Arthur "Boo" Radley
Arthur Radley, known as "Boo" to the children, is a man shrouded by mystery and stories. Boo is a recluse living down the road from the Finches. Boo seems to dominate the imaginations of Scout, Jem and Dill, Jem's description of him being: "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."
The children remain frightened of the Radley house throughout the novel, as they hear rumours and tales of events that have taken place in it.
Although the children are weary, small gifts such as gum, war medals, and carved figures of Scout and Jem themselves begin to appear in the knothole of a tree in the front of the Radley house. This shows that Boo is somewhat kind to the children; it is as if he is trying to reach out to the world outside as he has been locked up for many years. It is not long before Mr Radley, Arthur's brother, fills the knothole in the tree with cement, stopping the flow of gifts to the children.
After the case of Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell, Mayella's father, Bob attacks Jem and Scout in the woods at night as the children walk home from a celebration. In the event, Arthur Radley intervenes and fends off Bob Ewell and carries Jem to safety at the Finch house. Scout soon follows, and the realisation dawns on her that the man who rescued Jem is Boo Radley. As Jem is suffering from injuries in bed with a doctor by his side, Scout spots Boo, hiding in the shadows in the corner of the room.
Boo was an intelligent child but was emotionally damaged by his cruel father He is one of the novel’s “mockingbirds,” a good person injured by the evil of mankind.
The children remain frightened of the Radley house throughout the novel, as they hear rumours and tales of events that have taken place in it.
Although the children are weary, small gifts such as gum, war medals, and carved figures of Scout and Jem themselves begin to appear in the knothole of a tree in the front of the Radley house. This shows that Boo is somewhat kind to the children; it is as if he is trying to reach out to the world outside as he has been locked up for many years. It is not long before Mr Radley, Arthur's brother, fills the knothole in the tree with cement, stopping the flow of gifts to the children.
After the case of Tom Robinson and Mayella Ewell, Mayella's father, Bob attacks Jem and Scout in the woods at night as the children walk home from a celebration. In the event, Arthur Radley intervenes and fends off Bob Ewell and carries Jem to safety at the Finch house. Scout soon follows, and the realisation dawns on her that the man who rescued Jem is Boo Radley. As Jem is suffering from injuries in bed with a doctor by his side, Scout spots Boo, hiding in the shadows in the corner of the room.
Boo was an intelligent child but was emotionally damaged by his cruel father He is one of the novel’s “mockingbirds,” a good person injured by the evil of mankind.