TKAM Chapters 26-31

Throughout these chapters there was one main event that really caught my attention. This was when Jem and Scout were walking home in the dark after the pageant and were attacked by Bob Ewell. In this incident Bob attacks Scout and tries to stab her but her costume prevents him from causing any physical harm. However, he was successful in hurting Jem because he wound up with a broken arm and a bump on his head. After they had been attacked, Scout couldn't find Jem but when she returned home she saw a man carrying her brother back to the house. She later found out that this man was Boo Radley and that he had stabbed Bob Ewell and killed him to protect him from causing any further harm to anyone else who participated in the trial. This event really took me by surprise. I assumed Boo Radley would somehow have a role near the end of the book but I never would have guessed he would have saved Jem and Scout's lives. Although we still don't know much about him besides the rumors some of the characters have been told, after this incident we can infer that Boo Radley may actually be a decent person and maybe these rumors weren't true. However, after discovering that Boo Radley had stabbed Bob Ewell, Heck Tate decided to keep quiet about it because he doesn't want him to have to deal with anymore rumors about him being a criminal when he may actually be a good person.