Rumor, a currently circulating story or report of uncertain or doubtful truth. In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Boo Radley, a mysterious and unknown character is often the center of these rumors. Rumors that are almost always false. Harper Lee develops this theme “not all the rumors you hear are true”, in the scene at the end of the book where Scout and Boo were talking and Scout walked Boo home. After walking Boo home Scout comes home and has a discussion with her father, Atticus, after reading a book. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee develops the theme “not all the rumors you hear are true” through irony, pathos and point of view. To begin, Harper Lee uses irony to develop the theme, “not all the rumors you hear are …show more content…
When Scout and Boo were on the front porch, Boo was holding Scout’s hand tightly “and he had no sign of letting go.” (pg 372). He then asks Scout “ Will you take me home? “ (pg 372). Irony is represented to develop the theme, “not all the rumors you hear are true”, because not too long ago, Scout wouldn’t even be talking to Boo let alone hold his hand and walk him home. This was because of the rumors around town that Boo was an eerie and devilish child. Because of these rumors it made Scout not want to be associated with Boo even though now, she is very close to him, which is ironic. Later when Scout had gotten home, she read a book with Atticus. While reading the book she talked to Atticus about it and asked about the character and “...why he hadn’t done any of those things...Atticus, he was real nice.” (pg 376). While describing this character from the …show more content…
For instance, when Jem had been unconscious and was laying down, Boo was staring with “ An expression of timid curiosity was on his face, as though he had never seen a boy before. His mouth was slightly open, and he looked at Jem from head to foot. Boo’s hand came up, but he let it drop to his side.” (pg 372). Scout then says that Boo can pet him and “Boo’s hand hovered over Jem’s head. ‘Go on, sir, he’s asleep.” His hand came down lightly on Jem’s head.” (pg 372). Instead of being wacky and disturbing like the town imagines Boo to be, Boo is shown to be compassionate and tender because he is petting Jem. In this scene pathos is used to develop the theme, “not all rumours you hear are true”, because Harper Lee evokes the reader’s compassion and good-nature of Boo which is not like what the people of Maycomb had said he was like. When walking home after dropping Boo home, Scout had a thought to herself about her neighbor Boo and it was about how neighbors bring each other gifts and how “Neighbors bring food with death and flowers with sickness and little things in between. Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls,a broken watch and chain, a pair of a good-luck pennies, and our lives. But neighbors give in return. We never put back into the tree what we took out of it: we had given him nothing, and it made me sad.” (pg 373). As Scout recollects her memories from those times, she
After stabbing Bob Ewell, who attempted to kill the Finch children in vengeance of Atticus, Scout describes Boo as walking “...with the staccato steps of someone carrying a load too heavy for him. He was going around the corner. He was carrying Jem. Jem’s arm was dangling crazily in front of him.”. (302).
This shows us the symbol of evil because of what the court case did to Atticus because he was simply defending a negro. Bob Ewell had come across him at some point in time spitting on him and threatening him saying that he was going to kill him. Eventually, the whole town turned against Atticus just because he was simply trying to make a change in the town. Harper Lee uses Atticus to show that good and bad can happen to someone who is simply trying to be
Boo's true nature is different from what Scout has expected. The story reads, "I led him to the front porch, where his uneasy steps halted. He was still holding my hand and was showing no signs of letting go" (Lee 278). Scout realizes that Boo is not like the rumors she has heard. He was an anxious man who did not like social interaction, but Boo was a gentle giant.
We live in a society today where judging others is a regular, everyday activity. Many people may blame a significant amount of this issue on the excessive amount of technology we have access too, but this problem has been around for much longer. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, it shows the ugliness that can come from judging others, but it also teaches two young children, Scout and Jem, to listen to others, so that you can have the opportunity to learn from them. Throughout the story many characters were able to demonstrate this lesson for the kids, but three that were true examples of it were Tom Robinson, Atticus Finch and Boo Radley. With only aiming to stand up for what they believe in and not worrying what everyone
Even in a society that, overall, is diverse, people with similar ideas and experiences tend to congregate in small groups, where they are comfortable. It is much easier to remain in homogenous groups, among those who understand each other. When different groups combine, many different life experiences and points of view will be present and will potentially clash. Misunderstanding is bound to occur in some form when individuals of different backgrounds interact. When misunderstandings occur, people tend to respond with violence, fear, or stereotyping.
Boo notices and enjoys watching the children play throughout the neighborhood, and he is probably aware of their curious nature. Boo simply wants to be friends with Jem and Scout, and his gifts are a token of his friendship.” (Author Unknown). The article shows that Boo just wants friends with Jem and Scout and is truly a kind person. “Jem said Boo was six and a half feet tall, ate squirrels and cats, his teeth were yellow, and he drooled most of the time.”
This small act of care by Boo, similar to fixing and folding Jem’s pants, are indications of Boo’s love for the kids, and how he will help them, despite his fears. When Mr. Ewell was attacking the kids “He slowly squeezed the breath out of [Scout]… Suddenly he was jerked backwards and flung on the ground” (301). All of the events leading up to this fight demonstrated what he would do to help the kids, but the ultimate event showing courage was him killing Mr. Ewell. Boo went and fought for the kids even though it could end up with him having the same fate as Tom Robinson, but it didn’t matter to him.
If not for the major characters, the minor characters have played an equally important role in Maycomb with their contrasting views. The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is mainly about Jem and Scout growing up under the difficult situations created in Alabama during The Great Depression. Stereotypes and discrimination are major problems in Maycomb. Scout and Jem Finch are raised by Atticus, with the help of Calpurnia, their maid. In the first part of the book, Scout, Jem and Dill are fascinated by Boo Radley because of the rumors they hear about him, and they try everything to make him come out of his house.
In Chapter 12 of Harper Lee’s, To Kill a Mockingbird, there are many events and situations in which irony is used to support the theme of the chapter. An example of this is in the very beginning of the chapter, when Scout is concerned about how distant and moody Jem is acting, and asks Atticus, “’Reckon he’s got a tapeworm?’” (Lee 153), to which Atticus replies no, and that Jem is growing. This is dramatic irony because the readers understand that Jem is acting oddly because he’s growing, but Scout doesn’t know this until she asks Atticus about it. This quote supports the theme of Chapter 12 by showing when Jem started to grow distance from Scout, getting aggravated with her and telling her to stop bothering him, and shows how the children
Boo wants to be friends with Scout but does not know how and when Miss Maudie’s house was on fire he seen Scout standing in the cold so he put a blanket on her but she didn’t notice. The nearby residents display or accept acts of affection that
This infers that Boo had somehow managed to figure out that Scout was cold and place a blanket around her. 3. Jem wants to stop Atticus from returning the blanket to the Radleys because he was begun to grow a certain fondness for Boo and he does not want to get him in trouble. Jem even defends him and says, “...he ain’t ever hurt us, Atticus”(Lee 96). The worry that is present in the words Jem speak to his father convey the idea that he does not want anything bad to happen to Boo since he has come out of his house.
Overtime, Scout realizes that they are just disrupting Boo, and decides to stop trying to lure him outside. She almost completely forgets about Boo, until he saves both her and Jem from Mr. Ewell who was attacking them. When Scout first saw Boo, she teared up, since she only fantasized about that very moment. Curiosity struck Scout and her
Decide how the relationship between Scout and Boo Radley evolves providing sufficient evidence In ‘To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, Scout develops a strange relationship with a mysterious character, Boo Radley. Scout, Jem, and Dill are interested in Boo Radley because of the mystery that dominates around him and the Radley house. The town people poorly judge Boo Radley and hearing stories from Miss Stephanie Crawford frightens Scout and Jem. Although the relationship starts out as fear and mystery, as time passes, Scout begins to realize that Boo isn’t the monster they described him as, he is rather a nice and caring person.
At the beginning, the children cannot even go near Boo’s place without palpitation, but at the end, Scout is comfortable enough to walk Boo up to his front porch. Throughout the novel, Scout has changed her view of Boo after a chain of Boo’s actions toward her. As Scout grows older, she becomes wiser to understand her father’s lesson, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around in it ” (39). Her father says this at the beginning, but till the end, thanks to the maturity combined with Boo’s actions that help Scout to understand it. She has matured enough to realize that people should not judge other people by rumor, but give them some chances to prove themselves.
The story is told in scout’s point of view and through her eyes we may fittingly understand the author’s message and how it is still relevant in