A significant relationship between Jem, Scout and Boo Radley is established from the beginning of the book right to the end. Although the kids never meet Boo until the very end, they make all kind of assumptions about him based on what they can see and what they have heard.
Jem and Scout begin their relationship with Boo, or the idea of him they have in their heads, at the beginning of the book when they run past his house everyday. The Radley's place is described in great detail and creates an image in the readers mind of a very dark, gloomy and uninviting place. It is easy for the reader to understand why the kids would run past the house everyday. Since the look of the place where Boo lives are scary, the kids automatically assume that Boo would be scary too and create a fear based relationship that technically does not exist, because they have never met him. Although the house may be as creepy as Scout described it, the kids should listen to Atticus when he tries to teach them not to judge someone until you know them. "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view […] until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." This is Atticus' beliefs and it is what he teaches his kids, however as young and curious children they naturally use their imaginations. They begin getting more and more interested in Boo and end up letting their curiosity get the better of them. What started out as running past the house, turned into stepping on to the property, or running up to the door, or peeking through the window. Each encounter with the house gets more interesting creating suspense and tension. The kids also receive mysterious gifts and random acts of kindness. For example, the two soaps, when Jem's pants are fixed, or when Scout is wrapped in a warm blanket. All of these things were ways that Boo tried to show the kids he wasn't as scary as they thought he was. Finally at the end of the novel, Scout gets to meet Boo and realizes that he is not as scary as everyone made him out to be. Scout finally understands what Atticus was teaching them first hand as she stands exactly where Boo Radley stood on her porch.
Jem and Scout begin their relationship with Boo, or the idea of him they have in their heads, at the beginning of the book when they run past his house everyday. The Radley's place is described in great detail and creates an image in the readers mind of a very dark, gloomy and uninviting place. It is easy for the reader to understand why the kids would run past the house everyday. Since the look of the place where Boo lives are scary, the kids automatically assume that Boo would be scary too and create a fear based relationship that technically does not exist, because they have never met him. Although the house may be as creepy as Scout described it, the kids should listen to Atticus when he tries to teach them not to judge someone until you know them. "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view […] until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." This is Atticus' beliefs and it is what he teaches his kids, however as young and curious children they naturally use their imaginations. They begin getting more and more interested in Boo and end up letting their curiosity get the better of them. What started out as running past the house, turned into stepping on to the property, or running up to the door, or peeking through the window. Each encounter with the house gets more interesting creating suspense and tension. The kids also receive mysterious gifts and random acts of kindness. For example, the two soaps, when Jem's pants are fixed, or when Scout is wrapped in a warm blanket. All of these things were ways that Boo tried to show the kids he wasn't as scary as they thought he was. Finally at the end of the novel, Scout gets to meet Boo and realizes that he is not as scary as everyone made him out to be. Scout finally understands what Atticus was teaching them first hand as she stands exactly where Boo Radley stood on her porch.