In the ending of "To Kill A Mockingbird", the simple exchange of "Atticus, he was real nice- "Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them." relates to the whole novel in many ways. This simple exchange concludes the novel. As Scout falls asleep, she is telling Atticus about the events of The Grey Ghost, a book in which one of the characters is wrongly accused of committing a crime and is pursued. People different from the "normal" citizens in a society often become misunderstood because they do not exhibit the same values and beliefs as the majority of society. The novel employs many themes which are explored by most of the characters. The theme of being an outsider is explored through Lees" depiction of Boo Radley, prejudice is explored through Mrs Dubose and Dolphous Raymond, and the theme of race is explored via the trial of Tom Robinson.
The character of Boo Radley represents or symbolises the theme of being an outsider. We see this in Beauty and the Beast or the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Society characterises this misunderstood person [Boo] as amoral and threatening and no one wants to step foot on the land he owns. This is simply because their lives could be "risked" by simply being near such a type of person. The children [Scout, Jem & Dill] believe that anything that comes from the Radley's soil is poisoned, including the nuts and fruits on the trees. The children do not know or understand Boo, so they make his property threatening and evil. One time during the book Jem yells at Scout saying "Don't you know you're not supposed to even touch the house over there? You'll get killed if you do" (pg. 33). Even though no one has ever died from touching something on the Radley property, the children continue to believe it to be true. They [Jem, Scout and Dill] picture or envision Boo to be horrible beast that eats squirrels and rats with his bare hands, a man who loves to kill children.
