Month: February 2015

To Kill a Mockingbird

How is Boo Radley shown in the first five chapters of the novel?

Boo Radley is shown as the mysterious man of Maycomb county. Scout is curious to know who he is and what he looks like and she hears of bizarre stories which would spread around the town. Jem describes Boo at the end of chapter 1 “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.” He is described as a monster despite scout nor Jem having ever seen Boo Radley. Harper Lee wants us to create an image of boo Radley just like scout is and the image created is built from myths and stories of Boo, which raises questions such as ” Is Boo Radley what they say he is”.

At the beginning of chapter 1 dill dares Jem to go pass the Radley gate and touch the house. When Jem does touch the house they hear something move and they all run away. This showed that Boo Radley did exist but he is shown as the monster of maycomb among Scout and Jem. Because they have never seen Boo Radley the children create scary stories about him, this shows their creative imaginations and Curiosity to know more about Boo Radley.

How is identity shown in chapter 16 of to kill a mockingbird

Chapter 16 shows the beginning of the court case and describes the environments of the white and black groups and represents the different identity’s of these groups, both living in Maycomb county. Different groups have their own identity’s and would describe each-overs identity’s in different ways, this shows their segregation. They are separated in very obvious ways and sit in their own sections of the court. By following these social contracts and not separating from there ‘white’ community, they are blending their identity’s into own whereas Mr. Dolphus was always around the black sections of the court which made him stand out and allowed him to show his own identity.