system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[To Kill a Mockingbird] Why was Arthur "Boo" Radley stuck inside his house?

Is he imprisoned against his will by someone or does he simply want to be a hermit/recluse? Was he expected to stay inside for the remainder of his life?
gpt
The only detail we get is that his father used to lock him up in the basement, suggesting he was a victim of severe abuse.

Judging from his extreme pallor and strange, halting speech patterns, the implication seems to be that he is in some way mentally ill and not able to handle basic social activity, either a consequence of his illness or his mistreatment at his father's hands. It may be that he is dangerous- though given what happened to Bob Ewell, if he IS dangerous, it's probably not to innocents (not that people in this provincial community would make such a distinction)