Boo Radley Character Analysis Essay

“I had never seen our neighborhood from this angle” Scout thought as she turned to go home. Then she pictured the past two years as Boo had seen it - from “this angle”. After her reflection, Scout remembered what Atticus had once said, “you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them” (374). Scout never really knew who Boo Radley was until she stood in his shoes and walked around in them, and now she knows him as a gentle, protective, and kind person who just does not like

Boo went out of his comfort zone by coming out of his house, just to help Jem and Scout who have bothered him by going in his yard and messing with him. Boo wants to help everyone no matter what they have done to him, because he has a good heart even though everyone thinks/thought of him as a cruel old man. Textual Reference: “I thought he got it all out of him the day he threatened me. Even if he hadn’t, I thought he’d come after me” (309).

Scout does not realize that Boo has been placing presents until Atticus says to Jem, “You’re right. We’d better keep this and the blanket to ourselves. Someday, maybe Scout can thank him for covering her up” (Lee 72). Scout is confused by who Atticus is referring to until he says, “Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the

But not this man, Mr.Finch” pg. 370. Besides he lives in the shadows. Boo saved scout and jem from being attacked by bob ewell. There are many ways Boo shows innocence.

Boo gave Scout and Jem things as a way of making friends with them. Boo, a man afraid of social interaction, still tries to make friends and in the process used his good morals to give up some of his possessions to foster in a new relationship with Scout and Jem. Boo Radley shows that he has strong morals

While fighting off Mr. Ewell, Boo stabbed him with a kitchen knife and killed him. Boo did not have to help Scout and Jem because him killing Mr. Ewell could have backfired on Boo and made him look bad, when all he was doing was

Jem has been influenced by rumors of Boo Radley and believed Boo was a monster. However, Jem loses all of these prejudices when he accepts the gifts that are left in the knothole by Boo. As a result he begins to believe Boo is a kind person and even admits that “... he[Boo] ain’t ever harmed us, he ain’t ever hurt us…”(96). Feeling like Boo is seeking attention, Jem attempts to give him a note to ease his loneliness. Jem continues to … Feeling worried for Atticus, Jem decides to leave Atticus alone so that he can focus on the Tom Robinson case.

Throughout the book, Boo has sheltered himself from society and has rarely been seen outside. Boo lost his innocence much earlier in his life, so he is wiser and knows what to do in different situations. This is specifically shown on page 357 when we figure out that Boo saved the kids from being hurt or killed by Bob Ewell. This demonstrates the theme that is being shown throughout the book because Boo shows his experience in life and knew that something was wrong when he heard the kids scream, so he did anything he could to save them. The literary choice used in this scene is foreshadowing because throughout the whole book, we begin to learn more about how Boo isn’t a bad character at all, but a very kind and compassionate one, so that foreshadowed him saving Jem and Scout.

In the beginning of the book we know Boo as the weird person that stabbed his father, but Mrs. Stephanie says “Boo wasn’t crazy, he was high-strung at times.” (11). As the story of Boo progresses, the children keep interacting with Boo without knowing it. His innocence is shown when he brings a blanket for Scout in the event of Mrs. Maudie’s house burning down, and when he saved Jem and Scout from Bob. His loss of innocence is shown earlier in his life when he was in a “gang” that did not always do the right things.

Throughout the novel, the children befriend Boo Radley, since he is a shut in and many children of the neighborhood are quite curious as to what he does inside all of the time. Boo and Scout came specifically close, him giving her a blanket when Maudie Atkinson’s house burned down and at the climax point when he makes his initial known physical appearance as he saves Scout and Jem when Bob Ewell attacks them. After the Tom Robinson trial, Jem and Scout are finally starting to see from his perspective as Jem says “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.

This small act of care by Boo, similar to fixing and folding Jem’s pants, are indications of Boo’s love for the kids, and how he will help them, despite his fears. When Mr. Ewell was attacking the kids “He slowly squeezed the breath out of [Scout]… Suddenly he was jerked backwards and flung on the ground” (301). All of the events leading up to this fight demonstrated what he would do to help the kids, but the ultimate event showing courage was him killing Mr. Ewell. Boo went and fought for the kids even though it could end up with him having the same fate as Tom Robinson, but it didn’t matter to him.

Some say his hands were bloodstained as he ate squirrels and cats. He was also said to have eaten one of her mother’s fingers when he could not find any. However, Scout believes Boo is just a misunderstood friend. Her naive innocence, helps Scout have the will to give him a chance. When Boo leaves anonymous gifts for Scout and Jem, Jem gives a warning about how an item from the Radley place could kill them.

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.” Little do they know that Boo Radley will play a huge part in their survival at the end of the book when the crazy Bob Ewell Attacks them and Boo Radley protected them, something that Jem and scout would’ve never imagined, But something that the reader could foreshadow. Due to Boo’s acts of kindness like when he returned Jem’s pants sowed after he got them caught on the barb wire fence while he was snooping and around and also the gifts he left in the knot of the tree that helped him build a deeper sentimental relationship with Jem and Scout even if the kids did not know it. Boo had built such a relationship with them that he had done something extremely courageous and protects Jem and scout from Bob

In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee shows that we shouldn’t be too quick to judge another person’s character based on outward appearance and the stories and rumors we have heard. The character Boo Radley is a perfect example of why we shouldn’t be hasty to judge. On the outside, Boo looks like a scary neighbor that lives just a few houses away. “.....he had sickly white hands that had never seen the sun. His face was as white as his hands…..”

Boo displays protection towards the children (Jem and Scout) a couple of times throughout the story. In the beginning, when Jem, Scout, and Dill went Hunter 2 onto Boo’s property he shows protection by not telling Atticus or anybody else that he knew that it was Jem and Scout who were on his lawn. Boo then stitches Jem’s pants that got ripped off when he was crawling under the fence and he leaves them out for Jem to retrieve them. He protected the children from getting in huge trouble from Atticus and he protected their reputation because the entire town would hear about how they intruded and that would look bad on Jem and Scout. Boo also protects