Boo Radley
Heart to Heart he's a great guy!!
In His Heart
- Boo takes pride in his heroism and acts of kindness
- 'Mr. Arthur, bend your arm down here, like that. That's right, sir.' I slipped my hand into the crook of his arm. He had to stoop a little to accommodate me, but if Miss Stephanie Crawford was watching from her upstairs window, she would see Arthur Radley escorting me down the sidewalk, as any gentleman would do." [Lee 278]
"... when they finally saw him, why he hadn't done any of those things... he was real nice..."
On His Spine
- Boo's goal is to feel wanted and not to be the laugh of the town.
"He was still leaning against the wall. He had been leaning against the wall when I came into the room, his arms down and across his chest. As I pointed he brought his arms down and pressed the palms of his hands agains the wall. They were white hands, sickly white hands that had never seen the sun, so white they stood out garishly against the dull cream wall in the dim light of Jem's room...His face was as white as his hands, but for a shadow on his jutting chin. His cheeks were thin to hollowness; his mouth was wide; there were shallow, almost delicate indentations at his temples, and his gray eyes were so colorless I thought he was blind....as I gazed at him in wonder the tension slowly drained from his face. His lips parted into a timid smile, and our neighbor's image blurred with my sudden tears." [Lee 270]
From His Mouth
- Scout, I think I'm beginning to understand something. I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time... it's because he wants to stay inside." (23.117)
Traits
- shy: "Boo saw me run instinctively to the bed where Jem was sleeping, for the same shy smile crept across his face."
- enigmatic: "uncertain, as if her were not sure his hands and feet could make proper contact with the things he touched."
- misunderstood:"When people's azaleas froze in a cold snap, it was because he breathed on them. Any stealthy crimes committed in Maycomb were his work..."