Preview

Character Analysis Of Boo Radley In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
740 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Character Analysis Of Boo Radley In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee
It’s The Little Things It is the little things in life that people take for granted, the unnoticed deeds, and the unrewarded successes. Things that people think are customary to do, when in reality it takes a lot of confidence , courage , and even when people think poorly of a person they still act accordingly to their morals. It is hard to come across the people who still act like this. However in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Arthur “Boo” Radley is a man that still fits this script. Arthur being well known for being locked up , staying inside his whole life , and flat out a scary dude, actually comes to shock the ones who thought so poorly of him. Boo’s first attribute to fulfilling this role is his ability to act according to his morals even when in doubt . Boo had a reputation in Maycomb County, this wasn’t a good reputation either. This poor man was thought out to be a creeper who only came out at night, had an odd eating habit and even thought to …show more content…
Boo Radley in society’s eyes is basically a monster. This man had so many rumors and stories about him, Harper Lee the author of this book, could have written a separate book titled “The Deep Dark Secrets of Boo Radley”. In other words the community in which he lived in had many thoughts about Boo, these thoughts not being very nice. The thing that really shows how he is such a man of courage is how even though everybody thought so poorly of Boo, for Boo to overcome all of the bad assumptions made up about him and still save the children from Mr. Ewell and not only to save the lives of two innocent children, but to also earn the respect of others. Mr. Heck Tate takes up for Boo when Mr. Tate says, “I’m still sheriff of Maycomb County and Bob Ewell fell on his own knife” (Lee 276). This shows that people respect a courageous man, that he also earned the affection of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The second example of a mockingbird is Boo Radley. Boo is a social outcast who is deemed evil from rumours that are spread about him. To begin, the town attacks Boo’s personal identity. When Scout explains all she knows about Boo, she is convinced that “inside the house [lives] a malevolent phantom” (13). Scout has never met Boo but she victimizes him by believing the rumours and calling him evil. Moreover, Boo is slowly attempting to befriend Jem and Scout. Boo leaves small presents for the children in a knothole, the first gift he leaves is gum (38). Boo wants to be in contact with other people but he has been in his house for so many years he does not want to leave what is familiar to him so he communicates the only way he knows how. Furthermore,…

    • 221 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The author created Arthur “Boo” Radley and made Scout, the narrator, fear him. Boo was always a mysterious character throughout the novel. He was never seen and was often times feared by the neighborhood children. They would run by the Radley house every day in hopes to make it past without Boo coming out to get them. Boo was the character that was always a mystery, but in the end, surprised everyone.…

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Boo Radley is one of the most important characters in the story. “Hey Boo,” (Lee, 362). This is the first chapter where you actually meet Boo. He is standing in the corner of Jem’s room when Jem broke his elbow. Everybody thinks Boo is this really scary person. They call him Boo because he’s like a ghost. His real name is Arthur Radley. Jem described him as, “about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained—if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. 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,chapter1) This shows what Scout and Jem thought of him. It was a not very good assumption. He turns out to be not so creepy in the way he looks and turned out to be a very nice person which scout didn’t really expect. They realized their perceptions was wrong because he gave them food, fixed Jem’s pants, and gave them dolls over time.She came to expect it as she matured and got…

    • 610 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird the character “Boo” Radley is portrayed as an evil and creepy specter of a person who prowls the neighborhood at dusk as if to remain invisible to the outside world around him who would otherwise judge and reticule him. He is thought to be all of these horrible accusations as well as others such as dangerous and prone to violence when in reality he is a mockingbird, a symbol of good and innocence . It is not until the end of the novel that Boo’s true character is reviled when he saves the Finch children from a truly evil man who wishes to harm or even kill them. Boo’s arrival seems to serve as a sense of justice in a time much deserving of it.…

    • 282 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Boo is innocence in most likely its purest form in the novel. He never did anything truly wrong, unlike other characters like Bob Ewell. Boo didn't do all the terrible things he was accused of, like eating animals, and yet he became a subject of torment from Maycomb's children because of the past he had suffered. Boo is introduced early in the novel by Lee as being “...about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks;…

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Boo Radley is known to have stab his father´s leg with a scissor during his adolescent years and never have came out of his house until dusk where he supposedly did mysterious crimes. Readers can analyze that throughout the chapter, Radley tries to communicate with the kids and is a generous character as shown in chapter 7 and 8 where he left little gifts in the knothole and he ¨put the blanket around¨ (72) Scoutś shpulders. This demonstrates that Boo Radley does not have bad intentions and attempt to have contact with the outside world. Also, he possess a positive characteristic not many in Maycomb have. In addition, when Bob Ewell attacked the kids out of hatred towards Atticus, Boo saved them by stabbing ¨a kitchen knife up under [Ewell´s] ribs¨ (266). Although he did Maycomb a favor--most of Maycomb residents never liked the Ewells as they were considered ¨white trash¨--it was to be a sin to put him into the limelight as he is shy. Therefore, like a mockingbird, Heck Tate and Atticus did what they can to keep him from publicity and exposure that can end negatively. In short, Boo Radley receive nothing in return, but numerous of people in the novel were surely appreciative of his valiant…

    • 597 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the greatest mysteries of To Kill A Mockingbird is the shadowy figure and past of one Arthur “Boo” Radley. Being that he hasn’t left his house in years, he is the source of many urban legends as well as a few…

    • 804 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the novel, Boo Radley is a victim of prejudice. Boo Radley is not accepted nor does he fit into Maycomb society because he is considered different from the others. He is not normal according to Maycomb civilians and therefore he is punished socially by a community that is very judgmental and biased. Boo does not act like a normal person and his actions are mysterious and abnormal. One day Boo was cutting the newspaper with scissors, and when his father passed "Boo drove the scissors into his parent's leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities" (12). Boo just sat there after stabbing his father. He did not apologize or feel regret for his actions. This event became a topic for gossip throughout Maycomb giving Boo the malicious reputation he has to live with. Boo Radley isolates himself from the people of Maycomb. He stays inside his home all day and nobody ever sees him. He stays inside his home because he knows that his society will ridicule him and will not allow him to let go of his past errors.…

    • 1018 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atticus Fighting Quotes

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages

    When Boo saw that "his children needed him," his courage overrode the town's prejudice and he risked his own life to save Jem and Scout's lives. Heck Tate rewarded him in his acts. Everyone in that house knew that it was Boo who actually killed Bob Ewell, but it was Heck Tate that said Boo was innocent. He did this because he knew what Mr. Ewell did was wrong. This was his way of thanking Boo for saving Atticus’ children. Many people showed courage in this book, but ultimately it is Atticus that teaches us that, “Courage is knowing you’re licked from the start, but starting anyway.”…

    • 833 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    He is also misrepresented by the town, they never see much of him because his father locked him away because he thought Boo brought shame and failure to the family, without ever seeing Boo the townspeople try to make assumptions about his appearance, they were usually really bad. Boo spends most of his time in the house during the day, but at night he goes around town. But besides all the negative things about him he has a nicer side, one night Jem and Scout we were walking to a costume party and Bob Ewell was following them and was up to no good. He planned to murder the finches in woods, but they started to run and Boo came out and saw them running and turned the knife back on Bob Ewell and killed him. Atticus had thought that Jem killed him in self defense but Sheriff Tate knows that Boo Radley did it, “I’m not a very good man, sir, but I am sheriff of Maycomb County. Lived in this town all my life an‘ I’m goin’ on forty-three years old. Know everything that’s happened here since before I was born. There’s a black boy dead for no reason, and the man responsible for it’s dead. Let the dead bury the dead this time, Mr. Finch. Let the dead bury the dead...I never heard tell that it’s against the law for a citizen to do his utmost to prevent a crime from being committed, which is exactly what he did, but maybe you’ll say it’s my duty to tell the town all about it and…

    • 886 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    But children can’t handle this reason and would bother the radley’s so some of the adults must of slipped a roomer about boo out . parshally as a form of kindness and to suit there own selfish purposes allowing to use boo as a demon to keep the children in line. How ever some of boo past is known to the children but only through “ neibourhood legend” whith make the information only as all the other storys around boo, but this from a readers perspective is viltle information , that allows the reader to see the mocking bird metaphore for boo that is reviled at the end of the…

    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Boo Radley Rapism

    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages

    At the start of the story we (the audience) are introduce to the main characters; Atticus, Jem, Boo Radley, Robert Ewell, Scout, Tom Robinson, Calpurnia, and more. Boo Radley in “To Kill a Mocking Bird” is the character that we 1st get to see being judge. Jem and Scout see Boo Radley at first as nothing but a “malevolent phantom" (chapter 1 pg. 8) it states “Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom” Everything that surrounds Boo Radley would be the rumors and myths. Boo Radley seems to have never came out his house unless it was needed for. As Boo Radley saved Jem and Scout from being killed by Bob Ewell, we (the readers) finally get an actually inside look into Boo Radley. Him saving them (Jem and Scout) showed that he is actually a humane person who puts others 1st before himself, who isn’t what the townspeople say he is. When he performed that act of heroism, both Jem’s and Scout’s views had been understood towards him; really realizing that Boo…

    • 442 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Scout believes Boo Radley to be a “six-and-a-half feet tall [man],[who had blood-stained hands and drooled]” (1.65). Later, Scout meets Boo and is surprised that he’s not this giant zombie but was a kind, gentle, and curious man. When Atticus sees that Arthur killed Bob Ewell he wants to announce him as hero. But Heck Tate sees the harm: “Taking the one man who's done you and this town a great service an' draggin' him with his shy ways into the limelight, that's a sin." (30.369) Scout understands Heck Tate’s reasoning: "Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?" (30. 370) At that moment we see the big change in Scout. She has learned what her dad has taught her how “... it's a sin to kill a mockingbird." (10.119) Scout realizes the whole point of Boo Radley’s life, just like a mockingbird is harmless, all he ever did was bring presents and guard them from harm. He didn't ruin anyone's property, or act…

    • 963 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Atticus Finch Integrity

    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages

    After Jem and Scout were attacked, Scout describes what happened to Heck Tate. She says, “Mr. Ewell yanked him down ... Then someone yanked Mr. Ewell down” (361). Although Boo Radley is a recluse, he has tremendous courage and this is shown when he saves Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell. As Scout recollects the evening’s events she says, “The scuffling noises were dying but I heard someone wheezing ... I began walking toward the road and I could see a man walking towards my house carrying Jem” (359). Due to his courage, Boo Radley is not only able to stop Bob Ewell from hurting Jem and Scout, but also throws himself into the limelight by showing himself to Heck Tate and Atticus. If he lacked courage then he would not have been able to be selfless in Jem and Scout’s time of need and they would have been severely injured or may have died. When Atticus is talking about telling the townspeople that Boo saved his children Heck Tate says, “To take the one man who’s done you and this town a service and draggin’ him with his shy ways into the limelight is a sin” (363). Most people who had done something like Boo would want to be recognized, but he has the “courage” to go unrecognized and wishes not to be thanked for his actions. These are all examples of how Boo Radley’s courage allows him to be selfless.…

    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For example in the beginning of the book Scout is describing Boo of how the town says he is, “He is six and a half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch. 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..."(16). Everybody thinks that he is a crazy person just because he never goes outside, so they think that he does crazy stuff. In fact he is actually a kind, curious, and protective person. The only bad things are he is really shy, and he can sometimes be aggressive. Since people started rumors saying that Boo Radley is a bad person everybody started pinning these bad things on him just because people thought he was guilty before he was proven…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays