Perception and Truth It is easy to get lost in the illusion of reality, which is often clouded by biases and misconceptions that shape the world around us. This idea is explored in the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee. The book is told from the innocent point of view of a young girl named Scout, who is telling the story of how her brother broke his arm. The story follows Scout and Jem Finch as the complexities of the world are revealed to them through their father, Atticus Finch, who was chosen to represent Tom Robinson, a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. Through the story’s display of the web of illusions that we often get caught in, it is revealed to the reader how societal biases, misconceptions of the truth, and the erosion of innocence shape people and the surrounding world. …show more content…
At this time in the story, the rumour about Boo Radley being a malevolent phantom is circulating through the town; Jem, Dill, and Scout are preoccupied with their fascination with Boo. The sentence "inside the house lived a malevolent phantom" (Lee 8) creates an eerie atmosphere around Boo's character; the sentence "people said he existed, but Jem and I had never seen him" (Lee 9) proves that the kids are skeptical of the rumours, contrasting the community's beliefs. The quote suggests that even with the rumours about Boo Radley being a malevolent phantom, there is no evidence of his supposed evil nature. This shows the difference between the community's perception of Boo and the children's view of