To Kill a Mockingbird is definitely an excellent novel in that .

             it portrays life and the role of racism in the 1930"s. A reader may .

             not interpret several aspects in and of the book through just the .

             plain text. Boo Radley, Atticus, and the title represent three such .

             things.

             Not really disclosed to the reader until the end of the book, .

             Arthur "Boo" Radley plays an important role in the development of .

             both Scout and Jem. In the beginning of the story, Jem, Scout, and .

             Dill fabricate horror stories about Boo. They find Boo as a character .

             of their amusement, and one who has no feelings whatsoever. They .

             tried to get a peep at him, just to see what Boo looked like. Scout .

             connects Boo with the Mockingbird. Mrs. Maudie defines a mockingbird .

             as one who ".don"t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They .

             don"t eat up people"s gardens, don"t nest in corncribs, they don"t do .

             one thing but sing their hearts out for us" (94). Boo is exactly .

             that. Boo is the person who put a blanket around Scout and Jem when .

             it was cold. Boo was the one putting "gifts" in the tree. Boo even .

             sewed up Jem"s pants that tore on Dill"s last night. Boo was the one .

             who saved their lives. On the contrary to Scout"s primary belief, Boo .

             never harms anyone. Scout also realizes that she wrongfully treated .

             Boo when she thinks about the gifts in the tree. She never gave .

             anything back to Boo, except love at the end. When Scout escorts .

             Arthur home and stands on his front porch, she sees the same street .

             she saw, just from an entirely different perspective. Scout learns .

             what a Mockingbird is, and who represents one.

             Arthur Radley not only plays an important role in developing .

             Scout and Jem, but helps in developing the novel. Boo can be divided .

             into three stages. Primitively, Boo is Scout"s worst nightmare. .

             However, the author hints at Boo actually existing as a nice person .

             when he places things in the tree.