Sunday, July 14, 2013

What is some textual evidence of Boo Radley being misunderstood in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Arthur "Boo" Radley's troubles began when he was a
teenager and began running around with the "wrong crowd"--the Cunninghams from Old
Sarum. He was arrested for disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, assault and battery
and "using abusive and profane language in the presence and hearing of a female." The
charges were somewhat exaggerated, since the group's actions were little more than a
boyish prank, but the whole group was sentenced to the state industrial school. Arthur's
father would not allow young Boo to go, and he convinced the judge to release Boo into
his custody. Boo was confined to the Radley house and "Mr. Radley's boy was not seen
again for 15 years.


Boo apparently had no say in the
matter, and he must have deteriorated--mentally and physically--greatly during his
lengthy home confinement. When he was next heard from again, it was because he had
stabbed his father with a pair of scissors. This time, Boo was locked in the basement of
the courthouse--"The sheriff hadn't the heart to put him in jail alongside
Negroes"--until his father took Boo back home
again. 


Nearly all of the rumors about Boo had no basis in
fact and no witnesses to support them. His purported peeping in windows at night,
slaughtering pets and animals, and poisoning pecans were all unfounded. Instead, Jem and
Scout discovered that he was a man in need of young friends, even if he wasn't willing
to leave his house to meet them. Jem and Scout eventually recognized that the gifts in
the secret knothole of the Radley oak were from Boo, and that he meant no harm. The
children decided to respect his privacy, and they hounded him no
more.


No one knew just how closely Boo watched the Finch
children, but he was there when they needed him on the night of the Halloween pageant.
After he saved their lives, killing Bob Ewell in the process, Scout understood that he
was a neighbor who had not received acts of kindness in return. Scout recognized Boo's
plight and his true feelings when she stood on his porch in the final chapter, gazing
upon the neighborhood and seeing the events of the past two years through Boo's eyes.
What he must have seen was not much different from what Scout remembered--summetime,
children playing, colorful azaleas, a burning house, a shot
dog.



Atticus
was right. One time he said you really never knew a person until you stand in his shoes
and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was
enough.


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