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Tyce Neu

Mr. Starkey

Gifted English 9

10 October 2016

Boo: A Myth Of Pure Misconception

The character Boo Radley from To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is first portrayed as a

legendary creature that stalks little children and he is also rumored to murder his parents in cold blood.

Boo Radley is actually a misunderstood, child-like citizen of Maycomb who just wants to help out Jem

and Scout. Boos true state and form isnt blatantly revealed until the very end of the book. He goes to

extreme measures to protect the kids and ends up their savior. Boo suffered from a mental handicap that

gave him the mind of a child and a clouded view on the world.

Boo Radley is first conveyed as Maycombs dark and mysterious, common household myth. The

story is that Boo is a troubled child who murdered his father when he is a teenager. Boo is not

institutionalized due to his fathers wish which is, Mr. Radley said no Radley is going to any asylum,

when it is suggested that a season in Tuscaloosa might be helpful to Boo, (Lee 12). He is almost set in

an asylum due to the fact that, 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, (Lee 12). This violent and

disturbing scene gave the reader a huge sense of dislike and/or fear that is associated with Boo and

everything to do with the Radleys. This early scene in the book throws you off the scent of Boos

mentality and feelings.

Part-way through the the book the children discover a hole in a tree on the Radley Place in which

the Scout and Jem will begin to find various items in. Some of the objects include two pieces of gum, a

broken pocket watch and two soap doll replicas of Scout and Jem. This tree is Boos way of
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communicating with the two children. This alludes to the fact that Boo isnt actually the murderer his is

expressed as. Shortly after the discovery of the hole in the tree, Scout, Jem, and Dill decide to sneak onto

the Radley Place in the middle of the night, the goal of their little journey is to get a look at Boo. When

they were discovered, Nathan Radley fired a warning shot accusing a negro of sneaking onto his property.

In the quick escape of the children Jem lost his britches trying to squeeze under the fence and proceeded

to tell Atticus that he had lost them during a game of strip poker. When he returned later that night Jem

found the pants folded over the fence with a rough sewing job, since they had been ripped. This little

experience hints at the fact, they were folded across the fencelike they were expectin me. (Lee 66)

At the beginning of the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, Boo is exemplified like a murderer and a

myth that is scary enough to scare little children half out of their wits. By the end of the book, Boo

Radley, a quiet and scared shell of a man is put in a situation of fight or flight. Boos decision is to fight.

Boos call into the limelight is when Bob Ewell, a poverty-stricken drunk attacks the two children he felt

closest to in the world. Although Boos actions are extreme, he kills Bob Ewell but not before Jem breaks

his arm. Arthur Radley, at this point, meets cout and right away she knows its him, she shyly says, Hey,

Boo, (Lee 310). Boo had just saved the day for two people he cared about very much, and he also gets

off the Place and helps humanity not hurts it.

In summary, Nelle Harper Lee specifically and progressively makes Boos character more and

more human-like than the monster he is first depicted as. Boos morals are tested at the very end making

him choose the people he loves or himself and he chooses correctly by protecting Jem and Scout, no

matter the cost. This story of misconception, Boo Radleys story is truly the evolution of a man facing

mental challenges. He starts out a rumor-glorified ghoul,and went to a shy pen pal, and finally a true hero

to Jem and Scout, that they will never see again.