This story has been about the maturation of Scout, the protagonist and narrator.  She has gone from an innocent and ignornant child to an open-minded young girl.  She has learned about hate and prejudice, about compassion and hope.  Harper Lee uses Boo Radley to symbolize some of these lessons, particularly Atticus' most important message - never judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes.  At the beginning of the book, Scout and Jem and Dill judge Boo Radley.  They accept the prejudice of the town and assume Boo is a scary and dangerous person.  It is only fitting that the story end with Boo Radley.  However, at the end, Scout is a friend to Boo and has much compassion and even love for him.  She stands on the porch and sees the town from his eyes and understands him.  She has walked the mile in his shoes.

But, of course, she is still young.  To emphasize this, Lee chooses to add one last moment, this one between Scout and Atticus.  Atticus tucks her in to bed, letting Scout and the reader know that she is still protected and will still be learning and maturing - she has to learn algebra, after all!

I think the film version of the story visually frames the end of the book in the most appropriately poetic way it could have been done by Harper Lee's ending.  The final scene takes what is otherwise a story made up of a series of memories and flashbacks, and ties them together through the adult Scout's eyes.  For the first time, the entire neighborhood, and all of the inhabitants, are scene as parts of a whole.  Everyone has a purpose, and everyone's role is shown as important in the society in which Scout grew up (and perhaps important to Scout's development more than anything).

I love that the trial scene is not in fact the climax of the book.  I love the opening and closing of the novel around the most unlikely character of all, Boo Radley.  I love that "mockingbird" in the end, is not just Tom Robinson.

I think there are a number of transformations that the ending of the story highlights. Firstly, Jem and Scout have been transformed from being young and innocent to worldly and experienced in some senses. They have definitely changed through what they have seen and witnessed. Secondly, Boo Radley is transformed from the bogey man and object of mockery to the hero of the story, and Scout realises that it is wrong to judge and objectify others. Finally, Bob Ewell has moved from being a bad force to being deleted from the story.

Since the trial is framed but the childhood exploits involving Boo Radley, the ending serves to bring the story full circle. The children have grown up, and they don't see the world the same way any more. They know where the real monsters and heroes are revealed. It's not the things that go bump in the night that you need to fear, but the evils of human nature.

It also shows the conflict Atticus faced when trying to raise his children to believe in the goodness of a world in which he clearly saw the ugliness. Yes he tried to teach Scout that "everyone is nice if one really looks at him or her." At the same time he's watching Jem recover from the vicious attack of a man who clearly was not nice no matter how many chances he was given or no matter how long you look at him.

I think it's an appropriate ending. Boo has been seen, and he becomes the hero of the novel. The evil Bob Ewell is dead, and Maycomb is safe. Scout's fantasy about seeing Boo has been fulfilled, and she understands that most people are "nice" once you get to know them. Life can get back to normal in Maycomb, and life can now go on for both Jem and Scout. 

I look at two things from the very end of the book -- Atticus telling Scout that everyone is nice if you look at them, and Atticus keeping watch over Jem as he slept.  I think she ends the book that way because these are two of the major things she has been trying to explore in the book.  She has been looking at Atticus as he tries to help his kids grow up as good people who are not prejudiced against others.  The end of the book shows this.  It shows Atticus and Scout talking about accepting others and it shows Atticus's devotion to his kids.

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