This paper aims to connect literary studies and disability studies through the acknowledgement of disability in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. By analyzing Boo Radley as a character with autism, we can begin to discuss disability in high school classrooms. By using a novel typically found on high school reading lists in the United States, curriculum can be implemented to discuss disability as a facet of diversity. This analysis will focus on Boo Radley’s characterization, as well as the prevalence of disability in the fictional Maycomb. Putting a disability perspective on the novel will help to approach the idea of adding conversations of diversity to children’s literature.

University Libraries Undergraduate Research Award