Boo Radley Character In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee - Free Essay Example - Edubirdie

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• “The Radley Place was low, was once white with a deep front porch and green shutters, but darkened to the color of the slate-gray yard around it. Rain-rotted shingles drooped over the eaves of the veranda, and oak trees kept the sun away. The remains of a picket drunkenly guarded the front yard- a ‘swept’ yard that was never swept- where Johnson grass and rabbit tobacco grew in abundance while being Inhabited by an unknown entity…the mere description of whom was enough to make us behave for days end.”

• The Radley family is intimidating from the get-go. Described in a folklore-Esque fashion the Radleys have always been a noticeable family in town. Even a “Negro would not pass the Radley Place at night, he would cross to the sidewalk opposite and whistle as he walked. The end of Maycomb school grounds met with the Radley lot shadowed by tall pecan trees dropping fruit into the schoolyard; all left untouched by the children: Radley pecans would kill you. A baseball hit into the Radley yard was lost. No questions asked.”

• The relation to superstition in all these statements conveys the unspoken power the Radleys gained through the years among various groups and ages.

• This xenophobia among the people exemplifies the particular fear of the unknown within the community.

• the Radley family was definitely a presence within Maycomb County.

• Scout continues in describing The Radley’s Place she begins introducing “a malevolent phantom who froze azaleas in a cold snap when he breathed.” Describing the man of honor it is easy to feel Boo is placed within the realm of superstition. Not to forget, not a soul has seen him in 25 years, so when only given the outward appearance of the Radley’s Place imagination takes over. Boo becomes the “unknown entity” of the visual appearance of his home further propelling local lore and superstition thus galvanizing the superficial.