The shift from mystery to understanding is a huge part of children's lives. Harper Lee portrayed this fantastically in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. As Jean Louise (Scout) matures, her thoughts and feelings about Boo Radley evolve from mystified and afraid, to curious, and then transitions into understanding. Boo began as nothing but a legend, a scary creature to avoid at all costs. As the novel progresses, Scout learns about Boo and grows more accepting. As Scout grows up, she begins understanding more about the mysterious figure, Boo Radley, in which she starts to relate.
At age 6, Scout is terrified of the creepy house on the corner in which Boo Radley lives.
With no way of knowing the difference between rumor and fact, she believed anything and everything she heard about Boo Radley. It was said that Boo was responsible for any and all crimes during the night and with the influence of her brother, Jem, Scout believed that it was important to keep “a safe distance from the Radley gate”(Lee 10) at all costs. While playing in a tire with Jem, Scout ended up being rolled near the Radley place she was terrified, saying,“I ran back…as fast as my shaky knees would carry me” (Lee…show more content… Though she begins with immature thoughts of Boo, a scary monster, the older she gets, the more accurate her idea of Boo. He began as nothing but a “malevolent phantom”(Lee 10), a scary figure not to be messed with. As Scout ages,she hears more of the truth about Boo, she recognizes who he is as a person and grows more accepting. Finally, she began to understand more about Boo Radley, and she understands more about his style of living. Jean Louis’ thoughts and feeling around Boo Radley grow from being terrified, to interested, up until she accepts and respects him for who he is. As a child, Scout learned the important lesson that not everything is as it
