Many people may think minor characters don't contribute at all to the structure of a book. But much of the importance of a minor character comes from the way they help shape other major characters. Along with forming these elements, minor characters also help develop and set up new themes throughout the book. They support the progression in the plot while giving additional understandings about the major characters. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is a complex novel that gives insights into the prejudice contributed by race and class. Although many minor characters in the book don't affect the development of the novel, they carry significant weight. Among one of these characters is Dill Harris. Harris is introduced in the book as an adventurous …show more content…
Over the course of the novel, it becomes clear that Dill is becoming more mature as the Tom Robinson case progresses. On page 266 Dill states, “‘I don't care one speck. It ain't right, somehow it ain't right to do ‘em that way. Hasn't anybody got any business talkin’ like that--it just makes me sick.’” To be specific, Dill witnesses this complexity during the cross-examination of Tom Robinson in the trial. He becomes very uncomfortable with the way Tom is mistreated and excessively interrogated for being black. This evidence shows that Dill becomes more aware and identifies the seriousness of the case. He argues about the injustice served to Robinson. Dill feels a strong attraction towards this case because he recognizes the prejudice and anger against race and class that are arising in the Maycomb society. In other words, Dill becomes more intellectually developed as a result of thinking more deeply about peoples’ beliefs. For this purpose, Dill’s character demonstrates maturity because he transforms from the beginning to the end of the novel. As the Tom Robinson case comes to a closure many people become agitated about the verdict. In a similar way, Dill portrays his maturity on page 289 when he states, “‘Yes sir a clown’ he said. ‘There ain't one thing in this world I can do about folks except for laugh, so I’m gonna join the circus and laugh my head off.’” It is clear from the statement above that Dill is trying to lighten the mood. He understands that people are having a tough time coping with the case and therefore tries to brighten their atmospheres. In this circumstance, Dill is mature enough to recognize the tension in the room and takes action to diffuse the tension. Overall, Dill becomes more composed as a character after these events compared to earlier. The prime purpose of these incidents are to support the theme of maturity in the
Were you ever a turtle, huh?'" (14; ch 1). Throughout the book, small and defenseless animals are an extended metaphor for people who are oppressed. In this passage, Dill is trying to protect the turtle the same way he thinks that everyone should be protected. While Dill is adamant that everyone deserves protection and justice, he is never able to do much to help anyone else. Dill is unsuccessful in helping find justice for Tom Robinson, which greatly upsets him. When Tom is harshly cross-examined during the trial, Dill outwardly expresses how upset he is. As Scout put it, "Dill had started crying and couldn't stop; quietly at first, then his sobs were heard by several people in the balcony" (198; ch 19). The way that Dill reacted to the prejudice Tom faced is the same way he speaks up about any injustice: "quietly at first, then his {protests] were heard by several people". While Dill is too young and naive to clearly express his hatred for injustice, he still manages to make everyone around him think about it for an extra second, just like Atticus. People don't understand Dill's outburst, because they are accustomed to injustice. Despite the fact that Dill can't change the inevitable outcome of Tom's
Dill represents childhood innocence.When Tom is examined by the prosecutor he cries. "That old Mr.Gilmer doin' him thataway, talking so hateful to him[...]It made me sick, plain sick"(pg 198-199)He also brings a sense of adventure and exploration, particularly with Boo Radley. He sparks the interest with Boo Radley.(scout tells what jem said)"[...]He said it began the summer dill came to us, when Dill first gave us the idea to make Boo radley come out."(pg 1)His family is very different from the Finch's. He has a broken family and is not payed attention to. On the other hand Atticus takes his parenting seriousley even more so because they don't have a mother. Unlike the Finch's, dill has hardly any adult supervision and even ran from home to spend his summer with scout and jem. His presence brings contrast to the lifestyles..
Dill is established as being a creative character at first because the kids find themselves conflicted when Jem’s pants are not on him, but when Atticus asks the kids about this Dill comes up with a lie very fast. “We were playin’ strip poker up yonder by the fishpool,” is the lie that Dill told atticus which was a very believable lie because atticus and the rest of the adults believed it as well. Dill also acted fast when asked what type of strip poker he was playing and he simply answered, “no, just with matches” These fast answers show us that he can come up with stuff in a time of need.
Dill does not have the relationship with his parents that children deserve, thus Dill craves attention and a place he can feel home, only he does not feel at home with the people he should crave attention from. The only consistency in Dill’s life was staying with Miss Rachael during the summer. In the summer, Dill has friends he can depend on; the only relationship Dill can fully trust and accept into his life. While Dill’s parent-child relationship deteriorates, his relationship with Maycomb and its familiar face grows. Maycomb is a place where Dill has a deep connection to. Maycomb is a place to call home.
Dill, also known as Charles Baker Harris, visiting Jem and Scout Finch every summer became an expectation in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, but as summer approaches, Dill writes Scout to inform her that his plans for the season have been altered. Subsequently following an altercation between Jem and Scout in Chapter Fourteen, Scout retreats to her room for the night and believes a snake slips under her bed after being stepped on, but the so called snake reveals itself as Dill. Dill’s actions throughout the chapter aid in the indirect characterization of his character. For example, when asked about how he arrived in Maycomb, Dill tells Jem and Scout two improbable stories about an abusive new father and traveling with an animal show, as
By talking up about the point and being valiant, this demonstrates his standards are exceptionally solid. In this scene, Dill is acquainting himself to Scout and Jem; he appears out of the blue to converse with them. He converses with Jem and scout and right away gets to be companions. “Dill was a curiosity. He wore blue linen shorts that buttoned to his shirt, his hair was snow white and stuck to his head like duck fluff…”(9) Scout describes Dill as a unique character that stands out from the crowd. She says, “Dill was a curiosity,”this is demonstrating that he was altogether different from others since he stood out from the group. She includes bolstering how extraordinary he was by contrasting his hair shading with duck fluff. By scout portraying Dill along these lines, this demonstrates he values being one of a kind and not quite the same as the group. At the time, everybody around the local area wore comparative garments while there were a couple of anomalies, for example, Dill. By continually doing things another way, his guideline of uniqueness appears through his methods for being not the same as other people. At this time of the book, Jem had quite recently wrapped up the historical backdrop of the Radley house to
Ironically, at Tom’s trial, Dill sobs when the Ewells succeed in the lies they tell to the jury. He later says, “It ain’t right, somehow it ain’t right to do ‘em (Black people) all that way”. This would be because Dill is from Mississippi and has not yet absorbed the racism and prejudice from Maycomb County. Therefore, this shows us that Dill’s lies are innocent ones that bring no form of harm to anyone else unlike Mayella Ewell, who’s lies frame Tom Robinson of rape. Dill also has his morals set right and is able to tell right from wrong.
In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird a major theme within the novel is the older one gets, the more desensitized one becomes to society's rules. Within the novel, a court case is being held; but the trial is extremely biased because the defendant, Tom Robinson, is a colored man. During the event, Dill, a friend of Jem and Scout, begins to cry because of how unfairly Tom Robinson is treated due to his skin color; “‘That old Mr. Gilmer doin him thataway, talking so hateful to him-’” (Lee 265). Dill doesn't know society's rules, particularly that colored people are treated poorly because of his lack of experience due to his young age. He will not able to truly grasp the concept until later on, and thus, he cries for Tom Robinson. Society's rules
With his father gone, and his mom the only source of paternal love, he “began to notice… that she looked nothing like the other kids’ mothers” (McBride 3). Exploring the theme of family circumstances, Dill points out how invisible he felt in contrast to Scout, who felt overwhelmed with attention. He states, “they stayed gone all the time, and when they were home… they’d get off in a room by themselves’” (Lee 190). Alongside family problems, Dill cries when he hears Mr. Gilmer’s cross-examination to Tom Robinson.
which elucidates how children have the ability to alter adults corrupt views and guide them away from societies cultural prejudices. Innocence can unravel the inherent or hidden good inside of people. During the trial Dill shows us how those untouched by prejudices can change an individuals perspective when he says "It don’t care one speck. It ain’t right, somehow it ain’t right to do ‘em that way." In this colloquial language he talks about the unjust and unfairness of Tom Robinson's trial.
Dill is showing many characteristics about himself throughout this book. He is very young and is friends with the main people in the book. This book is called “To Kill A Mockingbird” this book is by Harper Lee. This book is mainly about a story of how one person broke there arm, all the events in the story lead up to the certain young boy, breaking his arm. This story has a lot of racism in it and I don’t believe in racism at all.
But perhaps there is also a deeper meaning to the text than meets the eye. Symbolism is omnipresent in the book, with it always telling a story on another level. Some examples include but not limited to are Dill, Miss Maudie’s flowers, and perhaps the most relevant, the battle of Bob Ewell and Arthur “Boo” Radley. Dill, the summer time friend of siblings Jem and Scout Finch is a very notable symbol in the book. Dill is a scrawny boy who symbolizes the childhood of JEm and Scout Finch back when they first discovered him [Dill].
Throughout To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout and Jem’s friend Dill Harris is revealed as an individual who enjoys over exaggerating aspects of his life due to his wild imagination, and attention seeking personality. Dill uses every opportunity he has to create wild stories in order to impress the Finch children. This aspect of Dill is evident when Scout and Jem notice that Dill is hiding out in Scout’s room. Scout questions Dill on the situation, instead of coming clean he creates an extremely exaggerated story in attempt to impress the Finch children. Although, by that time Jem and Scout were aware of Dill’s tendency to create lies causing Dill to reveal his true story.
Have you ever thought about what the book would be like without Dill? You see, Dill is a type of character that doesn’t mean a great deal to the plot, only as representations of the characters. I have come together that Dill is a character where he represents the themes of the book, however we have characters that already represent these themes. Take for example, Dill does not express or reveals himself as he really is on the inside and he pretends to be someone else. He lies to everyone for attention because he doesn’t get the same love from his family out of Maycomb.
Another example of Dill’s awareness is that Dill wants to see Boo Radley, yet he knows about the troubles he lives through. Earlier on in the story, Dill and Jem have decided to write a letter to Boo. When Scout asks what it says, Dill says to Scout, “We’re asking him real