Being kept away from Maycomb all that time eventually made him go mad. One day while Boo was sitting on the living room floor, cutting up The Maycomb Tribune, he carelessly plunged his sharp scissor blades into his father’s leg. That act was obviously a cry for help. Boo then was not taken to an asylum, but was put in the Maycomb jail courthouse basement. He was not in there for too long because Mr.Radley had to bring him back home so he would not die from the mold growth.
The children are afraid of him because of all the stories they hear about him from the people in Maycomb. For example, Miss Stephanie tells the children that while Boo was sitting in the living room cutting a magazine, he "drove the scissors into his parent's leg, pulled them out, wiped them on his pants, and resumed his activities." (p.11) After hearing stories like these, the children consider him to be evil. Gradually they assume more about Boo
The Cunningham’s were poor, but very polite. The next time he appeared in the novel was when the lynching mob was formed, and Mr. Cunningham was a part of it. His beliefs changed drastically. He went from looking up to Atticus for guidance to being completely against Atticus defending Tom Robinson. When Scout rambled to Mr. Cunningham, it made him stand in Atticus’s shoes for a minute.
All three children are terrified of even walking past the Radley house. While reading the novel there are several small details that prove Boo to not be the person that Maycomb and Scout believe that he is. Scout first starts to realize the truth about Boo after finding presents in the tree, which have a bad stigma since the children that Scout goes to school with say anything from the Radley property is poisoned. After a burst of courage, Scout comes to find that the presents are not poison, thus making her realize that the word of her schoolmates is invalid. Another incident would be the night of Miss Maude’s house fire.
A. summarize what he does for Mayella 1. Offers to cut up the chiffarobe for free and why he does it for her a. find quote where Tom says he felt sorry for her (#). Conclude paragraph with how appalling it is that he couldn't feel sorry for her III. Briefly describe who Boo Radley is and how he turned out to be good A. summarize how and why he saves the children 1. describe scene that leads up to Boo patting Jem's head a. find quote where she describes how Boo pats his head (#). Conclude with the sheriff's quote about how it would be a sin to put Boo on trial Conclusion: Write about the lessons
“The History Teacher” by Billy Collins gives us a lot more imagery regarding how “innocent” the children really are and the teachers ignorance towards how effective lying to the children is when stated at “The children would leave his classroom for the playground to torment the weak and the smart, mussing up their hair and breaking their glasses”, and “...walked home past flower beds and white picket fences”. While A Barred Owl focused on calming a child’s nerves about something unknown, The History Teacher focused on hiding the truth from the children altogether. At the end of each poem, the tone changes drastically. A Barred Owl shows the owl’s true nature, a violent and gruesome one that does not really need to be told to the child at this point in her life. The History Teacher, on the other hand, changes to a tone where we realize that the teachers methods are incorrect.
His children particularly Mayella, have been affected by this lack of empathy, and have developed it as well. After Bob had just saved Scout and Jem's lives, Atticus and Mr. Heck Tate were talking about Mr. Ewell. "He has guts enough to pester a poor coloured woman, he had guts enough to pester Judge Taylor when he thought the house was empty, so do you think he'd met your face in daylight?" (Page 269) - Mr. Heck Tate (on why Bob Ewell went after Scout and Jem). This quote shows how Bob Ewell has no empathy skills whatsoever.
In essence, his parenting style is to ignore his children unless he wants to abuse them. The parent in To Kill A Mockingbird that most closely resembles the parents we’d see today is Walter Cunningham. Cunningham is a hard working, poor farmer. He’s taught his children about hard work and seems loving, but there is an incident where he leads a mob to lynch Tom Robinson at the jailhouse. He’s eventually convinced by Scout to not lynch Robinson, because Cunningham has a responsibility to his children.
He explains that it's a sin to kill a mockingbird, because they don't do anything bad to anyone, they only sing. This same lesson can be applied to characters in Lee's novel, such as Tom Robinson and Boo Radley, based on the fact that they're innocent people that are harmed and wronged by the evils of humanity. In some way, each of them are like mockingbirds, and by harming them, innocence is destroyed. The idea of mockingbirds representing innocence is a lasting one for the duration of the novel, and forces readers to take a look at the bigger picture. Perhaps the most relatable event to the symbolism, the Tom Robinson case depicts the destruction of innocence first hand.
David’s father became angry with his son because he did not admit to helping Sophie, a deviation, escape. Because of this David’s father decides to hit him. At the end of page 52 David lies in bed after his whipping, wishing he could have kept Sophie’s secret. “‘I couldn’t help it, Sophie,’ I sobbed, ‘I couldn’t help it,’” The implication that the author makes is that David’s beating is even worse since he was standing up for his friend. Child abuse still takes place today.