In Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," Atticus Finch is probably most responsible for affording the transition of Boo Radley from "monster to friend" for the children. For, he is the one who scolds the children when they play their cruel games against the recluse, instilling in them the idea that Boo is a real person, and, as such, he should be afforded the respect due to all human beings as individuals ("step into the shoes of others"). And, then, too, Miss Maudie reinforces this idea as she tells the children that Boo may not come out of the house simply because he does not want to. She also explains that Boo has been the victim of the sanctimony of Mr. Radley, whose misdirected ideals have impaired Boo.
After they have been so instructed, the children's pont of view regarding the Radley house and its inhabitants changes and they perceive Boo as a person with feelings of his own. When he mends Jem's pants, for instance, the children definitely reevaluate their perception of Boo. As he leaves gifts in the hole of the tree, and when he comes out to cover Scout with a blanket during the fire, the children realize that Boo Radley wants tobe friends with them. Of course, all of these actions foreshadow his final heroic act when he saves the lives of Scout and Jem by killing Bob Ewell in order to protect them.
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