Chapters 14-15" Explain what Dill means in the last line of chapter 14. Is this surprising to you? (Ella Wolff)

Dill says that Boo Radley has nowhere to run off to because all he has ever known is in Maycomb County. Dill, who just recently ran away from his father has been to and seen so much that running away is an option for him, but for Boo Radley he has spent decades inside his house, only leaving when no one can see him. Also, even if Boo Radley had somewhere to run off to, he couldn’t for two reasons. One being no one knows what he looks like, giving him no real identity. The only known time when he has appeared is when the Finch children are in need. After Scout and Jem stood out in the cold watching men attempt to put out the fire on Ms. Maudie’s house Scout realizes a blanket was wrapped around her should by Boo Radley “‘Boo Radley. You were so busy looking at the fire you didn’t know it when he put the blanket around you”’(Lee 96). This quote shows that Boo Radley can exit his house, but he always returns. The second reason being all the tales told about him give him a scary reputation, so much so that no one would be willing to take him in. In Jem’s description of Boo he states “he dined on raw squirrels and any cats he could catch, that’s why his hands were bloodstained…”(Lee 16) By his characterization it is unlikely that Boo could be welcomed by anyone, most feared him. Also, he cannot defend himself on these allegations because he does not go out into the public and even if he did he was never seen. This was not an extremely surprising statement made by Dill because Dill, who runs away consistently understands that running away is impossible unless you have somewhere to go.