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Boo Radley Hero

Decent Essays

In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, there are two characters who “make music” for others. One of the characters, Arthur (Boo) Radley, is criticized by the whole town because he does not leave his house much. Everyone in town believes that Boo is a villain, when in reality, he is actually a hero. He acts kindly towards others by quietly looking after Scout and her brother throughout the entire book. For example, he gave Scout a blanket during Miss Maudie’s house fire, left gifts in a tree for Scout and Jem to receive, and saved them from Mr. Ewell during the attack. Boo’s choice of acting kindly results in him being criticized by the whole town because people choose to start rumours before actually getting to know him. Another character,Tom Robinson, is a twenty-five year old Negro who chooses to act kindly towards other people. For example, every day after work he would pass by the Ewell residence. Everyday, a Miss Mayella Ewell would ask Tom to do a chore for her, being the polite man he was, Tom kindly did the work without pay. One day, Miss Mayella took advantage of Tom and kissed him. Her father saw this and beat Mayella. When the sheriff came, Mr. Ewell accused Tom of raping Mayella and Tom was convicted and sentenced to prison. While in prison, Tom tried to escape, but was caught by guards …show more content…

For example, in chapter 1, Harper Lee says “Maycomb County had recently been told it had nothing to fear but fear itself.” This is an allusion to when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s First Inaugural Address. Another allusion is “... nothing to buy and no money to buy it with” (chapter 1, page 5) this is reference to the stock market crash which led to the Great Depression. Also, the allusion "looking like a sleepy old shark, his pilot fish writing rapidly below him" (chapter 16, page 165) is used as a metaphor to describe the relationship between Judge Taylor and the court

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