Dill in To Kill a Mockingbird: Farewell to Childhood Anonymous 9th Grade

Often, there is no greater power that influences an individual’s development than his or her surroundings. It is one’s society that establishes what is generally accepted and how one comes to act within that society. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the author Harper Lee develops the idea that an individual’s perspective of their world can transform due to the circumstances that they are exposed to in their environment. The character Dill demonstrates this idea well, since he develops in significant ways throughout the story.

Charles Baker Harris, commonly known as Dill in Lee Harper’s novel, is a character with a small perspective. This is due to being young and unexposed to different truths of life. As a result, he has predisposed ideas of people and is closed-minded. When he hears the rumours regarding Boo Radley, he reacts with childlike fascination and believes every word. His small perspective has not yet allowed him to question points of life. Additionally, with this fascination, he becomes determined to persuade Boo Radley to leave his home without consideration of how this might terrorize Boo Radley. It is evident at the beginning that his childlike ways make him determined and ready to believe what others have to...