Skip to main content

How is Boo Radley from Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird present as a menacing or threatening character?

Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is about a family living through the Depression in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. It is something of a coming-of-age story in which the narrator, six-year-old Scout Finch, learns about the realities of life from her father, Atticus Finch, and a host of other local characters.


One of the most important characters in the book is the enigmatic recluse Boo Radley. This character is shrouded in mystery. This...

Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is about a family living through the Depression in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama. It is something of a coming-of-age story in which the narrator, six-year-old Scout Finch, learns about the realities of life from her father, Atticus Finch, and a host of other local characters.


One of the most important characters in the book is the enigmatic recluse Boo Radley. This character is shrouded in mystery. This mysteriousness inspires Scout and her companions, brother Jem and friend (and six-year-old fiancee) Dill, to create an elaborate fantasy world with Boo at the center as a terrifying spectre of evil.


Lee ominously introduces the reader to Boo in the book's second paragraph:



. . . it began the summer Dill came to us, when Dill first gave us the idea of making Boo Radley come out.



But before that happens, Boo is the subject of many imaginary activities for Scout and the others. They talk about him incessantly, making up games that include running up to Boo's door, touching it and running away, sneaking into his yard at night, and pretending to stab each other with scissors (as Boo was alleged to have done to his father years before). They characterize him as a predator, believing, or at least pretending to believe, that he sneaks out at night and eats cats and squirrels.


It is doubtful that the real Boo is anything like that; in fact, the kids on several occasions find gifts in the knothole of a nearby tree that they suspect have been left by Boo. And the fact that they want to make him “come out” suggests that they are more curious than terrified by him. Boo is a way for the children to exercise their imaginations and also a way for the author to explore the ideas of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. The real terror in the book is the way people sometimes treat each other. The town's reaction to alleged rapist Tom Robinson mirrors the children's attitude toward Boo. As they see the injustice perpetrated by closed-minded, hateful people upon the victimized black defendant, they also come to see their own mistreatment of Boo.


Ironically, by the story's end Boo is the hero that saves Scout and Jem from a real enemy—Mr. Ewell, the story's epitome of ignorance and hate.

Labels

Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

In chapter one of The Great Gatsby, what advice does Nick's father give him? How does this make him a good person to tell this story?

Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches... Nick says that his father advised him that, before "criticizing anyone," he "remember that all the people in this world haven't had the same advantages" as Nick.  As a result, Nick claims that he is "inclined to reserve all judgments," presenting himself to the reader as a fair and dispassionate arbiter of character, and thus, a reliable narrator.   The problem is that Nick immediately reveals himself as anything but reliable, as he then launches into a discussion of how pe...
Post a Comment
Read more

How and why does James Gatz become Jay Gatsby? Describe the young Gatsby/Gatz.

James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune,... James Gatz, a poor Midwestern boy of probable Jewish lineage, becomes Jay Gatsby, a presumed WASP and wealthy socialite, when he moves to New York City and acquires his fortune. It is wealth that has allowed Gatz to transform himself into Gatsby. However, those who know his background (e.g., Daisy and Tom Buchanan) never allow him to forget that he is nouveau riche -- that is, an upstart who has just recently made his fortune, whereas they arose from well-to-do families. Gatz became Gatsby through determination and discipline. At the end of the novel, the narr...
Post a Comment
Read more

Explain and discuss how the definitions of freedom change for the nation, for the freedmen and for southern whites after the Civil War.

After the Civil War, the definition of freedom changed in the nation, as slavery was ended with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. The practice of slavery was disallowed, but definition of the freedom that would take its place was a subject of controversy, ongoing debate, and even violence in the decades to come.  For freedmen, freedom often meant reconciling with their families, who were broken up by slavery; choosing which church to... After the Civil War, the definition of freedom changed in the nation, as slavery was ended with the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. The practice of slavery was disallowed, but definition of the freedom that would take its place was a subject of controversy, ongoing debate, and even violence in the decades to come.  For freedmen, freedom often meant reconciling with their families, who were broken up by slavery; choosing which church to belong to without being ordered to attend religious services (or not to attend) by their mast...
Post a Comment
Read more