Character Analysis Of Boo Radley

Character Analysis Essay

Boo Radley

Boo Radley is a character in the esteemed novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee. His character is a strong character, yet absent from quite a bit of the novel. His character throughout most chapters is more like a mythical being, rather than an actual human being, and through his absence, it is shown to us that Boo Radley is a troubled, complicated yet held back character. However any knowledge of Boo Radley’s character as an actual human being rather than a mythical person in a more real life setting comes in later chapters and that changes the view on Boo Radley slightly. Despite this, we still see that Boo Radley, in absence or not, is a complicated, troubled, yet compassionate character that is of great importance in the novel. To add, despite his absence, he is still an important, influential and well-loved character in the book.

Boo Radley is an extremely complicated and hidden character. Throughout the book, there are a multitude of rumors that Scout –the novels narrator- has heard herself, as well as her own wild imagination. He is thought to be dead at one point.

“’Miss Maudie,’ I said one evening, ‘do you think Boo Radley’s still alive?’

‘His name’s Arthur and he’s alive,’ she said.” (Lee, 48).

This just adds to the mystery of who he is and what exactly his isolation entails. During a conversation with Miss Maudie, Scout also learns a few things about Boo that were not mentioned in the rumor mill.

“’You reckon he’s