Boo+Radley+-+chapters+1-2

Boo Radley

In chapter 1 we are first introduced to the idea that there is something living in the Radley Place that the children are scared of. We know this because Scout says 'the Radley Place was inhabited by an unknown entity the mere description of whom was enough to make us behave for days on end'. This shows us that the children thought there was a creature living in there that was a monster. They use the word entity to describe Boo, because they think he is not like most humans. The mention of it is enoughto make them behave shows that they fear the house and don't want to be reminded of what could be inside.

C.S

The book also refers to Boo Radley as being a 'malevolent phantom' which suggests that he is not a real person. This also explains that he has been kept locked in the house for so many years that it is only his story that is known to the neighbours leaving him being this ghostly figure. No one knows what happens behind closed doors, 'no one knew what form of intimidation Mr Radley employed to keep Boo out of sight' This shows that he was under strict restrictions, and wasnt living a healthy lifestyle within the Radley House. The word malevolant means appearing to wish harm on others. This shows that Boo was seen as someone who could be harmful and his previous background is used to back this up. For example being a part of 'the nearest thing to a gang ever seen in Maycomb' In chapter one we discover the background of Boo Radley and why he is being kept locked up in a house.

C.A

We are introduced to boo's father, Nathan Radley, who seems loving for keeping his son out of jail to the children, but is actually twisted and strange, because he gives boo a possibly worse life than he would have had in jail. Of course, this could have been one of the reasons why the neighbourhood thought that boo was bad, because Nathan Radley could have made people think that boo was bad when he wasn't. In chapter one we are also introduced to Miss Stephanie Crawford, who tells the children all this. The children believe every word she says, despite the fact that even they think that she is a gossip, as in the phrase "a neighbourhood scold, who said she knew the whole thing." The word 'scold' means someone who annoys people by constantly finding fault, so we are subtly told at the beginning of the book that Boo is not as bad as the children make him out to be, as they have got their information from a woman who can find a fault in everything.

We are also given the impression that Boo Radley is a zombie like creature, when Jem says to Dill, " 'Ain't you ever waked up at night and heard him Dill? He walks like this-' Jem slid his feet through the gravel." They are treating Boo as if he is a mythical creature, not a living human being at all. To the children, he is nothing but a mythical creature, they have never seen him, so how can they be sure that he is really there? They certainly wouldn't talk about Boo like that if they could see him everyday.

Lauren Hargrave x

During the first few chapters the children show Boo to the audience as some kind of bogeyman type character, hiding during the day and coming out at night to commit terrifying crimes. "Malevolent phantom" is used to describe Boo at the beginning of the story by one of the children, malevolent means to wish evil to others. The children believe Boo has committed many evil acts and thinks evil thoughts towards them and the town. And "phantom" is a figure that is relatively unseen however it is still revered in the eyes of the people around, much like Boo. No one really knew him or his reasons for being shy and looked away but because of this they made him into something he wasn't by making stories up. During these chapters you could feel Boo's presence in the town and the aura around the house, it was one of mystery and fear. The house I think emphasised how the children saw Boo, the way it was tattered an creaky from age, but however inside there was something they had never seen and where quite interested by something they wanted to know more about, much like their attitude towards Boo.

__//Max Page//__