name of Boo Radley. Boo Radley

They are quick to judge him based on what they hear. They are adamant to get Boo to emerge from his home, no matter what it takes. “Jem was merely going to put the note on the end of a fishing pole and stick it through the shutters” (Lee, 46). The rumors also cause them to be afraid of Boo. Scout refuses to participate in some of their activities, in fear of the legends. In one of the most extreme events, Jem, Scout, and Dill went to look into the Radley house. When they were seen, they ran, and Jem’s pants were caught on the back fence.”’When I went back for my breeches-they were all in a tangle when I was gettin’ out of ‘em, I couldn’t get ‘em loose. When I went back-...” (Lee, 58). Atticus becomes aware that Jem does not have his pants, and Dill says that Jem lost them in a game of strip poker to Dill. In fear of his father asking about the pants, Jem returns to the Radley house, only to find his pants mended and folded, sitting on the fence.

One day, Scout noticed a peculiar tree with a knot hole in it. She finds gum in it, and shows it to Jem. They also find other gifts in the knothole, such as two indian head pennies, a ball of twine, and two soap sculptures that resemble Jem and Scout. “I pulled out two small images carved in soap. One figure was a boy, the other wore a crude dress” (Lee,59). They often wonder who was leaving these, and were skeptical upon taking the gifts in

With the distraction of the Tom Robinson case, this is an easy task. Atticus is representing a black male who is accused of raping a white female by the name of Mayella Ewell. Atticus was able to prove Tom’s innocence and make Mayella and her father Bob Ewell look like fools, but because Tom is black, the jury convicted him. Jem and Scout are affected and appalled by this, and so is Atticus. Bob Ewell, who is from the slums and is a drunk, makes it his goal to destroy Atticus. “... Atticus was leaving the post office when Mr. Ewell approached him, cursed him, spat on him,and threatened to kill him”