Wednesday 25 February 2015

What is the difference between Jem's description of Boo in Chapter 1 and Scout's description of Boo in Chapter 29?

In Chapter 1, Miss Stephanie's rumors are the catalyst for Jem's active imagination to create a monstrous being out of the mysterious Boo Radley. Jem gives a grotesque description of Boo by saying,


"Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained---if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash blood off. There was a...

In Chapter 1, Miss Stephanie's rumors are the catalyst for Jem's active imagination to create a monstrous being out of the mysterious Boo Radley. Jem gives a grotesque description of Boo by saying,



"Boo was about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that's why his hands were bloodstained---if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time" (Lee 16).



Jem's fabricated description of Boo could not be further from the truth. Boo's reclusive personality has motivated many community members to view him as an ominous individual. He is discriminated against and is the source of many unflattering rumors throughout Maycomb. Jem's description is a reflection of Boo's negative persona and is not accurate, to say the least.


In Chapter 29, Scout is telling Sheriff Tate what she witnessed during the scuffle. Scout tells Sheriff Tate that a man was staggering and out of breath from helping them, but she didn't know who it was. Scout points towards a man who is quietly standing in the corner of the room. The man standing in the corner is Boo Radley. Scout describes Boo by mentioning that he had "sickly white hands" that looked like they never saw the sun. She says that he was very thin and his face was as white as his hands. Boo's cheeks looked hollow, and he had gray, colorless eyes. Scout also mentions that his hair was dead and thin. Scout's actual description of Boo bears little resemblance to the imaginative beast Jem described earlier in the novel.

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