Boo Radley is a reclusive character in To Kill a Mockingbird. Children are fascinated by him and find small gifts left by him. He saves them from an attacker and is revealed to be a kind man.
Arthur Radley, nicknamed Boo Radley, is a main character in Harper Lee’s 1960 book To Kill a Mockingbird. There are several rumors about Radley in the book, mostly because he’s a recluse. In fact, he isn’t actually seen until the end of the book. A young sister and brother, along with their friend, are fascinated by Radley, especially after they begin to realize that he has left them a number of small gifts in a tree. At the end of the book, Boo Radley ends up saving his brother and sister from a deranged man who is trying to get revenge on his father, a lawyer.
During his childhood, after a prank gone wrong, Boo Radley was locked away by his family. When he was an adult, he attacked his father and his family continued his imprisonment. He was forbidden to leave his home, which prompted him to become a recluse. The adults in this book all believe he’s a bit of a monster, and many avoid talking about it.
The Maycomb children, on the other hand, find Boo Radley charming and fantasize about his miserable appearance. Some insist that he has a hideous scar on his face and that he is frighteningly tall. Scout Finch, the narrator of the book, along with his brother Jem and their friend Dill, are fascinated by this neighbor and try to think of how to lure him out of the house. This scary image of Boo Radley is slowly proven false throughout the book, as it becomes apparent that he has some affection for children.
For example, Jem and Scout start finding small presents in a tree growing on the edge of the Radleys’ property. They find chewing gum, a broken pocket watch, an old spelling medal and two shiny Indian coins. Also, they find soap sculptures representing children. It slowly becomes apparent that Boo Radley is leaving these gifts.
Also, when the kids are kicked out of Radley’s house after trying to spy on him, Jem gets his pants caught on a barbed wire fence that surrounds the property. In doing so, he rips off his pants and ends up leaving them behind. Later, when he returns, he finds Boo Radley fixed and bent them.
Later in the book, a neighbor’s house catches fire. As Scout stands watching the flames in the cold night air, a blanket is placed around her shoulders. Only later does Scout realize that Radley covered her up.
One last act of kindness from Boo Radley occurs at the end of the book when he saves Scout and Jem’s lives. While they are walking home from a Halloween show, the children are attacked by a man seeking revenge against their father, Atticus Finch. The man tries to hurt the children and Radley steps in to save them. Since Jem’s arm breaks, Radley takes him home.
Later, when the sheriff arrives, the assailant is revealed to have been stabbed to death in the fight. The final conclusion was that the man simply fell on the knife and died. At Boo Radley’s request, Scout drives him home later and stands on his porch after he enters. At this point, he decides that he is essentially a good man, albeit a quiet and reserved one.
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