Theme Of Double Life In To Kill A Mockingbird

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, is told from the perspective of Atticus Finch’s daughter Scout, who is very involved with the people of Maycomb. Many of the characters live a double life in order to fit in with their society. Double lives are shown in the lives of Arthur Radley, Calpurnia, and Atticus Finch. Each person’s life is different, but they all connect and are individually important. Firstly, Boo (Arthur) Radley shows in many ways that he lives a double life. For his character it is important to the story that he lives a double life since it gives the book some mystery. For most of Boo’s life he has always stayed in his house and the town does not know what he is like. For example in the first chapter Jem is describing to Dill and Scout what Boo might look like, he says “...judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained… There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time” (Lee 16). What comes to mind when Jem said that is that Boo was a monster, but Boo is far from a monster. His double life comes up at the end of the book when it is proven that Boo was the one who stabbed Jem and Scout, which means he saved them. That action along with when he puts the blanket on Scout during the fire shows that he is actually a caring and loving guy and he’s nothing like what the rumors say about