ipl-logo

Why Is Boo Radley Isolated

422 Words2 Pages

A short history of the town is narrated by Scout , and Maybomb’s insensitivity of citizens such as Mr. Radley and Boo Radley is shown. Dill and Jem happen to discuss Boo Radley. Dill then insults Jem for not being manly enough. Jem then marches to the corner to warn Dill of the consequences of attempting to bring Boo out of his house. Jem says, "Dill, you have to think about these things, Jem said. "Lemme think a minute...it's sort of like making a turtle come out"(Lee 17). The simile that is said by Jem is implying that Boo will probably not want to leave the security of his just like how a turtle does not venture of their shell when it does not feel safe. The turtle also symbolizes Boo living in his house for all those years, and him trying to come out of his shell. Boo is extremely isolated from the outside world, but it makes him feel safe, so he doesn't want to leave. Boo Radley never explains this to the reader, so we have to make a few assumptions about why his character stays inside all the time. The assumed reason he stays inside also changes throughout the novel. The first reason why Boo Radley stays in the house today is that …show more content…

But on the other hand, it is not just Jem that is like this, the whole town of Maycomb never seems like they made an effort to really get to know Mr. Radley and Boo Radley. The town just kept gossiping up them because of the fact that they have their own believes. Jem says, “Turtles can’t feel stupid” (Lee 17). The turtles symbolizes that citizens that are categorized as unimportant in the town of Maycomb. Jem is not concerned about the turtles feelings at, which reveals that the citizens of Maycomb do not care about the ones that are on the fringe of society. This also reveals Maybomb is a town that is set in their own ways and beliefs, making it hard to change the public's

Open Document