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To Kill A Mockingbird Boo Quotes

Decent Essays

Boo!

Boo! Such a word is often used to scare siblings, or hung up on houses around Halloween. However, in the book To Kill A Mockingbird, Boo is something regularly discussed, but not as a word. No, Boo is a nickname for the furtive Arthur Radley, the neighbor to the Finches. Throughout the novel, Boo is regarded as something of a Boogieman, a story used by Jem to frighten Scout and Dill. This mysterious, shy, and misunderstood character composes Arthur Radley, a masterpiece of Harper Lee. Boo Radley is one of the more mysterious characters in the novel To Kill A Mockingbird. As Scout’s narrative tells us on page seven, “the Radley place was inhabited by an unknown entity, the mere description of whom was enough to make us behave for days on end.” (page 7) My assumption is that throughout town, mothers would use a phrase similar to: “If you don’t behave, Boo Radley’ll getcha!” At the beginning of the book, Jem give an imaginative description of Arthur: “he was six-and-a-half feet tall, he dined on raw squirrels and cats, …there was a long jagged scar that ran across his face, his eyes popped out, and he drooled most of the time.” (Page 16) While this is probably an untrue portrayal, it just goes to show how little Boo is known to the town of Maycomb. …show more content…

This is not surprising, since, according to town legend, he has spent most of his life with very little human contact. When Arthur is in the Finches’ home in chapter thirty-one, Scout chronicles his behavior: “Every move he made was uncertain, as if he were not sure his hands and feet could make proper contact with the things he touched.” (page 371) The one evidence of Boo trying to reach out to someone, to overcome his bashfulness, is manifested in Scout, Jem, and Dill. My theory is that they became so interested in Boo, that Boo became interested in

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