represents,
first of all, the tendency of people to misjudge people and mythologize them; secondly, he is
symbolized by the mockingbirds.
- Misjudgments and
Superstitions
Whenas narrator first introduces Boo Radley to the
reader she refers to him only as a "haint" and a "malevolent phantom" to
which a great deal of superstition is attached.
People
said he went out at night when the moon was down, and peeped in windows. When people's azaleas
froze in a cold snap, it was because he had breathed on them. Any stealthy small crimes
committed in Maycomb were his work....A Negro would not the pass the Radley Place at night, he
would cut across to the sidewalk opposite and whistle as he walked....
The Radley family is perceived as unforgivably reclusive because
they do not attend church, "Maycomb's principal recreation"; they do not visit with
neighbors; they are never visited by neighbors. Most all, there is a mystery connected to what
has happened with Boo, who forever remains in the house and has not been seen for fifteen
years.
- A mockingbird
In ,
aftergives the children air-rifles, he instructs them not to kill mockingbirds, for "it is
a sin to kill a mockingbird" that merely sings and does not harm anyone. Thus, the
mockingbird becomes symbolic of the innocent who harm no one--men such as Boo and Tom Robinson.
In his editorial after the trial, Mr. Underwood writes, also, of the mockingbird, whose killing
is senseless, likening this death to that of Robinsons:
Mr. Underwood simply figured it was a sin to kill cripples, be they standing, sitting,
or escaping. He likened Tom's death to the senseless slaughter of songbirds by hunters and
children....
In the end, Boo's appearance and rescue of
the children provides him reality for Scout, and, thus, maturation. For, her childish attitudes
are put aside as she walks Boo home and stands on his porch, apprehending the meaning of her
father's adjuration to consider things from others' points of view before passing
judgments.
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