Boo Radley Abernathy Analysis

Christopher Abernathy was found guilty of the rape and murder of a fifteen year old girl in 1987. Although it was almost thirty years later, Abernathy was luckily released in 2015 when forensic evidence revealed that he did not commit the crime. In the federal court system, everyone expects justice to be served to those who have the right to it, even though that is not always the case. Many people have been wrongfully convicted of serious crimes and given sentences that kept them imprisoned for years or worse. It took some time, but in the end Abernathy is one of many who received their justice. In Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird justice is not similarly achieved. In contrast to Abernathy, those who were most entitled to justice in To Kill

Because of some mistakes made in his teenage years, Boo was locked inside his family’s house. Although there is no direct acknowledgement of any physical or emotional abuse, Miss Maudie Atkinson vaguely sheds some light on the situation when she tells Scout, “ ‘… that is a sad house. I remember Arthur Radley when he was a boy. He always spoke nicely to me, no matter what his folks said he did.’” (Lee 46) Earlier, Miss Maudie mentioned that the Radley’s were foot-washing Baptists, who believe that most of the pleasures of life were sinful. In his teens, Boo did commit a few crimes with his friends, and that was enough for his father to keep Boo away from others for the rest of his life. However, Boo was not an inherently evil person as his father seemed to think he was, saving Jem and Scout and even trying to talk politely with ladies like Miss Maudie when he was younger. He was never given a chance to redeem himself, which was probably one of the things that made the Radley house so sad. In the end, Boo would never be seen outside again, but if Boo Radley was treated justly he might have never become a recluse and could have lived comfortably around