To Kill a Mockingbird is definitely an excellent novel in that
it portrays life and the role of racism in the 1930's. A reader may
not interpret several aspects in and of the book through just the
plain text. Boo Radley, Atticus, and the title represent three such
things.
Not really disclosed to the reader until the end of the book,
Arthur "Boo" Radley plays an important role in the development of
both Scout and Jem. In the beginning of the story, Jem, Scout, and
Dill fabricate horror stories about Boo. They find Boo as a character
of their amusement, and one who has no feelings whatsoever. They
tried to get a peep at him, just to see what Boo looked like. Scout
connects Boo with the Mockingbird. Mrs. Maudie defines a mockingbird
as one who "...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" (94).
Screenshot of To Kill a Mockingbird(an American mo...
President George W. Bush awards the Presidential M...
You Could Be My BooBoo is exactly
that. Boo is the person who put a blanket around Scout and Jem when
it was cold. Boo was the one putting "gifts" in the tree. Boo even
sewed up Jem's pants that tore on Dill's last night. Boo was the one
who saved their lives. On the contrary to Scout's primary belief, Boo
never harms anyone. Scout also realizes that she wrongfully treated
Boo when she thinks about the gifts in the tree. She never gave
anything back to Boo, except love at the end. When Scout escorts
Arthur home and stands on his front porch, she sees the same street
she saw, just from an entirely different perspective. Scout learns
what a Mockingbird is, and who represents one.
Arthur Radley not only plays an important...