The hidden and conserved nature of Boo Radley’s character makes his truly courageous personality even bolder in the context of the novel’s plot; when the scattered instances of his courage amount to his crucial role in saving both Jem and Scout, his malicious facade is shattered to reveal a courteous and exceptionally courageous person with a falsified reputation. His character is revealed to the audience with a very negative connotation, as his story consists of a violent past paired with terrible decisions that cause him to be locked up in the Radley Place, from where he has not come out of in fifteen years. Jem even says about the Radley Place, “don’t you know you’re not supposed to even touch the trees over there? You’ll get killed if you do!” (45), displaying the superstitious impact the story
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Despite not having interacted with anyone outside his family in years, Boo continues to extend his innocent hand knowing the dangers that await, such as public rejection and failure. The emotional effects of this traumatic experience are unveiled when Boo Radley “coughed violently, a sobbing, bone-shaking cough” (351), a justified reaction, for he has just killed a man. Nonetheless, Boo Radley accepts these dreadful emotions of regret and sorrow, knowing that they were birthed from a rightful deed. Surviving this trauma alone serves as yet another aspect of Boo Radley’s mental courage that night; he does not give into the world around him by, for example, erupting into tears and stays resilient with the ways he accepts are morally right. With these acts of bravery, Boo eventually learns that fear is often only a figment of one’s imagination, created to challenge mental grit. He redefines his image, at least in the eyes of Scout and Jem, when he makes the decision to save them, an act that takes the persistence of only the most courageous people of this
Despite not having interacted with anyone outside his family in years, Boo continues to extend his innocent hand knowing the dangers that await, such as public rejection and failure. The emotional effects of this traumatic experience are unveiled when Boo Radley “coughed violently, a sobbing, bone-shaking cough” (351), a justified reaction, for he has just killed a man. Nonetheless, Boo Radley accepts these dreadful emotions of regret and sorrow, knowing that they were birthed from a rightful deed. Surviving this trauma alone serves as yet another aspect of Boo Radley’s mental courage that night; he does not give into the world around him by, for example, erupting into tears and stays resilient with the ways he accepts are morally right. With these acts of bravery, Boo eventually learns that fear is often only a figment of one’s imagination, created to challenge mental grit. He redefines his image, at least in the eyes of Scout and Jem, when he makes the decision to save them, an act that takes the persistence of only the most courageous people of this