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
Throughout the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” written by Harper Lee, the readers can see how Scout changes her view about Boo Radley. Because of their nosiness, Jem, Scout, and Dill try to drag Boo out his house and to the outside world. Their innocent actions combined with Boo’s actions changed the image of Boo, in their minds, from “a malevolent phantom” (10), a person who kills cats and eats squirrels to a neighbor they can trust, who saves them from Bob Ewell. Scout says at the end, “Boo was our neighbor” (373). The readers can see a great change in their relationship. 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.
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.
Boo Radley is the town haunt of Maycomb, rumoured to eat cats and squirrels and peer through windows at night. Most people regard the Radley house with suspicion and fear, because he never leaves it. Though shrouded in mystery, Arthur “Boo” Radley is a perfect model of integrity in Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird because he retained his humanity in spite of abuse and was willing to leave the comfort of the shadows to do what he knew was right.
Boo Radley is an adult who did stupid things as a teenager and as punishment was that his parents locked him in his house a form of punishment. This resulted in him becoming a reclose trapped inside of his home trying to hold on to any of the remaining innocence he has, however he to winds up losing it and he does this by going outside to help Jem and Scout by saving their lives from Bob Ewell the wife of Mayellea Ewell. Boo Radley looses his innocence by leaving his environment and losing this innocence that he once had and that his parents tried to preserve as said by Diane Talgun, “Boo Radley left his safe environment… Hence he is like a mockingbird and assail him with public notice would be comparable to destroy a defenseless songbird who gives only pleasure to others.” (Talgun, 295) He is a person, who gave things to the kids through the tree, and fixed thing for and his final gift he gave them their lives by saving them but this resulted him leaving a peaceful environment and introducing himself to the world once more thus losing his innocence. All three of
While serenely reading a book, the sweet voice of a songbird travels through the window. The sound may have come from the beak of a mockingbird. This petite gray bird is completely harmless. Their sole purpose is to provide music for us to enjoy. This is why Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, the protagonist in To Kill a Mockingbird, is always told that “it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” (119). Many characters lose their innocence just as a mockingbird would when it is shot. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee compares Jeremy “Jem” Finch, Boo Radley, and Tom Robinson to wounded mockingbirds.
In life some people are misjudged and treated unfairly for many different reasons, your impressions on these people may change after time. This happens with some characters in the Harper Lee's to kill a Mockingbird, like Mrs. Dubose, Mr. Dolphus Raymond, Boo Radley and others. Mrs. Dubose shows how her personality changes and how brave she is dying clean of morphine and fighting so hard, the kids see this later on in the novel. Mr. Dolphus Raymond opens up to the kids and trusts them with his secret, he really is not a bad man he is just making sacrifices for his family and their situation. Boo Radley comes across as a bad person in Harper Lee's book, he gets into trouble a lot, the kids see on the night of the
American physicist and author Lester Levenson once said, “Until we become fully free, we put up a false front, a facade, to others for the purpose of winning the acceptance and approval of others” (“Lester Levenson Quote”). Leverson’s profound words resonate within both people and fictional characters, such as those in the acclaimed novel To Kill a Mockingbird. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, told through the eyes of a young child, Scout Finch, is the story of a family living in the Great Depression stricken American South during the 1930s. While those around her reflect the racist and prejudiced views of their society, Scout and her brother Jem are raised by their father Atticus to not conform to these beliefs. Although a minority, the
The definition of courage can be described as strength to complete a task, following moral beliefs, breaking certain boundaries, and etc… In the novel, “To Kill a Mockingbird” Harper Lee shows the theme of courage through some characters. The novel takes place in Maycomb Alabama in the 1930’s. The main Finch family sets the town’s story with Atticus the father, to Jem and Scout who lives in a prejudice and racist town. The story takes a turn when Atticus defends a black man who is accused of raping a white woman. During their story Harper Lee’s big role Atticus, defines true courage to his young son Jem. Atticus believes that true courage is being burdened even before you know it and still going on with life no matter the outcome. Harper lee
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the characters Boo Radley and Tom Robinson are both portrayed as the mockingbirds. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Miss Maudie tells Scout about the mockingbird: “ ‘Your father's right,’ she said. ‘Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.’ " (Lee, 119) While the mockingbird is an actual bird, it, however, is used as a metaphor in the novel and to symbolize the innocence of Boo Radley and of Tom Robinson. Boo Radley is believed by many children of Maycomb to be a horrible person due to many rumors spread about him and of the
Harper Lee’s main purpose in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird was to show the reader how the society of Maycomb works; how hypocritical and unfair they treat others. The title To Kill A Mockingbird means not to harm or prosecute those who have not done wrong. Some of the main characters in this novel are Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley. Which are all portrayed as “mockingbirds” in this story. Each one of these characters have been outcasted in some way by the society of Maycomb. Atticus is a pariah because he tries to bring good into his community, he is very moral and principled. Boo Radley was rebuked by Maycomb society due to all the rumours and talk about him. Tom Robinson is an innocent man, who does not get treated equal among others because of his race. Boo,Tom, and Atticus are all somehow “harmed” by the community of Maycomb. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus, Finch, Tom Robinson, and Boo Radley are all metaphorically portrayed as mockingbirds because they are innocent and are condemned by society.
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 Radley is a harmless person. Yet, rumors run rampant around the town. Some folks say that Boo stabbed his father in the leg. Others whisper that he eats raw animals and has bloodstained hands. He is made to look like a monster. For a man who is shy and kind, these rumors would feel crushing. Jem, Dill, and Scout also partake in the hunt of Boo. When the kids try to force Boo to come out, they are in essence trying to bring him into the limelight. The situation is further exacerbated when Jem, Dill, and Scout compose a play out of his life. Later, Scout says that bringing Boo out into the public eye would be like “shootin’ a mockingbird”(370). Putting the life of an innocent recluse on display would be horrifying for that person. Boo has no desire for that attention and to force him into that situation is cruel. As Boo knows, even those who love you can harm you. After Boo has a run-in with the law, his father kept him inside the house. This seclusion may have led to Boo’s reclusive nature. Jem and Scout, Boo’s ‘children’, are his only interaction with people outside his family. When Nathan Radley fills the knothole, he severs the possibility of Boo’s relationship with the children to grow. It is obvious that Boo cares about Scout and Jem deeply. To take away part of this relationship, would be devastating for Boo. In a sense, everyone around Boo Radley is trying to kill the soul of a
Boo Radley is a mysterious recluse who was known for being a delinquent as a teenager. Many people in Maycomb believed the fabrications made about Boo because he isolated himself, a predilection that was unacceptable in Maycomb (Lee 11). The town created a fictitious profile of Boo and misjudged him. In the beginning of the novel, Boo Radley was portrayed as a monster that sparked the interest of Scout and Jem as they made various attempts to try to get Boo to leave his house. As the novel progresses, Scout and Jem realized that “Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time … because he wants to stay inside" (Lee 304). They realized that Boo is just a human being who was scarred by the evils of mankind. Throughout the novel, Boo made
In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee shows that we shouldn’t be too quick to judge another person’s character based on outward appearance and the stories and rumors we have heard. The character Boo Radley is a perfect example of why we shouldn’t be hasty to judge. On the outside, Boo looks like a scary neighbor that lives just a few houses away. “.....he had sickly white hands that had never seen the sun. His face was as white as his hands…..” (Harper Lee page 32 ) Boo’s mouth is described as wide and his eyes look gray. “So gray that I thought he was blind.” (Harper Lee page 32.) But in reality, on the inside, he is a good hearted person.