| Boo Radley And Tom Robinson Essay, Research Paper
Boo Radley and Tom Robinson
Both Boo Radley and Tom Robinson were outcasts to the society of
Maycomb. Boo was locked away in his house, where Tom was a black man.
Racism was very bad in the 1930 s. No one wanted to be a black man s
friend and if someone said he had done something wrong, he had obviously
done something wrong. Like in Tom s case. Tom had been framed for
rape, which he didn t do.Tom never harmed anyone (Lee, 195) Racism led
to his punishment, as he was carried away from the courthouse to jail.
Tom was an ordinary black man. He had a wife and kids and was
stuck in a place full of racism. Boo on the other hand was white and until he
stabbed his father in the knee, was ordinary too. Boo was locked up in the
courthouse until his father brought him home, where he stayed for many
years. He sometimes came out though, but only during the night. He
sometimes tried to connect with the outside world by putting gifts in the
trees for Jem and Scout (Lee, 278), only to be cut off by Nathan Radley
cementing the hole shut.
Tom and Boo both had similar qualities they both had affects on
different characters in the story. Like Atticus for example. Atticus had to
represent Tom Robinson in court for a crime Atticus knew Tom didn t even
commit. Atticus also knew that they had probably already lost the case, due
to racial prejudice. With all the evidence that Atticus had gathered, none was
even considered due to racial discrimination. Mayella was beaten on the left
side of her and Tom s left arm wasn t even useable (Lee, 179). Boo Radley
on the otherhand had helped Atticus, by saving the lives of his children, Jem
and Scout. Bob Ewell tried attacking both Jem and Scout, but only hurt Jem.
Boo came and killed Bob Ewell by stabbing him under the rib cage with a
kitchen knife (Lee, 266). He quickly carried the unconsious Jem to the Finch
house. Then and there Atticus had proven to Scout that Boo was none other
than a human being, not a monster.
The children all along thought Boo was a monster. He scared them, as
they wondered about him. He had been watching the kids as they play the
game about him. Not knowing it. During the story he was put to shame, as
he wasn t allowed contact to the outside world. Tom had also been put to
shame as he was being labelled not only as a nigger but a rapist too.
Tom Robinson had only went into the Ewell house to chop up a cabinet, but
was then framed for rape. Bob Ewell couldn t take the blame for raping his
daughter, so he blamed it on Tom. Saying that Tom was the one who had
raped his daughter.
The comparison between both Tom Robinson and Boo Radley is that
they were both prejugded by the citizens of Maycomb. Neither Boo or Tom
was given any help between there troubles. No one helped Boo when he
went crazy, they just locked him up and hoped it would go away. Tom they
just wouldn t listen too because he was black. Both went through almost the
same troubles and both were unhelped, which led to the death of Tom
Robinson and the way Boo was locked up in his house. No one even cared.
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