To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird Symbolism Analysis of Boo Radley

Boo Radley symbolizes the children’s growing moral consciousness as they develop from innocence to maturity. As he saves the children from the evil of Bob Ewell, Boo Radley becomes a symbol of the goodness that is in all people.

Boo Radley (beginning): • Boogeyman • Childhood Fear • Jem’s description: • Frankenstein monster • popular image in the ’30s • Sasquatch “Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch . . . There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped” (13).

“ . . . Mr. Nathan put cement in that tree, Atticus, an’ he did it to stop us from findin’ things—he’s crazy, I reckon, like they say, but Atticus, I swear to God he ain’t ever harmed us, he ain’t never hurt us, he coulda cut my throat from ear to ear that night but he tried to mend my pants instead” (72). • Boo Radley (middle): • Intrigue • Curiosity • How can an adult live like that?

“Boo was our neighbor. He gave us two soap dolls, a broken watch and chain, a pair of good luck pennies, and our lives. But neighbors give in return. We never put back into the tree what we took out of it, and it made me sad” (278). • Boo Radley (end): • positive force in their lives • human potential for goodness

To Kill a Mockingbird