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).
