Boo+Radley+-+symbolism+and+imagery

When reading the opening chapters of 'To Kill a Mockingbird' I found a lot of different sybolism and imagery, from obvious to hardly noticable. I believe that the tree, in which Scout and Jem find various items (presumably put there by Boo Radley) symbolises more than the obvious, communication. I think if we look past the idea that it is a source of communication (which, of course, it is) we can begin to see it as a symbol of restriction. I think this because it can so easily be taken away from the children and Boo, I see the tree as a portal in which the world of Scout and Jem can intertwine with the world of Boo Radley, it is something which joins them and allows them to make a connection; however, most people can make connections through socialising and through actual human contact. The fact the Boo uses a tree, in which he puts his most prized posessions (for the children to find) as his way of socialising, is both horrific and sad in my eyes. I think this because it is a cruel miscarrige of justice when someone gets their voice taken away from them, and the tree symbolises Boo Radley's voice - his freedom and his rebellion. When Nathan Radley fills the hollowed out tree with cement, Boo has his voice cruelly snatched from him. If we dig deeper, the tree could mean various things, be it; a passageway, a portal, a communication, a voice, a language, a restriction, a mystery or even a challenge. When the children discovers that the tree has been filled in by Nathan Radley, Scout says says 'Next morning on the way to school he ran ahead of me and stopped at the tree. Jem was facing me when he looked up, and I saw him go stark white' - this statement shows just how much that simple tree meant to Dill, Scout later goes on to say 'He stood there until nightfall, and I waited for him. When we went in the house I saw he had been crying; his face was dirty in the right places, but I thought it odd that I had not heard him', from these sentences it is clear to see Jem has been genuinely upset by the loss of his communication. After all, what would we be, if not social creatures? If someone took our voises, took our sign language, took our messages and took all means of communication; what would we have left? Now Jem, of course, has his family, friends etc. but due to the fact (I think) that Jem knew it was Boo putting his objects and prized possessions in the tree, he feels for Boo. I think that the fact someone cared enough to put the various objects in the tree as well, such as the pocket watch, chewing gum and hand carved soap models of Jem and Scout themselves, meant a lot to the children, especially Jem. I think this because it was a clear sign that not only were they being watched, but they were //being noticed//. When someone genuinelly noitces you and cares about you, its almost impossible to not care about them in return. In conclusion I see the tree as more than a mutual language, more than a communication and much more than a simple tree - I see it as a symbol of what Boo never really had. A voice. =** Melli Pullinger. **=

In Harper Lee's novel "//To Kill a Mockingbird"// I find that there are many things that symbolize Arthur, more commonly known as Boo, Radley. By 'reading in between the lines' what seems a simple object or phrase becomes something much more deep and representative. The Radley household in fact may be one subject of which is an underlying reference to Boo. For example a sense of mystery an unknowing shrouds the house hold. At the start of the book when Scout is describing the house she says "From the Radley chicken yard tall pecan trees shook their fruit into the schoolyard, but the nuts lay untouched by the children: Radley pecans would kill you". This leaves you thinking that the Radley household is a dangerous place in which the children should not be entering, which indeed they don't. Scout follows this by stating "A baseball hit into the Radley yard was a lost ball and no questions asked". This highlights the point of the house being intimidating, secluded area. This closely relates to Boo being a secluded entity, absent from event and members of Maycomb county. The house hold may rumours such as the 'pecan' rumour, which has been fabricated from years of fanciful gossip spread by the inhabitance of the county. This follows closely to Boo. As the town is making fictional stories about him, none of which are based on reality. And similarly the house is broken and deteriorating much like Boo. "The house was low, was once white with a deep front porch and green shutters, but had long ago darkened to the colour of the slate grey yard around it". Showing that the house in seemingly desolate and in need of repair. Much like Boo a desolate, abandoned soul. Who simply need someone to care for him to make his ill state better. In conclusion the house and Boo are similar, in the way that they both need of care and show that although something is in a bad state on the outside, on the inside there is nothing wrong. And the other peoples perceptions of something can ruin it. Just like Boo, life ruined by other peoples malicious unjust speak.

Georgia de Buriatte.