Ohhhhh . . . . Fuuuuudge . . . . Woody & Keith

The Father of a “Malevolent Phantom”

Channel surfing, I found To Kill a Mockingbird showing on AMC – one of my favorite novels & movies.  As I watched again, I detected a Seinfeld/Superman “Bizzaro World” connection between the Finch and Radley families. 

Both fathers struggle to keep their families together in the face of adversity:  Atticus after the death of his wife; Mr. Radley after the “criminal” behavior of his son.  As a consequence, the child rearing methods of both fathers are called into question.  Eldest sons in both families step forward to protect their siblings:  Jem looks after Scout; Nathan takes care of Arthur.  Both families are seen as not fitting in by the townsfolk:  Atticus defends Tom Robinson; the Radleys do not socialize or go to church.  Atticus puts down a rabid dog.  Arthur puts down Bob Ewell.

 By dramatic design, not much is really known about Arthur “Boo” Radley and his family and much of what is known, being distorted through the gossip of the good citizens of Maycomb, isn’t pretty and is largely inaccurate, e.g., Boo is a “malevolent phantom.”  One fact that jumps out at me is even after Boo attacks him with a knife, his father refuses to send his mentally handicapped son to an insane asylum, a very grim prospect for Boo, I would guess, during the Great Depression.   The dramatic twist, of course, is that Mr. Radley’s decision, which seemingly curses their household, saves Jem and so is a blessing for the Finches.

As the father of a “malevolent phantom,” though, I know it is no curse.  It’s just that nobody ever said blessings are easy.