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Theme Of Inhumanity In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Recommended: Describe the theme of injustice in the novel to kill a mockingbird

In Harper Lee’s novel (1960),to kill a MockingBird,one of the major themes is man’s inhumanity to man. This is shown through the Boo Radley, Tom Robinson and Dolphus Raymond subplots. All three characters can be seen as examples of the proverbial mockingbird. This inhumanity shows that Maycomb might not be the melancholic, quiet town that is described in the book by Scout,’”Maycomb was an old town,but it was a tired old town’” (6). While Scout thought Maycomb was peaceful it was evidently a inhumane town. An example of these “MockingBirds” are: The first and foremost example of this heartless treatment is Arthur “Boo” Radley. He is the subject of not only multiple absurd rumors but also is looked down upon by his fellow neighbours and townsfolk. Children and adult alike fear him for what is heard of him and speculate ideas of the gruesome things he “must” do. “Boo drove the scissors into his parents leg,pulled them out,wiped them on his pants,and resumed his activities” …show more content…

The people of Maycomb stalk and harass an innocent man that just want’s to be accepted.The second he goes and does his own thing, people start absurd rumours about him.Children torment him on a almost day to day basis. They play thing’s such as “Boo Radley play” an offensive play meant to make fun of him. They also berate Boo by going on to his private property to try and see what he looks like.”Dill and Jem were simply going to peep in the window with the loose shutter to see if they could get a look at Boo Radley” (69). Despite Boo being ostracized by the people of Maycomb, he is still nice to them. He gives gifts to the kids that treated him wrongly, even goes as far as to save their life,while risking his own. Boo Radley is obviously a Mockingbird,giving gifts and not harming a soul,but the people of Maycomb think wrongly of him. Sadly Boo isn’t the only innocent man to be hurt by

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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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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.

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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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Days in Maycomb have never been normal for Boo Radley or Tom Robinson, over the years they get misunderstood and judged for reasons they don’t even understand. They only have two reason they could possibly “hate them”, rumors people are spreading and the sheer fact that people hated African American people. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird written by Harper Lee, “Boo the Monster” rests from the comfort of his home while he gazes at Jem, Scout, and Dill, which he sees he’s being mimicked for the things he “has done”. Tom Robinson stares back at a large crowd of angry people for a crime he didn’t commit but has no way to prove it. Racism is a horrible thing but in Maycomb Alabama, it was at it’s peak.

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This injustice highlights the deep-seated racism that affects Maycomb society, affecting every aspect of life for its black residents. Another strong example of prejudice in the town of Maycomb is the life of Boo Radley. Boo Radley, a reclusive figure, occupies a central place in Maycomb's history. Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Boo remains a shadowy presence, confined to the eerie Radley House. Rumors swirl around Boo, painting him as a sinister figure responsible for mischief and

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Radley is understood to be mistreated by his father in his childhood and was locked away in his home for a minor infraction, making him the gossip of the town in Maycomb. Early in the book, Jem depicts Boo as a terrifying monster who had “blood-stained hands (pg.14)” and a “long jagged scar (pg.14)” from “din[ing] on raw squirrels and cats (pg.14)”. The author creates this gruesome imagery through the frightening connotations of Boo’s description to highlight the children’s’ negative perception of him. However, Boo is a hapless and innocent individual. The audience is first positioned to view Boo as such when he showed an unanticipated act of heroism, saving Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell’s attempted murder.

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Towards the end of the novel, Boo Radley emerges from his seclusion to save Scout and Jem from Bob Ewell’s attack. Boo’s heroic act exposes the stark contrast between the community’s prejudiced perception of him and his true character. This challenges the deeply rooted prejudice in Maycomb and forces the community to confront the harmful effects of their preconceived notions. Just as a marathon tests the endurance and resilience of the runners, the consequences of prejudice in Maycomb challenge both individuals and the community, leaving lasting scars and hindering their process toward a more inclusive society. Harper Lee examines the intriguing dimensions of racial injustice and inequality during the Great Depression in To Kill a Mockingbird, emphasizing the significant effects of prejudice on the Maycomb community.

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Tom was charged with the rape of a local young girl, Mayella Ewell. Although he did not commit the crime, the town’s racist mindset led them to side with the guilty party, Bob Ewell. Tom Robinson was shot and killed, so in a sense, Maycomb County killed a mockingbird. The second is Boo Radley, a mysterious man that never shows his face, causing him to fall victim to the imaginations of Maycomb residents, especially those of children like Jem and Scout. Although Jem and Scout have their theories and alleged stories about Boo, he ends up saving their lives in a plot twist.

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In the novel, ‘To kill a mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates the small, imaginary town, the Maycomb County, as a place where racism and social inequality happens in the background of 1930s America. Not only the segregation between whites and blacks, but also the poor lived in a harsh state of living. As Scout, the young narrator, tells the story, Lee introduces and highlights the effects of racism and social inequality on the citizens of Maycomb County by using various characters such as Boo Radley, Tom Robinson, and Mayella Ewell. Firstly, Harper Lee portrays Boo Radley as a victim of social inequality through adjectives and metaphor in the phrase, “There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten;” ‘Long jagged scar that ran across his face’ tells us that Boo Radley has stereotype about his appearance, which forces to imagine Boo as a scary and threatening person. The phrase, ‘yellow and rotten’ make the readers think as if Boo Radley is poor and low in a social hierarchy, as he cannot afford to brush his teeth.

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Boo Radley who “was not seen again for fifteen years”, is the most misunderstood person in Maycomb. His childhood mistakes marginalise him from society by a “form of intimidation Mr Radley employed to keep Boo out of sight.” To elaborate, Boo did not intend to separate himself and be perceived as a “malevolent phantom.” In truth, Boo is intensely lonely and wants to befriend the children in which he saves their lives. Similarly, in The

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