is an accomplished lawyer.  The town has no respect for Ewell, but a growing respect for the man who defended his daughter’s accused rapist.  Ewell, a “veteran of an obscure war” gets irritated when Atticus will not fight, and asks him if he is "too proud to fight" (p. 249).

Miss Stephanie said Atticus said, “No, too old,” put his hands in his pockets and strolled on. Miss Stephanie said you had to hand it to Atticus Finch, he could be right dry sometimes. (Ch. 23, p. 249)

Scout and Jem do not appreciate Atticus’s sense of humor.  They are concerned that Atticus is in danger and will never defend himself.  Even though he is a sure-shot with a rifle, they know that Atticus won’t even carry a gun.  He tells his children that Ewell is all talk and he accomplished what he needed to when he spit in Atticus’s face.

Atticus is wrong.  Ewell decides to pick on someone not his own size.  He attacks Atticus’s children at night on Halloween when they would least expect it.  Fortunately for them, Boo Radley is watching them and comes to their rescue.  He kills Bob Ewell and takes them home.

Please note that page numbers vary by book edition, but your quote is at the very beginning of Chapter 23 and should not be that hard to find in your book.  Page 249 is the Fortieth Anniversary Edition.

While Jem, Dill, and Scout first believe Boo Radley to be the sinister force in their lives, it is Bob Ewell who is the villain of the tale of children who learn much about life in To Kill a Mockingbird.

It is Bob Ewell's son Burris to whom Scout is first introduced, and she has never seen a dirtier boy. When a disgruntled Scout returns home from her first day of school and tells him she does not want to go back, Atticus tells her she must continue to attend school because there is a law. Scout refutes his statement, informing her father that Burris Ewell only comes the first day. She adds, "I don't see why I have to when he doesn't." Atticus then tells his daughter that "the Ewells had been the disgrace of Maycomb for three generations. None of them had done an honest day's work in his recollection" (Ch.4).

Scout sees Robert E. Lee Ewell for the first time in the courtroom. The adult narrator Scout comments, "All the little man on the witness stand had that made him any better than his nearest neighbors [His neighbors are the "small Negro settlement some five hundred yards beyond the Ewells'"] was that if scrubbed with lye soap in very hot water, his skin was white" (Ch.17). As if to confirm this statement about Mr. Ewell's base nature, Bob Ewell responds to prosecutor Mr. Gilmer's question, "Are you the father of Mayella Ewell?" by saying, "Well, if I ain't I can't do nothing about it now, her ma's dead" (Ch.17). Further, it becomes obvious that Mr. Ewell does not know how not to be crude. When asked what happened on the evening of November 21st, Ewell says, "' . . . I was comin' in from the woods with a load o'kindlin,' and just as I got to the fence, I heard Mayella screamin' like a stuck hog inside the house.'" Judge Taylor merely looks at Ewell for he knows that Ewell has no "evil intentions in saying this" (Ch.17); he is simply backward and ignorant. Far worse than this comment is Ewell's lie and demeaning remark about Tom Robinson as he continues the offensive hog figure of speech, "'I seen that black n----r yonder ruttin' on my Mayella'" (Ch.17) These remarks serve the reprehensible Ewell because he has changed the previously "happy picnickers" into a "tense, murmuring crowd" (Ch.17).

When Atticus cross-examines Bob Ewell, he asks why Ewell did not send for a physician. "Didn't you think she should have had a doctor, immediately?" Atticus asks. "The witness [Ewell] said he never thought of it, he had never called a doctor to any of his'n in his life, and if he had it would have cost him five dollars" (Ch.17).

As the questioning continues, Bob Ewell becomes emboldened as "he thought Atticus an easy match" (Ch.17). Even when Atticus asks about Mayella's blackened right eye, Ewell suspects nothing. (Ch.17) Further, Atticus asks him more simple questions about where Mayella's bruises were and if he can read and write. Atticus does this in order to establish certain facts that may incriminate Mr. Ewell. One of these facts is that Bob Ewell is left-handed. When Atticus asks this witness to sign his name, Ewell does not suspect anything and holds the pen in his left hand. However, as Judge Taylor, Mr. Gilmer, and Atticus all look at him intently, Bob Ewell realizes that something has happened that does not bode well for his testimony. However, he further demonstrates his ignorance when Mr. Gilmer asks him if he is ambidextrous. Not knowing the meaning of the word, Ewell replies, "I most positively am not, I can use one hand good as the other. One hand good as the other," while glaring at the table where Atticus sits. (Ch.17) It is not until he sees that Tom Robinson has a withered left arm and could never have inflicted the bruises that Mayella suffered that Bob Ewell understands how Atticus has cleverly discredited his testimony. 

Because Atticus has proven to the townspeople that Bob Ewell has falsified his testimony on the witness stand, and it was he who inflicted the bruises on Mayella, Ewell hates Mr. Finch and vows revenge. One day in town as Atticus leaves the post office, Bob Ewell curses him, spits tobacco in his face, and threatens to kill him. (Ch.23) He also bears grudges against the others who he thinks have belittled him in some way. Ewell enters Judge Taylor's house one night, and he follows Helen Robinson on her way to Mr. Link Deas's house, "crooning foul words"(Ch.27). The reprehensible Ewell also blames Atticus for his being fired by the WPA, and he tries to kill his children. (Ch.29)

Here are a few quotes. In Chapter 3 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus tells Scout that the Ewells have been a disgrace in Maycomb for generations. He also explains why he doesn't mind that Bob breaks the law by hunting out of season. 

“It’s against the law, all right,” said my father, “and it’s certainly bad, but when a man spends his relief checks on green whiskey his children have a way of crying from hunger pains. I don’t know of any landowner around here who begrudges those children any game their father can hit.” 

In Chapter 17, during his testimony, Atticus shows how it was more likely that Mr. Ewell beat up Mayella. Illustrating his defiance and his ignorance, Mr. Ewell is asked if he is ambidextrous, to which he replies, "'I most positively am not, I can use one hand good as the other. One hand good as the other,' he added, glaring at the defense table." 

One of the lines that clearly demonstrates Atticus' ability to consider all angles and all perspectives of a situation occurs in Chapter 23. Atticus had a run in with Mr. Ewell during which Bob spit in Atticus' face. Challenged to fight, Atticus simply responds that he's too old and walks away. When Jem asks why he let Bob Ewell get away with such a thing, Atticus explains his thinking. 

So if spitting in my face and threatening me saved Mayella Ewell one extra beating, that’s something I’ll gladly take. He had to take it out on somebody and I’d rather it be me than that houseful of children out there. 

In Chapter 30, Mr. Tate insists that Bob Ewell killed himself, even if it was a lie, in order to protect Arthur (Boo) Radley and Jem. "Bob Ewell fell on his knife. He killed himself." Tate repeats this because he also believes that justice has been done. 

There’s a black boy dead for no reason, and the man responsible for it’s dead. Let the dead bury the dead this time, Mr. Finch. Let the dead bury the dead.

This quote is found in the film version of To Kill a Mockingbird, but is actually not in Harper Lee's novel. In the film, Bob Ewell says this when he confronts Atticus in the street before Tom's trial. He is trying to intimidate Atticus beforehand, & making a poor attempt to connect with Atticus, adding "You got chillun of your own." Even though it was most assuredly Bob who raped and beat his daughter Mayella, he dares to challenge Atticus' methods of raising his children.

However, this scene was not written into the original novel. The filmmakers may have felt it would heighten the tension, & develop Bob's character more fully to have him confront Atticus before the trial, but no such addition was needed in the book.

Bob Ewell is the most despicable and depraved individual in Maycomb County. He is an alcoholic who sexually and physically assaults his daughter, lies in court, and attempts to murder Jem and Scout.

At the beginning of the novel, Scout comes home from her first day of school and tells Atticus that she doesn't want to go to back. She mentions that Burris Ewell doesn't have to go to school, and Atticus explains Burris' unique situation. He tells Scout about the Ewell family and says that the Ewells were permitted special privileges. Atticus says,"Another thing, Mr. Bob Ewell, Burris's father, was permitted to hunt and trap out of season" (Lee 20). Scout asks why Bob is given that privilege, and Atticus says,"...when a man spends his relief checks on green whiskey his children have a way of crying from hunger pains" (Lee 20).

In Chapter 12, Scout asks Cal what Tom Robinson did, and Cal says, "Old Mr. Bob Ewell accused him of rapin' his girl an' had him arrested an' put in jail---" (Lee 76). Bob and his daughter end up fabricating a story, and Tom Robinson is wrongly convicted of a crime he did not commit. Atticus ruins Bob's reputation by exposing the truth and Bob attempts to avenge him. Bob spits in Atticus' face and Atticus casually tells his children, "I wish Bob Ewell wouldn't chew tobacco" (Lee 134).

In Chapter 27, Scout mentions several strange things that happened in the community concerning Bob Ewell and begins by mentioning how he lost his job. She says, "...he was the only man I ever heard of who was fired from the WPA for laziness" (Lee 153). Scout's comment portrays Bob as an extremely lazy individual which only adds to the list of his negative qualities.