In the novel titled To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Arthur "Boo" Radley is characterized in many different ways. Boo is perceived at the beginning of the novel as a recluse who never set foot outside his home, because of the cruel and unruly way Mr.Radley raised Boo. He was also feared by many people in Maycomb county because of the rumors that he stabbed his father in the leg with a pair of scissors. Boo represented fear because of his isolation and grotesque appearance. Boo is also perceived as strange or peculiar because he is a foot washing baptist. People that are considered foot washing baptists believed that anything that's a pleasure is a sin. As the story progresses, Boo shows that he is not the person that people believed him to be, by leaving gifts in the tree for Scout and Jem. He left gifts such as soap dolls, a pack of gum, and an old ring box with two pennies inside. Later, after Jem loses his pants while running from Nathan.
Radley, Jem finds his pants mended and hung over the fence, another obvious kind gesture from Boo. Later, Boo intervenes and saves Jem and Scout from an attack by Bob Ewell, proving to be the ultimate symbol of good. As the novel concludes, Boo proves to be an intelligent, good-hearted person who was ruined by a cruel father, and is one of the most important mockingbirds of the story. He is also an important symbol of the good that exists within people. Despite the pain that Boo has suffered, the purity of his heart rules his interaction with the children. Boo, is actually not at all what everyone perceives him to be in the beginning. The children's changing attitudes towards Boo, shows their development from innocence to adulthood through sympathy and understanding.