Why Is Boo Radley Important In To Kill A Mockingbird

Tori Agans

8a

3-6-18

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Grand Central, 1982. Scout Finch along with her brother Jem and fiance Dill, are intrigued with Arthur “Boo” Radley, who is said to have been locked up in his house for fifteen years. During the school year, they never really pay any attention to The Radley Place, but during the summer when Dill comes to stay, they always go out and hunt Arthur down. They all end up learning that they should not judge a person based on the stories that they hear about them, which stays present throughout the end of the book. To Kill a Mockingbird is set in Maycomb County, Alabama in the 1930s. Maycomb is “an old town” that seems to be very sluggish and “tired”and where the season all seem to blend together (6). The Finch’s, along with their maid Calpurnia, all live on

She was supposedly raped by Tom. In her family, Mayella is the mother figure. She does most of the younger kids chores, while she has to do her own. Mayella is abused by her father, which is a major reason why she is so skittish and scared at her hearing. Charles Baker Harris or Dill, is “right puny” (9). He comes to Maycomb every summer to visit his Rachel, his aunt. Through Dill, Scout and Jem become interested in Boo Radley. Dill tells them all of the exciting stories that he has heard or had seen. Dill continuously lies about his family back in Mississippi, but Scout and Jem never really point out his lies. Dill asks Scout to marry him the first summer that he goes to Maycomb, and sends her letters about them running away together. Finally, the most important character of the story is Arthur “Boo” Radley. Arthur is the “phantom” of Maycomb County since no one ever saw him since he was rumored to only come out at night (10). Boo is very pale. He has “colorless” grey eyes, “thin frame”, and his skin is a “sickly white” (362). To anyone looking at him, it would look like he has “never seen the sun”