There are
several reasons thatis considered an outsider--and the town's most talked-about citizen. First,
Maycomb is a small town where everyone knows everyone, and the Radleys never quite fit
in.
The Radleys, welcome anywhere in town, kept to
themselves, a predilection unforgivable in Maycomb. ()
The family worshipped in their own home instead of embracing the
social aspects of church; they rarely socialized with anyone (old Mr. Radley always failed to
respond to 's and 's greetings); and they kept their
...
shutters and doors... closed on Sundays, another thing alien to Maycomb's ways.
(Chapter 1)
The family was already
outcasts before Arthur Jr.'s troubles, but when he was restricted by his father's unusual form
of house arrest within the Radley House walls, the town made "Boo" its favorite
subject of gossip. When both Mr. and Mrs. Radley died and Boo did not come out--instead, being
looked after by his brother, Nathan--the gossip only increased. In Maycomb, people gathered in
front yards and porches to discuss the day's events, but Nathan kept to himself and Boo was
never seen. Boo was accused--unfairly and without substantiation--of
Any stealthy small crimes committed in Maycomb... People still
looked at the Radley Place, unwilling to discard their initial suspicions. (Chapter
1)
Boo was seen but once in nearly two
decades--after he was again incarcerated for stabbing his father's leg with a pair of
scissors--and he again retreated into the seclusion of the family home, never to be seen until
he reappeared on Halloween night to rescue Jem and Scout. Boo's status as Maycomb's leading
outcast was solidified by his parents' prior actions; his own run-ins with the law; and the fact
that he was never seen, even though everyone in town knew he was still alive since, as Miss
Maudie told Scout,
"I know he's alive, Jean Louise,
because I haven't seen him carried out yet." ()
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