To Kill a Mockingbird is among the handful of texts for this class that I am very familiar with, but relatively unsure as to how they may be read within the context of disability. There are more obvious answers to this question, such as Dill Harris’ small stature and Tom Robinson’s impaired arm. However, the chapters for today’s reading do not include Tom and there is not much to discuss about Dill’s size in this context, so I found Arthur “Boo” Radley to be the best point of interest for this response.
Jem’s initial description of Boo to Jem and Scout has always haunted me over the years. Although we later find that this idea of Boo is an exaggerated one, it is so ghastly that it is difficult to picture him as human with this idea of his pallid skin, rotten teeth, and popped eyes (Lee, 15). When I went on to read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein a few years later, Shelley’s description of the creature immediately brought me back to the horrific image of Boo. Because of the new perspective on Shelley’s text that the discussions in this class has given me, I have been able to use the connection that I made between Boo and the creature to understand Lee’s text in a different light.
Boo Radley does not have a “true” diagnosable disability. There is the possibility of agoraphobia, but that concept can easily be countered by the fact the people of Maycomb have essentially placed him into exile. So, with that in mind, I find it best to read him the same way that we did Shelley’s creature – symbolic of the disabled other rather than explicitly exemplary of it. It is also important to note that while Boo is a social pariah amongst the adults of Maycomb, the narrative is told through a child’s perspective – thus making it important in this type of analysis to focus more on the way that the children of the town view him.
The children view Boo as truly monstrous, at least prior to their interactions. Not only does Jem describe Boo’s appearance as far more ghoulish than what is true to life, his actions are also recounted in a way that makes him seem far more animal or apparition than man. He tells Scout and Dill about the way he skulks around at night, peering in windows and scratching at the door of the Finch house, and even chooses to refer to the physical evidence of Boo’s presence as tracks rather than footprints (Lee, 15). This speaks not only to the way that society has a tendency to cast out and ostracize those who may look different due to physical disability, but also to the fact that society constantly dehumanizes those who are differently abled. Even though Boo begins to show himself to the children as a kind and well-meaning presence – much like the creature in Frankenstein tries to be, Scout does not warm to him until the story nears its end. Beyond that, Scout will never be able to remove that fully societal stigma from him, due to the fact that the severity of his physical differences will always overpower the good deeds that he has done.
Word Count: 538
I hereby declare upon my word of honor that I have neither given nor received unauthorized help on this work. Britt Ingels
