Why do legends and folklore intrigue and excite us? Why do they scare us? Simply put, they push our boundaries. They test our perception of what we know to be okay, or safe, or normal. Oftentimes, the folklore that is passed down within societal boundaries or cultural tradition incorporates fantastical or supernatural elements that are simply not of this world. While To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee has many themes, Prejudice is notably one of the most prevalent. Consistent with the aforementioned power of the unknown is the neighborhood myth of the Radley family. The legend of Arthur, or “Boo” Radley has passed through the small town of Maycomb, Alabama for decades. As many of Maycomb’s residents can neither read nor write, the legend is passed by word of mouth. The fascination of the mysterious Radley house resonates particularly within the curiosities and imaginations of young children. As the story goes, an earlier traumatic incident (that is never classified as true or false) causes the central oddity, Boo Radley, to remain within the confines of the family home for many, many years..
I can’t help but wonder why the book’s central characters’ father, Atticus, did not simply inform his children straightaway about the true circumstances surrounding the Radley family. He tells them,”You never really understand a person until you consider thing from his point of view… Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it..” (Lee 36) One could say that he wanted his children to make up their own minds about Arthur Radley. However, considering the families intentionally limited contact with the outside world, it is fair to point out that we may never have been presented the truth about Boo Radley. Fortunately, his story does eventually unfold and we understand that Boo is not the horrible creature the neighborhood gossip has made him out to be, but in reality is an exceptionally average adult man, who just happens to suffer from an unspecified intellectual dis/ability of sorts. However, since he is so rarely seen outside in society- an unusual trend for Maycomb, the truth about his appearance and overall character continue to be generated by speculation in an “ignorance begets ignorance” type of fashion.
Boo is rumoured to be enormous in stature and possessing incredible physical strength, which could only be restrained by the use of chains. This description paints a very Frankenstein-esque portrait for the readers. The character Dill speculates that Boo must also have blood stained hands because he frequently, “dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch.” (Lee 16) This imagery gives Boo a beastly, animalistic presentation, minimizing his human qualities even further.
From the reader’s perspective it is easy to assume that this particular projection of Arthur Radley is merely that of a child’s imagination, manifesting ignorance into fear. An equally nightmarish (and equally as ignorant) opinion of Boo is presented by local gossip, Stephanie Crawford, who turns out to be one of the children’s main sources of “information.” Crawford reinforces the children’s fear by telling them how Boo prowls around at night and looks in windows. This is significant because at this point it is longer one child telling another a tall tale, but rather an adult figure validating the fear and misinformation that comes hand in hand with prejudice.
In reality, what is brutally unfair for Arthur Radley (and the entire dis/abled, yet still very human population) is that he/they are never given a voice, but rather plagued by the voices of those around him/them. We assume that since Maycomb suffers an overall lack of education and general exposure to dis/ability, people like Arthur Radley are misunderstood and thus mistreated, but this reflection of ignorance associated with dis/ability is still existing in our society currently.
If Harper Lee’s child characters are simply the victims of misguidance, then what can be said for Stephanie Crawford’s adult character? And in whose hands does the responsibility of ignorance really fall?
Word Count- 680
I Pledge- Alicia Beth
