In To Kill A Mockingbird, which three characters show that the inability to change or the fear of change can result in a negative impact on one's...

Three characters who show the inability to change or the fear of what change would mean to their lives are Boo Radley, Mayella Ewell, and Nathan Radley. 

Boo Radley’s story is unique because as readers we don’t really know the whole story.  We are asked to piece together events from rumors spread by the town’s people and the clues given by the writer, Harper Lee.  However, for some reason, Boo has been forced, or has...

Three characters who show the inability to change or the fear of what change would mean to their lives are Boo Radley, Mayella Ewell, and Nathan Radley. 

Boo Radley’s story is unique because as readers we don’t really know the whole story.  We are asked to piece together events from rumors spread by the town’s people and the clues given by the writer, Harper Lee.  However, for some reason, Boo has been forced, or has decided, to become a recluse in the Radley house.   A reader can speculate that it is because of abuse by his father and then later by his brother, Nathan.  However, Boo Radley is an adult in the story.  He could have the ability to leave the house on his own and begin a new life.  He does leave the house on occasions when he leaves presents for Jem and Scout or when he protects the children from Bob Ewell.  One has to wonder if it is a choice Boo Radley makes, and if it is, why?  If it is a choice, it can be the shame he feels for his arrest when he was a young man, or maybe he just doesn’t like the world he sees outside the windows of his home.  Boo is almost child-like in his behavior, and this sensitivity could prevent him from living in a world that has so much hate and oppression. 

Mayella Ewell is also a character who is too afraid to change.  Mayella lives a life of abuse and poverty that oppresses her and makes her the dominant care-giver of her brothers and sisters.  Mayella longs for a better life and to experience love.  When she seduces Tom Robinson, it is a desperate attempt at the love she needs so drastically.  However, her abusive father, Bob Ewell, makes it known to Mayella that this is not proper behavior.  When Mayella testifies in the trial, the lies she tells shows how much she fears her father.  Mayella is also afraid because of her unacceptable behavior and what it means as a member of the community.  She crossed a line with Tom Robinson, and although she comes from a “white trash” family, she still wants to maintain her little bit of status as a white person in the town.  She is unwilling to change out of fear of what will happen to her.

Nathan Radley is another mysterious character who is afraid to change or simply won’t change.  When Boo and Nathan’s father dies, Nathan steps in as the head of the household and carries on with the dysfunctional behaviors of his father.  It is not made clear why Nathan continues to maintain this existence for the Radleys.  Perhaps he is hiding a secret about Boo, or maybe he feels the need to keep up appearances in the community.  Whatever the reason, he chooses to go along with what has always been done in the Radley family out of fear or the inability to change.