To Kill a Mockingbird
question
A question about the tree...
Sheila
Oct 26, 2011 05:23AM
I loved To Kill A Mockingbird (having read it within the past year) but although I thought I read it pretty carefully, there was one detail that I've always wondered about and have never resolved for myself.
The kids find gifts, presumably left by Boo for them, inside the hollow of the tree, right?
Then the hollow is myseriously filled with concrete and there are no more gifts for them, if I remember correctly.
Why was it filled in, and by who? Was it Boo's brother? Did that question ever get answered and I somehow missed it? Was there some significance to that whole thing?
The kids find gifts, presumably left by Boo for them, inside the hollow of the tree, right?
Then the hollow is myseriously filled with concrete and there are no more gifts for them, if I remember correctly.
Why was it filled in, and by who? Was it Boo's brother? Did that question ever get answered and I somehow missed it? Was there some significance to that whole thing?
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It's been many years, but I if I remember correctly, the hole was cemented by Nathan Radley. I don't remember if this is just implied, or implicitly stated.
I think he may have just been trying to protect his younger brother from the outside world, so to speak.
I think he may have just been trying to protect his younger brother from the outside world, so to speak.
This is a very good question. I didn't think about this while I was reading it, but I now think by filling it with cement, the writer might be trying to show the different reality to the kids. Things later turned out against the thoughts of kids in the legal matter. I don't know. Not an easy question.
Nathan Radley (Boo's Brother) filled the tree. We know this because Jem asked him about the tree as he was passing the huse. Nathan said he did it because the tree was dying, but the tree was perfectly healthy. I guess we can assume that he didnt want Boo to give the kids gifts. To me, i significance is that Boo knew he children were there and meant them no harm, but he was being supressed by his brother.
I hope this Helped:)
I hope this Helped:)
Ricki Wilson
Olivia is correct. Nathan Radley filled the tree. Nathan moved home to look after Boo after their father died.
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