To Kill a Mockingbird

MacKenzie Bianchi

Literature

Mrs. Lee

9/17/17

Miss-accused Men

        Jean Louise Finch, otherwise known as Scout in the book To Kill a Mockingbird, is greatly influenced by a number of characters, but one especially interesting; Boo Radley. Though Scout never verbally interacts with the miss-accused man, he influences her view on people. Scout has several key interactions with Boo including when Scout noticed that Boo is leaving gifts for them in a hole in a tree, when Boo lends a blanket during the house fire, and when he folds up Jem’s pants. The experience Scout has with Boo sets the foundation for her open-minded attitude towards Tom, as the racism problem is arising in her town.

        Scout is different than most the townspeople when it comes to Boo Radley. Boo is a very mysterious man. He spends his days in his house, never seen leaving. Most people think badly towards him, but Scout is different. Scout sees the good in Boo. She doesn’t have a preconceived view of Boo.  For example, in the scene where Jem lost his pants, and they found them folded later, she sees the niceness of Boo. Scout and her friends also started receiving gifts and such from Boo through a hole in a tree, Scout and her group of kids communicated with Boo and found the good in him. She sees everything differently, in part, because of her age and how smart she is at that age. She accepts Boo how she sees him, as a nice caring person who does things in the dark to help others. Scout thinks and sees the best in Boo when the adults and townspeople can’t.

        Scout’s relationship with Boo shapes her perception when it comes to Tom and his trial. She is not blinded by race like the townspeople. Just like her father, Atticus, she sees the truth. She sees that, obviously, Tom couldn’t have raped Mayella because of where the injuries were located, and the fact that Tom’s left arm was crippled due to an incident with a cotton gin. She is able to look at the situation in the court from above, see it from the outside. Scout is also physically above the court, due to her being late, she had to sit in the balcony. This is also where the black community sat for the court, so she is surrounded by others who see the truth. Scout is also affected by this situation because of how she saw Atticus treat Tom. He was treated with great respect, as should any human being regardless of race. The same way she treated Boo.