Innocent, but Misunderstood In the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the most important themes is that people who are misunderstood in society are often much better or more innocent people than the stereotypes or rumors about them would indicate. In the novel, there is a Tom Robinson was accused of raping Mayella Ewell, Bob Ewell’s daughter. Throughout the book, Scout Finch, Jem Finch, and Dill, attempt to see Arthur Radley, also known as Boo. The theme is shown by Boo Radley being rumored to have stabbed his father, Tom Robinson being accused of rape, and Dolphus Raymond being thought to be drunk to hang out with black people. Boo Radley is misunderstood in Maycomb because the people in the town suggested that he did many horrible things. …show more content…
His father entered the room. As Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent’s leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities” (13). This is just comment that may not be true since the people who spread these ideas are not eye-witnesses. In reality, Boo Radley saved Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell when Bob Ewell tried to kill the children. “‘Anyway, Jem hollered and I didn’t hear him any more an’ the next thing - Mr. Ewell was tryin’ to squeeze me to death, I reckon… then somebody yanked Mr. Ewell down. Jem must have got up, I guess. That’s all know… Somebody was staggerin’ around and pantin’ and - coughing fit to die. I thought it was Jem at first, but it didn’t sound like him, so I went lookin’ for Jem on the ground. I thought Atticus had come to help us and had got wore out - … Why there he is, Mr. Tate, he can tell you his name… Hey, Boo,’ I said” (361, 362). This shows that Bob Ewell was attacking Jem and Scout, but then somebody grabbed Bob Ewell to save Scout. That …show more content…
Mr. Robinson was accused of raping Mayella Ewell. “‘It’s because of what folks say Tom’s done”... Calpurnia sighed. ‘Old Mr. Bob Ewell accused him of rapin’ his girl an’ had him arrested an’ put in jail - “ (164). Calpurnia says the folks think Tom Robinson raped Mayella Ewell, meaning the situation may not be true, or may not have even occurred. Tom Robinson didn’t rape Mayella Ewell; he was helping her grab a box on the shelf because he felt pity towards her. Tom Robinson didn’t expect that Mayella Ewell was attempting to seduce him. “‘So I done what she told me, an’ I was just reachin’ when the next thing I knows she - she’d grabbed me round the legs… She hugged me round the waist… She reached up an’ kissed me ‘side of th’ face…’” (259, 260). This shows that Tom was the victim since Mayella Ewell forced herself on him, not vice versa. Tom Robinson was incriminated of sexually violating Mayella Ewell. However, Tom Robinson was actually innocent. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time. Furthermore, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley are blameless victims of wrongful rumors created by the town. Dolphus Raymond is also another instance for being misinterpreted by the people of
First impressions of people are often lasting impressions, especially in the minds of children. Many times these impressions, aided by misunderstanding and prejudgment, cause unjust discrimination against an individual. To kill a Mockingbird depicts the themes of misunderstanding and prejudice that portray Arthur (Boo) Radley as a villain. Through the progressive revelation of Radley's character, the children realize that their negative impressions and fear of him were unfounded. Through gradual stages of change, from total misunderstanding of Boo, to a realization of an error in judgment, to a reevaluation followed by a change of heart, to a growing trust and acceptance of Boo, and finally to an appreciation of his true character, Jem's, Scout's, and Dill's impressions of Radley are dramatically altered.
It teaches them to not be prejudice and get to know a person before making a judgement. Arthur ‘Boo’ Radley, was frowned upon by many people in the Maycomb community. He was rumoured to have been locked in the basement by his father and older brother after an incident involving scissors. Though never seen stepping outside his house, he intrigues yet also frightens Scout, Jem and their friend Dill. After different events in the novel, the children come to find that Boo Radley is not intimidating, but a man who due to his father, is emotionally damaged. Miss Maudie, a neighbour of the Finch’s, explains to Scout that "Mockingbirds 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. That 's why it 's a sin to kill a mockingbird.” The mockingbird is a symbol for innocent people, who are judged for no reason. Like the mockingbird, Boo Radley has people prejudiced against him when he is an innocent man. By using this metaphor, the reader is able to understand the link between Boo Radley and the innocence and morality. As well as the mockingbird, he also symbolises goodness. By secretly watching over Scout and Jem, he protects them from later being attacked by Bob Ewell, a symbol of evil. When Jem and Scout begin to trust Boo, they are paying the highest tribute they could pay him.
Although Boo Radley only actually physically appears in the story once, he serves two essential purposes. At the beginning of the novel, Boo serves as an enigma to the children, giving them something to make the focal point of their games, as well as a topic of conversation. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that Boo embodies more character than most of the citizens of Maycomb, emerging as a symbol of what is truly just and right. Boo stands up for what he believes is right, no matter what people think of him.
After his father died, his brother moved in with him. While Boo was locked up inside is house, the people of Maycomb County made up stories about him. The legend of Boo Radley was well-known to the people of Maycomb. Jem describes 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.”
In the beginning of the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Scout Finch is a good-hearted, innocent five-year-old who has no experience with the evils of the world. However, throughout the novel, Scout has her first contact with the evils of the world in the form of prejudice. Arthur “Boo” Radley — one of the two cases — is a harmless human-being who falls victim to this evilness. Regarded as an evil person, Boo is the “ghost” of Maycomb and is used as the scapegoat for anything bad which happens. However, growing up in the house of Atticus Finch, Scout learns that humanity is evil at times, but there is also a lot of good humanity has to offer. Not only is there good, but what may seem evil at the time, if approached with an outlook
Thus, Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Arthur “Boo” Radley are all victims of rumour, humiliation, and prejudice. Firstly, Atticus is humiliated by his family and his neighbourhood because he has stood up to an African American man, and then, is nicknamed “nigger-lover” for his decision. By strong evidence, Tom Robinson is proven innocent of rapping a young white woman, but is still convicted, and then shot to death because he is black. Finally, Arthur Radley is greatly misunderstood because of his mysterious background and is forced to isolate from society to escape the awful and untruthful rumours about him in Maycomb. Through the storytelling of Atticus Finch, Tom Robinson, and Arthur “Boo” Radley, the reader understands how the mockingbird symbol is used to represent those who are innocent, and have good intentions at heart.
There are many people in the world who are judged by the way they look, dress, or act, resulting in a false or irrelevant opinion of that person. This is the case in To Kill a Mockingbird, where there are many characters who were judged incorrectly and misunderstood, characters who in reality, are completely different people compared to how society sees them. There are three main characters who were misjudged and misunderstood significantly more than the rest. These three characters are Arthur (Boo) Radley, Mrs. Dubose, and Tom Robinson. Arthur (Boo) Radley is a very important character in the novel, and is one of the most
In a racist town where people are overly judged based on rumors spread around. A man who has yet to be seen named Boo Radley is made into the town monster. Little do they know that Bob is one of the only people in Maycomb who does not judge people by their race. In the book “To Kill A Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee, the main character Atticus Finch is a lawyer in the little town of Maycomb. Atticus Finch the father of Scout and Jem has been faced with one of the hardest cases of his life. Atticus is forced to defend a black man named Tom Robinson on the fact that he raped a white girl named Mayella Ewell. Some people may argue that it does not make sense for Atticus to take a stand to defend Tom Robinson, because he will lose his trust
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, one of the characters,Boo Radley, have a specific roul. I think that Boo Radley’s roul was to show us what roomers can do and to give us a moral. In the beginning of the book Scout and Jem, two of the main character, talk about the bad rumors that they heard about Boo. “ Mr. Radley’s boy was not seen again for fifteen years. But there came a day, barely within Jem’s memory, when Boo Radley was heard from and was seen by several people, but not by Jem. He said Atticus never talked much about the Radleys:”(13). This shows us that most of the people don’t know or never saw Boo they just heard about. Moreover, people say that “Boo drove the scissors into his parent’s leg, pulled them out, wiped
The first important character who symbolizes the mockingbird is Arthur Radley who is given the nickname Boo by the children. He suffers from destruction yet still demonstrates innocence. Scout reveals the reader of a story in that Boo Radley was bound to be sent off to an industrial school. A benefit to refine young men into responsible adults who turned away from their childish actions as an adolescent. Although this proposal was offered by the judge, Mr. Radley suggested Arthur be locked in the
Bob Ewell decided to get back at Atticus for the Tom Robinson case by attacking his kids. Boo Radley saved Scout and Jem by stabbing Bob, but Heck Tate is insistent on saying that Bob fell on his knife. Atticus agrees and then explains the situation to Scout. Scout explained to him, “‘Yes sir, I understand,’ I reassured him. ‘
Boo Radley was a white man that no one hardly ever seen or knew. Everyone thought he was mean, and crazy. Scout narrates “As Mr.Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parents leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants and resumed his activities(11). The story was not true, but that’s what everyone thought of when they talked about Boo Radley. Boo Radley was actually the exact opposite of what people thought of him to be. Jem and Scout would find little things in an old tree, and they had realized that Boo Radley was the one who was leaving them things. Also when Jem pants was tangled on the fence, he left and came back to try and pry them off and they were neatly folded across the fence, untangled. Lots of people stereotyped him to be something that he’s not, which means he’s a mockingbird because he is nothing but
Set in the 1940’s, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird features a man named Arthur Radley, though the people of Maycomb know him as Boo. He is described as a malevolent phantom, hence his nickname, that eats cats and is over seven feet tall. Boo is known as the town recluse and madman. Nevertheless, there may be some reason for his eccentric behavior. As said by William Shakespeare, “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t.”
Boo Radley was a man who was never seen out of his house. Since the people of the town saw that he was different than them they thought he was bad. Boo had no chance to stand up for himself because he always stayed inside. Like Boo Radley, Tom Robinson is characterized by what the people of Maycomb county say about him. After being accused of rape, most of the people see him as an evil man. During the trial when Bob Ewell testifies, he points to Tom Robinson and says, "I seen that black nigger yonder ruttin' on my Mayella." (pg. 173) The evidence Atticus brought to court proved Tom innocent. But because this story takes place in the south where many people are racist he was accused of the crime. Tom had no chance because of the color of his skin. Both of these characters were seen for things on the outside and not for who they were.
First off, Boo is shown to be misunderstood broadly throughout To Kill a Mockingbird. For example,