Effects Of Labels In To Kill A Mockingbird

In the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Atticus Finch is a lawyer and father of two children. He is a very wise man. “You never really understand a person from his point of view --until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” (Lee 31). This is a quote from Atticus that really sticks the entire book.

According to Miss Stephanie he was cutting up newspaper when his father walked past and out of nowhere Boo stabs Mr. Radley in the thigh. Boo was later put in the courthouse basement for his crime. Also school kids all over Maycomb tell multiple stories about Boo. Some of the stories say he peeps into people’s windows at night and other stories blame Boo for any small crime committed in town. With each story that they hear about him it makes Scout and Jem fear him even more.

Labels are everywhere, both good, bad, and sometimes both. It can be a label that makes someone popular, or one that makes people hate you, and after awhile, you become your label. In the novel Flawed by Cecelia Ahern, she shows how labels can help or damage peoples lives. In the book, if someone, even, makes the smallest mistake, they are labeled “Flawed” and that label messes up their whole lives, even after death. Labels also happen outside the book, and like it or not, you have labels too.

Mr Radley was ashamed of his son’s behaviour when he got into the wrong crowd as a youngster and punished him by locking him up. There is a lot of gossip around Maycomb about Boo and people blame him for any bad things that happen in the neighbourhood, ‘Any stealthy crimes committed in Maycomb were his work.’ Jem turns him into a monster, ‘his hands were blood-stained’, and ‘his eyes popped’. At the end of the novel however, we find that Boo is misunderstood, and gossip of the town’s folk has made him up to be a ‘malevolent phantom’. Scout tells us he is timid, he had, ‘the voice of a child afraid of the dark’.

He is a character that is imagined by the stories made from the people living in Maycomb. He is judged because of the many stories that have been made up about him. People believe that he is an evil person because of the rumours that have been said about him. Even though he has never harmed anyone people have been judging him because of the stories about him. Boo is first introduced in the novel when Jem gives a clear description about him. "Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. 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." (Lee 13) This description makes everyone think that Boo Radley is a dangerous character that creates a feeling of fright. In the entire novel, Boo is seen as an evil character however his innocence is not proven until near the end of the story. Throughout the beginning of the story Boo was only known through the rumours rather than the true stories or his actual personality. However, during the last few chapters Scout begins to realize that Boo is actually an innocent person and the reason to why he has been staying in his house was to avoid all the rumours and everything the town has to say about him. This

In the book To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee it has many themes going on throughout the story that can be related to. In the town of Maycomb it seems as though people classify each other and most of the time it’s inaccurate.Labels are used as a way to classify a person or thing with some form of shared characteristics. Society has labeled people, labels within people correspond with a certain image `and stereotypes. Although labels make life easier in certain aspects, they change the view on how we see people.

Scout, Jem, and Dill work many summers to try to get Boo to come out of the Radley house for the first time in many years. Jem had been told many things about Boo in his short years in Maycomb, and he tells his sister Scout about the ‘monster’, saying, “Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained—if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. 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” (chap. 1). Jem’s ideas about Boo are very biased toward rumors that can be heard around Maycomb. This shows how Maycomb’s people often judge before they know, seeing as no one has seen Boo Radley in over twenty years and people are prejudiced to believing the unknown is always bad. Prejudice and rumors can often not be trusted and Boo Radley is no exception. After Miss Maudie’s house catches fire and half the town rushes outside to watch it burn, Atticus tells Scout, “someday you should thank him for covering you up” then Scout asks, “Thank Who?” And gets a response from Atticus, “Boo Radley. You were too busy looking at the fire, you didn’t even notice when he put the blanket around you” (chap. 8). Boo Radley is not really a bad person, he

Boo is a painfully shy man who spends the majority of his time avoiding the outside world in his house. Atticus's’ children, Scout and Jem, and their friend Dill hear many stories of horrible deeds Boo has supposedly done by other town member, all of which are shown to be false rumors. Though he has never bothered anyone, and is kind to the children, he is met only with lies and fear of him. It is no wonder as to why Boo would want to hide away from a world that turned against him for not conforming to it’s ideal personality. Towards the end of the story Boo overcomes his fear and leaves his house to save the children from Bob Ewell, a bitter man who wants revenge on Atticus for making a fool of him at Tom’s trial, killing him in the process.

it's because he wants to stay inside.”.Harper Lee effectively uses parallelism to convey the idea that Boo Radley isolation is his own decision.The primary reason as to Boo isolating himself is not get idolated and influenced by the sinful and evil morals of the Maycomb community.But as Martin Luther King says that a mans true character is not determined when situation is “comforting” but rather when its “controversy”.This truly depicts the character of Boo as he secludes himself in times of contentment and ease however in contrast when society needs him he rushes forth and risks his life.His act of saving Jem is heroic and valiant which allows the audience to ignore the prejudice and assumptions of the Macomb gossip but rather to truly understand Boo’s real character.As depicted above , Boo Radley is a misunderstood character whose stories have but only entertained us but in reality the true Boo Radley is identified as being this courageous and pragmatic character due to the changing of

In our lives, there are many situations in which our identity, our values, and others values, affect how we act in certain situations. When an individual is involved in a conflict, then they may need to alter how they would normally act in order to address the conflict, which may, or may not lead to a change in their identity, or how others view their identity. In To Kill A Mockingbird, we are able to see how one's identity or actions that they would normally take can be changed in high-pressure situations through Atticus choosing to shoot the mad dog, Mr.Cunningham deciding to join the “gang” that set out to kill Tom Robinson, and Arthur (Boo) Radley making the choice to save the children from Mr.Ewell. One example of a time when a character

Boo is a very important character in the book, in fact, the novel opens with Scout and her interactions with Boo and is closed by it too. Scout learns about Boo though the gossip passed on through neighbors in the community. The stories are scary and many out of context, however, Scout doesn’t seem to notice this till after the trial. At the beginning of the book she plays a game that involves Boo, and she tries to torment him into coming out. When Scout describes Boo Radley she says, "People said 'Boo' Radley went out at night and peeped in people’s windows. That he breathed on flowers and they froze instantly. They said he committed little crimes in the night but not one ever saw him." This shows that Scout sees Boo as an object of fascination instead of a human being. She does not acknowledge that he has emotions or feelings, she just views him as a monster who does horrible things to people. Furthermore, we can learn that Boo is not a very loved or respected figure in the community due to his strange way of living. As the trial takes place Scout matures and her level of complex thinking increases, but it is not until October 24th that we see how her perception of Boo changes since in the trial she saw how badly they treated Tom Robinson and she directly connected it to Boo “I hugged him and said, “Yes, sir. Mr. Tate was right, it’d be sort of

The community has ostracized Boo Radley from the community even though most people don’t know him. “Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom. People said he existed, but Jem and I had never seen him. People said he went out at night when the moon was down, and peeped in windows.” (Lee 5). This is how the community saw Boo Radley in the beginning of the book (Lee). This outlook of Boo has made everyone scared to even walk past his family’s house (Lee). At the end of the book Boo helps Scout and Jem out from an attack from Bob Ewell when they were on their way back home (Lee). After that event they look at Boo differently till the end of the story. This type of discrimination happens in today’s society still and in movies everyone has seen such as the “Sandlot”.

Boo has had quite a few horrifying rumors spread about him through the town of Maycomb, but a rumor alone is not enough to build a strong fear of someone without knowing them personally. One of the worst stories that has been told was from Miss Stephanie to Jem. She said she knew everything about Boo, and this is what he heard when she told him: ‘[...] Boo was sitting in the livingroom cutting some items from The Maycomb Tribune to paste in his scrapbook. His father entered the room. As Mr. Radley passed by, Boo drove the scissors into his parent’s leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities.’ (Lee 11) This rumor is definitely disturbing, but you cannot take everything you hear for granted. As the story was told from person to person, I’m certain some of the details of the events that happened got twisted around, lost or misunderstood. As pointed out in other parts of the text, Boo had a troubling past but since he has been out of

In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird”, Harper Lee often expanded on the idea that people are not often what they seem at a first glance. Today in our world there are many people who are much different than how seem with a quick conversation. For millions of students around the world on the first day of school teachers may seem scary and sometimes mean. Many kids are intimidated by their teachers and are extremely nervous for the second day. But as the school year continues the students learn that their teachers are actually funny people and some are actually very interesting. Some pupils grow very fond of their teachers and form great relationships with each other. At first quick look students may think teachers are different than they actually are in reality. In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” there are many instances where this lesson can be learned. Atticus Finch teaches his daughter “Scout” on several different occasions regarding this important lesson. These lessons occurred when Atticus conversed and acted upon Mr. Gilmer, a rabid dog, and all of Maycomb county. Atticus Finch can easily educate his children, so therefore had the ability to educate the whole town of Maycomb about the presence of racism. Harper Lee, the author, expanded that many people can be different than they seem at a quick glance, Atticus Finch is considered to be a character who can be portrayed in many different ways and is not understandable at a first glance.

This event shows that Boo are really kind and care for other. Boo treated them as “his children” (374). This action also helps Scout comes to recognize that Boo is not a monster nor a phantom as rumors say, but he is a person with a kind soul. She learns that rumors can’t be trusted and believe what is in front of her eyes. With that though in her head, she becomes less fear of Boo. She practices that by going through Boo Radley place everyday without any fears. Furthermore, Boo also patched Jem’s pants. This action shows that Boo really kind and cares for those kids. He wants to them to know that they are friendly. Therefore, after this movement, Jem believes that Boo is a nice man. Those kids takes the signal and recognize Boo as a person, not as a monster anymore. After the Halloween carnival, Scout knows for sure that Boo is friendly, he just doesn’t know how to express himself, for the rumor has stopped him from interacted with anybody. She also recognizes that he wants to be alone and to be locked in his house, for he scares he might hurt