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Post by isabellajanney on Jul 30, 2016 18:24:17 GMT
In To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Boo Radley is a very misunderstood person. In the small, close-knit town, he and his family are considered outcasts because they choose not to participate in church events or gatherings with other people from the town. Jem describes him as "about six-and-a-half feet tall, judging from his tracks; he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained—if you ate an animal raw, you could never wash the blood off. There was a long jagged scar that ran across his face; what teeth he had were yellow and rotten; his eyes popped, and he drooled most of the time" (Lee 13). But, that is before Jem has ever seen him; because he is antisocial, the townspeople make assumptions about him and judge him.
This type of behavior is also present in Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. John, the savage, behaves so differently from everybody else in the society, and is treated as sort of a "car accident": everybody wants to catch a glimpse of him, but nobody wants to stay long around him or be involved with him. He separates himself even more when he is visibly saddened by the death of his mother, whilst everyone else has been conditioned to accept death, and don't have mothers. Everybody calls John a "savage" and do not understand his upbringing or his culture, and he has trouble understanding theirs.
Both of these books show how people react when someone does not adhere to societal norms. People try to label and make up stories about outsiders in their community in order to better "understand" them. These behaviors are very present in our society today as well, and is a part of any society; past, present, or future.
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Post by conniesun on Jul 31, 2016 18:16:39 GMT
The obvious prejudices and biases in Maycomb's society are heavily present. The consequences of these prejudices are the death of an innocence black man and the loss of innocence in two young children. Minorities and "weaker" groups in Maycomb- blacks, females, Boo Radley, etc... are constantly discriminated against. These biases are a result of a subjective society that is ignorant and misunderstands these groups because no one has taken the time to understand them. Is prejudice always a result of ignorance, and can it be absolved through education? Or will prejudice always be subjective and constantly perpetuate more ignorance/bias in society? Lee's portrayal of her society shows that interaction with discriminated groups can lead to perspectives that are more embracing. For example, Scout's constant interactions with Calpurnia, other strong female characters, and Atticus led to her remarkable ability for tolerance in a society that was unjust and intolerant. If maturity is defined as the capacity for awareness and compassion, would Scout be considered more mature than many of the adults in Maycomb?
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beau
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Post by beau on Aug 2, 2016 19:31:32 GMT
I think in today's world it is easy to automatically dislike someone or make assumptions when they do not like or agree with the same things we do. We think they are outsiders or bad people just because of this. In the novel when the kids see the true Boo Radley he is not at all what the town and people thought was. In life when we truly get to know someone our initial thoughts before we knew them are almost never correct.
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Post by beccarugg on Aug 4, 2016 15:30:24 GMT
I agree that Boo Radley was judged before he was even known. I think that even in today's society it is incredibly easy to judge someone before you know the whole story. Jem didn't know all about Boo Radley. He was scared of him, scared to even walk past his house. Boo Radley turned out to be someone totally different than who they imagined. He ended up protecting Jem and Scout, not trying to hurt them. So this shows that you shouldn't judge anyone or assume what they are like, until you know the whole story.
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Post by Andrea Flores on Aug 6, 2016 22:24:03 GMT
As humans, we feel more comfortable when we follow the crowd. So I believe that's why it's so easy for Jem to make those assumptions about Boo. Almost everyone follows these rumors in Maycomb so what better way to be a part of society than to believe and spread these rumors? At this point in the book, Scout and Jem haven't learned to think more maturely about Boo specifically. So as of right now, all Jem can do mentally is follow townspeoples' judgments.
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leah
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Post by leah on Aug 8, 2016 16:10:44 GMT
Because Boo Radley didn't follow the crowd people judged him without even knowing him. Because the Cunningham's and Ewell's do what other people in the town do, such as going to social gatherings, people at least slightly understand them and know why they are doing what they doing. Even Scout knows why Walter Cunningham doesn't take money from people, while nobody knows what and why Boo Radley does anything, and he is judged for it.
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Post by sheaward101 on Aug 10, 2016 6:15:59 GMT
You are spot on when you say that people make up stories to attempt to have a better understanding of things that are out of their control. Humans generally dislike not being in control, so they make up something to give them the feeling that they are in control. If they control the lie, they also have control over the attention they get from it, and humans like control and attention. It is very easy for us to judge people and believe lies because the truth is often unimportant when it comes to social life. Just because we don't know the whole story doesn't mean we are striving to get all the details.
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Post by andrewklein on Aug 10, 2016 20:41:59 GMT
People generally make up stories about people they have never met or things they have heard. It is a natural occurrence to satisfy the curiosity that scratches at the back of their mind. It is definitely something that should not be as popular as it is.
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Post by jeresabarnett42 on Aug 12, 2016 18:05:58 GMT
Since Boo was considered an 'outsider', people were quick to make assumptions and judge him. But for someone who took part in the community, those things would not have happened. Because Boo Radley was shrouded in mystery, people judged him, but eventually it is revealed that he is not monstrous like what was previously assumed. I think a lesson can definitely be learned from this. Not only should a person not judge based on appearance, but they should also not believe rumors, especially if they seem exaggerated like in the case of Boo.
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Post by maddyymorland on Aug 14, 2016 22:27:59 GMT
It's an unfortunate truth of human nature that outsiders are often ignored, misunderstood, and sometimes even discriminated against. The parallels you drew between the outsiders in both novels are interesting, I hadn't thought about that. The assumptions people make about others based on the little they know about them can lead to unflattering rumors like Jem's raw animal story.
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Post by brooke on Aug 15, 2016 0:49:24 GMT
People in a small community like the one in Maycomb are judge on every decision and move they make if you are not like the rest of the people you are considered as an outsider cause you don't fit in with everyone else they judge you for being that person and make up reasons why you are a horrible person when you may be the nicest person but the people are to stuck in their ways to take a moment and realize it.
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Post by paigestan on Aug 15, 2016 1:07:53 GMT
I completely agree with you, It doesn't just happen in small towns it happens at school too. We just look at people and judge from whats on the outside and kind of push them out. Schools say this is a no bully zone but humans just cant help themselves, we have our groups of people and we might not say anything mean to that person but even just judging them we are in some sorta way pushing them out. This is what was happening to Boo, everyone just made stories stories about him causing him to fit in anywhere but his house.
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Post by Jaiden Twining on Aug 15, 2016 5:39:50 GMT
I agree with the analysis and especially find the use of quotation marks around the word "understand" extremely appropriate. The stories made up by outsiders are both unsupported and completely wrong. Boo Radley in particular is revealed to be nothing like how the stories made up about him had described. If anything, the imaginative stories made everyone's understanding of Boo wrong and only gave their minds a lie to understand because of how unaccepting and closed-minded they are if not simply ignorant.
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Post by christopherellinger on Aug 30, 2016 0:42:53 GMT
The stories made up about Boo were proven to be nothing but pure fiction - something to satisfy our wonder for something we don't know about. Once Boo is revealed to be someone like the rest of Maycomb, the children changed their opinions on him and realized he was just someone who found happiness in being alone. They treat him kindly and in the end, they realize they shouldn't judge a book by its cover - something Atticus has also taught them.
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