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To Kill a Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

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What is Boo Radley's race in To Kill a Mockingbird?

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Boo Radley is a white man. Scout's descriptions of Boo's "sickly white" hands and face, along with context clues about his living situation in a segregated neighborhood and his treatment after stabbing his father, indicate his race. Additionally, during the 1930s, black families wouldn't live in predominantly white neighborhoods, and Boo's education and the family's social standing further support this conclusion.

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Arthur "Boo" Radley is a white man, who lives in the same neighborhood as the Finch family and rarely leaves his home. At the end of chapter 29, Scout sees Boo Radley for the first time standing silently in the corner of Jem 's room and describes his appearance....

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Scout describes Boo's hands as being "sickly white," and comments on the fact that they stand out garishly against Jem's dull cream wall. Scout also says,

"His face was as white as his hands, but for a shadow on his jutting chin" (Lee, 274).

In addition to Scout's physical description of Boo's white skin, there are also numerous context clues that indicate he is a white man. The fact that Boo lives in the same neighborhood as Scout at a time when citizens were segregated based on race suggests that Boo is white. Another telling clue that indicates that Boo is a white man is mentioned in chapter 1. After Boo stabbed his father with a pair of scissors, the sheriff decided to lock Boo underneath the jail. Scout reiterates her brother's story by saying,

"The sheriff hadn’t the heart to put him [Boo] in jail alongside Negroes, so Boo was locked in the courthouse basement" (Lee, 11).

If Boo were a black man, the sheriff would have locked him in jail alongside the other black men.

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