I enjoyed reading this section because it shed some light on the mysterious story of Arthur “Boo” Radley. Anyone reading the story could guess that Boo likely left those presents in the knothole. This shows that Boo likely just wants to befriend Scout and Jem and isn’t really a bad person. Later in the section, Nathan Radley later filled the hole with cement, claiming that the tree was dying. I think that he found out that Boo was giving Scout and Jem things through that hole, so that’s why he closed it. I think Boo is just the victim of an oppressive and antisocial family.
I don’t think its Boo’s fault that he never leaves the house or plays with the other children. Miss Maudie explained to Scout that the Radleys are “foot washing” Baptists that think any good feelings are sins. Miss Maudie claimed that all of the rumors about Boo were false, and since she is practically the opposite of Stephanie Crawford, what she says is probably true. My theory is that during Boo’s childhood, he rebelled against his family’s ways and hung out with people, having a good time and enjoying himself. Once his family was aware of his shenanigans, they did all they could to oppress him and try to make him more like the rest of them by locking him up and keeping him by himself. I think that when Jem lost his pants that one summer night, Boo did his best to help him by sewing them up and putting them where Jem could find them.
This picture relates to the Radley house story to me. I’ve never read the book before, but there has to be two sides to every story, especially considering the fact that most of the stories were basically rumors. The left half of the picture represents what people have come to think of the Radley home (even though Boo Radley isn’t a girl). The left side looks almost like a ghost, and gives off a negative image. It doesn’t look very happy or pleasing. The right side of the picture, however, could represent a happier side of the story. After all, the Radleys never leave their house… just because they’re closed off from society doesn’t mean that they’re necessarily bad people (although that is implied).
image courtesy http://pheonix2009.deviantart.com
When reading, I wasn’t exactly sure what to think. What stood out a lot to me, though, was the Radley home. It seems to have so much background going on, and it really makes you wonder… what really did happen? There were several characters that claimed to know what was going on, but what’s the true story? At the beginning, both Jem and Scout seemed too afraid to even enter the gates around the house, but in the summer Dill was very curious. After Dill dared Jem to go and touch the door, he acted high and mighty. But what was he proud of; touching a house? Were they that worried about a Boo Radley? Scout still stayed afraid.
Then again, she seemed to have valid points. The Radleys remained so mysterious. Boo Radley couldn’t be the only crazy one. The “stories” Jem and Scout told to Dill made it seem like the Radleys were hiding something, and in my opinion, I don’t think it would be Dill. After all, sure, you’d want to keep somebody who wasn’t exactly the safest person to be around inside, but even so, Mr. and Mrs. Radley hardly ever went outside. There has to be something more to it, because at the very end of chapter four, Scout said she heard laughing from inside the house. To me, the possibly haunted house left a lot to be wondered (not necessarily in a bad way).
