Like several of the other characters in To Kill
a Mockingbird(particularly Tom Robinson and Dolphus Raymond), Boo Radley has
been subjected to false accusations and unfounded gossip throughout the town of Maycomb.
While the prejudice against Tom and Dolphus is primarily racist, Boo's youthful
indiscretions and supposed mental instability are the reasons that the townspeople have
scorned him and his family. Although Boo had been in trouble with the law as a teenager,
it was the actions taken by his family that created his forced isolation within the
Radley home. When Boo stabbed his father in the leg with a pair of scissors, it only
spurred further gossip and speculation about Boo's mental
condition.
However, there is little or no evidence that Boo
ever committed any other unlawful acts, yet the townspeople choose to blame Boo for "any
stealthy small crimes committed in Maycomb." Boo is blamed for the death of azaleas
during a cold snap (it is instead believed that Boo breathes on them); he is blamed for
the death of a series of mutilated animals (though it is actually Crazy Addie, another
local mentally unstable character, who commits the acts); he is accused of poisoning
pecans from the family's own tree, though no one has ever claimed to be sick from eating
them. Rumors persist that Boo eats raw squirrels and has "a jagged scar" across his
face. Miss Rachel claims that Boo scratches on her window screen at night, yet there is
no real evidence of any of this, since Boo is actually never seen. It is his unusual
family history and his own invisibility that spurs the stories--and prompts the
nickname--of Boo Radley.
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