You learn a lot about how isolated Boo was when Scout points him out to Mr. Tate. Up to this point in the book, there had been no description of Boo and we had really no idea what he looked like. However, when Harper Lee describes him after Scout points him out, we learn about him as a person and also the type of environment he is living in right now. The kids have never seen Boo out of the house during the day and this is supported when it describes his hands as “sickly white hands that had never seen the sun” (Lee 362). This shows how badly Boo was treated in the Radley household and also the environment he grew up in. Harper Lee also describes his cheeks as “thin to hollowness” (Lee 362) and his “gray eyes were so colorless I thought he was blind.” (Lee 362). She goes on to describe his hair as “dead and thin” (Lee 362) and “Feathery” (Lee 362). All these descriptions show just how tough Boo Radley has had it and how poorly he was treated; if anyone even paid any attention to him. Also, throughout the conversation, Boo has some nervous reactions as he is not used to talking and interacting with multiple people in a public space. Scout realizes this at one point saying “Boo would feel more comfortable in the dark.” (Lee 364). She says this when they are sitting down in the chairs and Scout refers for Boo to sit in the chair in the dark because that's where he feels the most comfortable. This says a lot about Boo as a person as he feels more comfortable in the dark, the opposite of most people. But this is just the way Boo has been forced to live: isolated.
I sort of agree with your statement however I do not think that the quote “sickly white hands that had never seen the sun” (Lee 362) shows how badly Boo was treated in the Radley household, I think think that Lee is actually referring to the paleness of his skin. Because Boo was on 'house arrest' for his entire life, he never got a chance to be out in the sun and playing. When saying his hands were pale, it means that he never went outside.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Maclin, that in the last chapter of the novel, we see a great deal of what Boo is like, and also how isolated he was. During this time, we also begin to see that he is not as different from everyone else as the stories about him told. Scout sees this in Boo as she first meets him in person when Doctor Reynolds says hi to him. "As though he had said it every evening of his life... Of course, even Boo Radley got sick sometimes," (Lee 363). Scout begins to see that Boo is a normal person, which completely contradicts what she has herd about him in the past. She realizes that he does regular human things; eats, sleeps, and even goes to the doctor. Harper Lee chose to include these details here because she wanted to portray to the reader that Boo Radley is a regular human being, and that all the stories about him are wrong.
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