Who dies in Chapter 8 of To Kill a Mockingbird?

In Chapter 8 of To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout narrates that old Mrs. Radley has died.

Since Mrs. Radley has been reclusive, as have all the others in her family, her death little affects the neighborhood. She has previously only appeared when she waters her cannas, flowering plants that thrive in the South. Of course, Jem and Scout have conjured the idea that Boo has had something to do with her departure, but Atticus disabuses them of this notion. After he returns from the Radley house, he informs his children that Mrs. Radley has died of natural causes.

Of course, the children are also curious about another member of the Radley family, but they argue over who will approach their father. Finally, Scout asks, "Atticus, did you see Mr. Arthur?" This question is met with a stern look over the newspaper as Atticus replies, "I did not." After this chilly response, the children ask no more questions. 

Actually, two characters met their demise in Chapter 8 of Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. The mother of one of the novel's most important characters passed away.

    Old Mrs. Radley died that winter, but her death caused hardly a ripple--the neighborhood seldom saw her, except when she watered her cannas.

It snowed during Chapter 8, a rarity in Maycomb, and during the extreme cold snap Miss Maudie's house caught fire. One of the novel's most comic characters succumbed due to the fire. Earlier in the day, Jem and Scout had constructed a snowman of dirt and snow. Because of its anatomical body parts (or lack thereof), it was nicknamed the "Morphodite Snowman." The heat left only Miss Maudie's sunhat--"suspended in a thin layer of ice, like a fly in amber"--and her hedge-clippers as a reminder of the "Morphodite." 

In the beginning of Chapter 8, we learn that Mrs. Radley died that winter, the winter when it snowed in Maycomb and when Miss Maudie's house burned. It is in Chapter 1 that old Mr. Radley died at home. The children, along with the rest of the neighborhood, thought that Boo Radley might come out in public since his father had died, but that was not to be. Instead, Nathan Radley, Boo's elder brother, moved from Pensacola to Maycomb to run the Radley house and supervise Boo.

According to Scout, there was not much difference between the two, which suggests that Boo's life inside that house did not change. Nathan Radley would speak to Jem and Scout, unlike his father, but he showed himself to be very controlling and cruel in his treatment of Boo. This side of his character was made clear when he cemented the hole in the tree for no other reason than to keep Boo from communicating with the children. When old Mr. Radley died, Calpurnia said he was "the meanest man ever God blew breath into," a strong statement from Cal who never offered her observations about white people. Based on the incident with the tree, Nathan Radley appeared to be very much like his father before him.

Which characters die in To Kill a Mockingbird?

Two characters die during Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird: Tom Robinson and Bob Ewell. Tom Robinson is shot while trying to escape the prison yard in which he's held after the trial, and Boo Radley kills Bob Ewell when the latter attempts to kill Scout and Jem in the school yard. Of the two, Tom's is the more tragic death. It's implied that he doubts that the white justice system will ever find him innocent, and so he tries to escape as a last effort to win his freedom. One of the most heartbreaking points in the book, Tom's death succinctly symbolizes the brutally unjust oppression of racism. Bob Ewell's death, on the other hand, is a little easier to handle. Ewell already proved himself to be a villain on the witness stand during the trial, and his attempt to murder Scout and Jem to wound Atticus solidifies his antagonistic status. As such, his death at the end of the novel seems relatively just, even if it's still grim.  

Who dies in To Kill A Mockingbird?

First, Jem and Scout's mother died. It is mentioned in passing a few times. So, even if she did not die during the book, it is noteworthy. 

Second, Mrs. Dubose died. She is important, because Jem read to her while she was sick. Atticus wanted Jem to do this, because he wanted him to see what true courage was. This idea of courage would be one of the main themes in the book. Later Atticus would embody courage. Here is a quote about Mrs. Dubose from Atticus's mouth:

Mrs. Dubose won, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew.”

Third, Tom Robinson died as well. We don't know what truly happened, but the "official" story was that Tom was trying to escape from prison. As he was about to climb over the wall, the prison guards shot him seventeen times (excessive!). Here is the dialogue from the book:

“They shot him,” said Atticus. “He was running. It was during their exercise period. They said he just broke into a blind raving charge at the fence and started climbing over. Right in front of them—"