Discussion Question #1

[Katie]

1. How do Scout, Jem, and Dill characterize Boo Radley at the beginning of the book? In what way did Boo’s past history of violence foreshadow his method of protecting Jem and Scout from Bob Ewell? Does this repetition of aggression make him more or less of a sympathetic character?

[Shelley]

At the beginning of the book they made him out to be a scary, monster. A typical folktale told by kids where everything gets exaggerated and the truth is unclear. In the tale the kids told, and acted out, they said how Boo had stabbed his father in the leg for no reason. This added to the "legend" and "mystery", but also foreshadows to his heroism at the end of the book. I think in the beginning the author starts us out having us believe that Boo is bad, however, she builds up the character of Boo subtlety throughout the story, so by the time the conclusion happens we, as readers, are already on Boo's side and feel sympathy for him.