Chapters 28-End: What really happens under the tree? Be specific in your explanation, and be sure to explain where the knives come from.

We learn what happened under the tree from Scout but because it was dark and she was in costume from the pageant, little of what happened under the tree is clear. When Scout and Jem were on the road on the night after the pageant, she says she heard Jem yell “run.” Because she was in costume and couldn’t see where she was going, she tripped when running and then heard Jem scream because his arm was broken. Next thing Scout notices is that someone was on top of her, grabbing her costume and then that person was yanked away. After a time when she doesn’t hear anything, she gets up to try to find Jem and heard a bone rattling cough and a heavy man breathing. She knows it’s not Jem because, “my toes touched trousers, a belt buckle, buttons, something I could not identify, a collar and a face. A prickly stubble on the face told me it was not Jem’s” (Lee 352). The person she was touching could only be one of two people, Boo Radley or Bob Ewell. Because she was looking around on the ground with her foot, the person must be on the ground and the thing she could not identify may have been the knife handle in Bob Ewell’s ribcage.

The knife could have come from one of two places. It might have come from the dump according to Heck Tate’s description of what happened under the tree, or it could have come from the Radley’s kitchen. We know that the knife slashed Scout’s costume and ended up killing Bob Ewell. The knife must have been sharp enough to cut chicken wire with maybe one blow. A kitchen knife could be sharp enough to do these things but a dull knife, which would have been thrown away, and end up in the dump, would have to be sharpened.

What happened under the tree remains controversial, but a few things are for sure. Bob Ewell is dead. Jem was injured. Scout was attacked but she was saved by her costume and by someone, maybe even Boo Radley.

Chapters 14/15: Explain what Dill means in the last line of chapter 14. Is this surprising to you?

Scout, Jem and Dill have always questioned the ongoings within the Radley household and the situation with Boo Radley.  At the end of chapter 14 Scout asks Dill why he hasn't ran off.  "Maybe he doesn't have anywhere to run off to..."  (Lee 192).  Dill doesn't believe that Boo has anywhere to go.  Boo has been locked up in his house for years.  He doesn't know anyone or anywhere that he go to.  Mr. Radley has isolated Boo from the outside world for years.  If Boo should decide to leave the house he would have no one to help him.  Aside from maybe the Finches no one really feels bad for Boo.  They are scared off him.  They see him as just another mad dog.  They jump to the conclusion that Boo is a dangerous person when he may actually be a victim.  The town of Maycomb sees Boo in a different light.  They see him as a mad dog when the Finches see him as a mockingbird.  Boo has never really hurt anyone, he's just become a victim.

Chapters 6/7: Explain Jem's statement: "When I went back they were folded across the fence… like they were expectin' me."

After Scout, Dill and Jem's encounter with Mr. Radley Jem goes back to retrieve his pants and finds them folded up on the fence.  Harper Lee used this instance to show that there is someone aware of Jem and Scout and that they have been sneaking around the Radley residence constantly.  After Jem, Dill and Scout narrowly escape the gunshot of Mr. Radley Jem realizes that he had lost his pants and has to get them back.  He finds his pants neatly folded across the fence.  Jem informs Scout about the night and how he found his pants, "They'd been sewed up… Its almost like" - "Somebody knew you were coming back for them."(Lee 78) Harper Lee is using this quote to show the reader that someone is aware of Jem and Scout.  Weather it Mr. Radley or not it shows that someone knows what they've been up to.  This could possibly be foreshadowing later encounters with someone that knows of them.  Jem needs to be more careful creeping around the Radley residence because it is now clear that someone knows that they're there and is looking for them.

Chapter 6/7: Explain Jem's Statement: "When I went back they were folded across the fence... like they were expectin' me."

After Jem finds his pants mended and folded over the Radley yard gate, he knows that someone was expecting him to come and retrieve them.  Jem, Scout and Dill had gone to the Radley house to see if they could get a look at Boo Radley.  Then they saw a shadow, so they ran away.  Jem got caught on the gate though, and had to kick of his pants to get loose.  He didn't want Atticus to find out that he had gone to the Radley house, so he went to get back his pants and found them mended and folded over the gate.  A week later, Jem and Scout are talking about the incident on the way back from school an Scout says "somebody knew you were comin' back for 'em (Lee 78)."  Jem says "When I went back they were folded across the fence... like they were expectin' me (Lee 78)."  Jem means that someone expected him to come back and get them, and this creeps Jem out a little.  He wonders how the person knew he was going to come back, and who the person was.  Someone saw Jem's pants and knew Jem was coming back for them.