Diagnosing Fiction: What Happened to Boo Radley?
In Harper Lee’s classic courtroom-thriller To Kill a Mockingbird[1], the questioning eyes of its narrator introduces one of the book’s most mysterious characters in a damning way: “Inside the house lived a malevolent phantom,” Scout narrates. The elusive Arthur “Boo” Radley.
Through the eyes of the children and the whisperings of the townspeople in Maycomb, the portrayals of Boo Radley throughout the novel paint the man as a sinister and dangerous figure. Indeed, it is only through the ever-logical eyes of Scout’s father, Atticus Finch, and through circumstances forced upon the children, that we understand there may be more to Boo than his perceived malevolence.
Although more known as a piece of literature that reflects upon the racial inequalities of the 1930s, Harper Lee interlaces the narrative with an invaluable commentary on abuse, trauma, and the stigmatisation of mental illness as a whole — most of which is centred around the “Malevolent Phantom” Boo Radley. Through the lens of modern medicine, it is now possible to delve deeper into works of literature from the past, in turn increasing our understanding of different disease-states throughout various eras. By attempting to discuss the likely aetiology and condition of Boo, To Kill a Mockingbird becomes a tool for understanding the perception of illness in the rural southern states of pre-1950s America.
A clear feature of Boo Radley’s possible diagnosis is his internally and externally imposed reclusiveness. In fact, the Radley household as a whole are regarded as unusual — and even rude — due to their unwillingness to socialise, as presented in Scout’s narration that “The Radleys, welcome anywhere in town, kept to themselves, a predilection unforgivable in Maycomb”. This peculiarity only works to pique the children’s interest in Boo more. Despite being an undoubtedly antisocial family, the Radley parents can regularly be seen walking on the streets. Arthur Radley, by contrast, seems only to exist in the rumours of the residents.
In truth, his reclusiveness is both a cause and a symptom of his illness. Within the first chapter of the book, the six-year-old Scout and her brother Jem already recognise the harsh reality of Boo’s existence, saying “The misery of that house began many years before Jem and I were born”. Within the course of the narrative the reader learns that Boo wasn’t always a recluse, but that his isolation is forced upon him by his father. Boo was once a teenager with friends and a social life, who had gotten in with the wrong crowd, resulting in a criminal incident and a legal sentencing to industrial school. A punishment deemed unworthy by Boo’s father. While the others involved went to the school and got a top-rate education, Boo Radley was released in order to be punished by Mr. Radley and was not seen again for fifteen years. Later, we learn that Boo is again arrested after stabbing his father with a pair of scissors. This extends his confinement indefinitely.
Although we cannot be sure of the conditions Boo lived in during his captivity, what can be stated for certain is that juveniles are particularly vulnerable to the rigours of confinement[2]. The major structural changes that an adolescent brain undergoes can be interfered with by the trauma induced from social isolation. Particularly vulnerable is the developing frontal lobe[3 ]— an area of the brain responsible for impulse control, thought organisation and strategy. Confinement leads to higher levels of cortisol, worse cognitive development, and is a major risk factor for depression, anxiety, and paranoia[4].
The greater reflection then, is less about the disease-state of Boo Radley, but more the aetiology of his illness and the role that abuse and confinement played. The Radley’s possess ultimate control over their son on a level of his personal freedoms, his healthcare, and even how the law deals with him. Mr. Radley convinces the sheriff to allow him to exert his own justice on two separate occasions, doing so by stating that Boo was not crazy, and it was “alright to keep him shut up”. Furthermore, when it is suggested that a season in a local asylum could help Boo, Mrs. Radley retorts that “no Radley was going to any asylum”.
There also exists a disturbing level of complacency and consent among Maycomb’s townsfolk, despite an open recognition of the poor conditions that Boo lives in. The ever-present Calpurnia, the children’s carer and cook, provides perhaps the greatest indication of this. Often looked to by the children for her honest musings on life in Maycomb, Calpurnia mutters after the death of Mr. Radley that “There goes the meanest man ever God blew breath into”. Even Atticus Finch, the novel’s hero of justice, displays a recognition and complacency of the poor treatment of Boo. In a particularly chilling passage when Jem is theorising that Mr. Radley must be keeping Boo chained to the bed, Atticus Finch said that he wasn’t chained up, but that “there were other ways of making people into ghosts”.
In a heart-warming climax of the book, Scout eventually meets Boo Radley, allowing her to understand the full physical manifestations of his illness. Scout marvels at his sickly white skin, his clouded-grey eyes that look like that of a blind man’s, his gaunt appearance. She notes the spasms of his body when interacting with others, his thin and dying hair, and his greasy sweating. She is shocked to see that Dr. Reynolds is also very familiar with Boo, an insight that causes her to reflect on his sickness. When they talk together, they do so on the porch and not inside where the lights are painful to Boo.
“Will you take me home?”, Boo Radley asks the young Scout as they are leaving the Finch household, a vocalisation of the mixture of fear, loneliness, and anxiety that he feels. This moment of vulnerability allows Scout to understand the difficulty of Boo Radley’s existence more clearly. “Atticus was right”, she states as she stands on the Radley Porch. “You never really know a man until you stand in his shoes”.
Through a life of imprisonment, we see that Boo Radley’s mental and physical health has suffered greatly. But perhaps the greater conclusion is that his illness is largely caused by the structure of society at the time. The novel illustrates the power of rumours in the perception of illness, particularly in a small town where one’s public image holds true value. The Radley family hold complete control over Boo; over his freedoms, legal status, and medical treatment. In an era where privacy was paramount, the complacency of the townspeople also carries the burden of blame. When reflecting on this through the lens of modern medicine, it is possible to see the importance of government or medical intervention — even at the reluctance of family members or citizens. At the genesis of his confinement, the story of Boo Radley could have played out very differently with the appropriate support. Although the adults might not have realised it at the time, the children certainty did:
“Why do you reckon Boo Radley’s never run off?” Scout asked. Dill sighed a long sigh and turned away from me. “Maybe he doesn’t have anywhere to run off to.”
1. Harper L. To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co; 1960. 281 p.
2. Clark A. Juvenile Solitary Confinement as a Form of Child Abuse. J. Am. Acad. Psychiatry Law. 2017 Sep;45(3):350–357.
3. Tottenham N, Galván A. Stress and the adolescent brain: Amygdala-prefrontal cortex circuitry and ventral striatum as developmental targets. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2016 Nov;70:217–227.
4. Almeida ILL, Rego JF, Teixeira ACG, Moreira MR. Social isolation and its impact on child and adolescent development: a systematic review. Rev Paul Pediatr. 2021 Oct 4;40.
