Boo Radely in To Kill a Mockingbird Essay

Boo Radley

Boo Radley is one of the harder to understand characters inTo Kill a Mockingbird, and slowly reveals himself throughout the novel. Arthur Radley, also known as Boo Radley, appears as a very quiet,reclusivecharacter, who only passively presents himself, until the children's final interaction with Bob Ewell. Most of Maycomb believes he is a horrible person, due to the rumors spread about him, and a trial he underwent as a teenager. It is implied during the story that Boo is a very lonely man, who attempted to reach out to the children for love and friendship. Throughout the novel, he is shown as kind and generous. Boo placed gifts in the knothole of the tree for the children in the beginning of the book, and when the kids were watching Miss Maudies house burn down also placed a blanket on Scout's shoulders, without being noticed. It was not until the end of the book, when he saved Jem and Scout Finch's lives from Mr. Ewell's assault, that he was paid notice. It wasn't until hours after the attack, when the family was in Jems room watching over him, that Scout finally realizes that it was Boo Radley who had saved them, and was watching over her all along. When Heck Tate attempted to avert blame from Jem, stating that Bob Ewell simply "fell on his knife", after Atticus clearly thought Jem had murdered Bob Ewell, Tate indirectly revealed the truth: Boo Radley killed Bob Ewell in order to defend the children. Scout described him as being sickly white, with a thin mouth and hair and grey eyes, almost as if he was blind. During the same night, when Boo requests that Scout walk him back to the Radley house, Scout takes a moment to picture what it would be like to be Boo Radley, while standing on his porch. Boo doesn't talk much, but Scout describes him as being very soft spoken and quiet.

Boo the Monster

Boo first comes into the novel through the creative imagination of Jem, whose description of his neighbor suggests that if he had been born several decades later, he would probably be shooting homemade zombie movies on digital video in his backyard.

Jem gave a reasonable description of Boo: Boo was 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. (1.65)

Talking about Boo gives kids the same thrill as telling scary stories around a campfire. Never having seen him, they dont quite believe he is a real person, and so theyre free to make up fantastic stories as someone else might do about Bigfoot. Their make-believe games, in which they act out scenes from his life, put him on the same level as the horror novels they shiver over. Are they really interested in Boo, or does he just serve as a convenient excuse for fun games to lighten up a boring summer? Perhaps the answer is different for different combinations of the kids at different times.

Boo the Fantasy

While Boo can be a figure of fear, theres also a strange longing for connection in the kids obsession with him. Their acting out of the life and times of Boo Radley could, after all, be seen as a way to try to understand him by trying on his skin, as Atticus always says. And at least some of their attempts to see him they explain as concern for his well-being.

Dill said, "We're askin' him real politely to come out sometimes, and tell us what he does in there we said we wouldn't hurt him and we'd buy him an ice cream."

"You all've gone crazy, he'll kill us!"

Dill said, "It's my idea. I figure if he'd come out and sit a spell with us he might feel better."

"How do you know he don't feel good?"

"Well how'd you feel if you'd been shut up for a hundred years with nothin' but cats to eat? (5.72-76)

The last line suggests that Dill at least feels some sympathy for Boo, and can imagine, or thinks he can imagine what he feels and what he needs. Why are they so bent on making him come out? Perhaps Boo becomes such a figure of fascination for the kids because he makes them ask the question: can you still be human without being part of a community? Meeting Boo might answer this question, and also fill in the gaping hole that the Radley Place forms in Maycombs social world.

Boo the Reality

After the Tom Robinson trial, Jem and Scout start to have a different understanding of Boo Radley.

Scout, I think I'm beginning to understand something. I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time... it's because he wants to stay inside." (23.117)

Having seen a sample of the horrible things their fellow townspeople can do, choosing to stay out of the mess of humanity doesnt seem like such a strange choice.

When Boo finally does come out, he has a good reason: Bob Ewell is trying to murder the Finch kids. No one sees what happens in the scuffle, but at the end of it, Ewell is dead and Boo is carrying an unconscious Jem to the Finch house. Finally faced with Boo, Scout doesnt even recognize him: after all, shes never seen him before, except in her dreams.

While Tate insists that Ewell fell on his own knife, he also indirectly implies that Boo stabbed the man on purpose to defend the children. Since no one saw it (except, presumably, Boo), theres no way to know for certain. Rather than drag Boo into court, Tate decides to let the dead bury their dead (30.60). However, Tate seems less concerned about the negative consequences for Boo than the positive ones.