3。2 his family members who he lives with 4

3。3 who he is in the eye of his neighbors 4

3。4 who he is in the eye of three innocent children 5

3。5 his mysterious behaviors 6

4。Factors that lead to his mysteriousness 7

4。1 social factors 7

4。2family factors 8

5。Conclusions 9

References 10

1。Introduction

    As is known to all, To Kill a Mockingbird which was written by an American female writer is still a classic in American literature nowadays and it is also the only novel of Harper Lee in her lifetime。 From the perspective of a little girl Scout, a mirror reflecting in her the Maycomb world, and through her the novel presents the true living situation of different classes, including lawyer Finch’s family, the Radley’s family, black man Tom and their various neighbors。 Part of the success of the novel should belong to the image-building of different vivid characters。And the deeds of them are used to display the reality, such as social hierarchy, racial discrimination, and also the dark side of human nature。 And at the same time, the novel demonstrates the way in which the world and its people should live together in harmony through a basic moral attitude of treating others with respect and kindness。

    In this novel, Harper Lee describes the Radley’s family in a heavy and Gothic way, which arouses the curiosity of readers to wonder what’s going on next。 To draw out Boo Radley, the Finches' reclusive neighbor,Harper Lee leans heavily on describing Radley’s appearance, house and his other family members, Besides, the curiosity of three innocent kids especially plays a great role in appearance of Boo Radley。 Moreover, Boo Radley is a compelling enigma and source of adventure for the children, but he also represents Scout's most personal lesson in judging others based upon surface appearance。 His actions in shooting incident, knot-hole incident and rape incident gradually unveil his mystery and expose the real him。 And from his actions we can figure out that he develops from a “malevolent phantom” who dominates the children's imaginations to a misunderstood man who saves Scout's and Jem's lives。 Though Boo Radley is not the main character in this novel, he, undoubtedly, is a point for the author to display her sympathy to the loss of human through the pureness and kindness of Boo。 I and to reveal the dark side of human nature at that time and the damage of social bias do to social members。 Besides, Boo Radley is one of the mockingbirds in my opinion, which harm nobody but just sing。 His kindness and pureness are also a obvious comparison to those who are indifferent to justice。 文献综述

    This article is going to analyze Boo Radley from the background, content, character, theme and so on to illustrate the importance of this role in this novel。 

2。 Social background

2。1 Racism in America

    Racism may be defined as a hatred and fear of others who are different because of their ethnic background or race。 America has always been plagued by racism。 Although slavery was abolished by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, African-Americans were still the victims of outright prejudice at the time of the Depression, when the events of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird take place。 They were denied many basic rights in education,schooling, health provision and job opportunities。

    To Kill a mockingbird is set in the 1930s when racism was rife, and Americans were experiencing a severe social and economic struggle。 The novel also works on a second level: the uproar and struggle that dominated American politics during the 1950s and 60s, the time Harper Lee was writing this book, and when the Civil Rights Movement began to gain momentum。