Dill's background allows him to give a different view on society and therefore teaches Jem and Scout many significant lessons. Dill is originally from Mississippi where racism was not as prominent. Dill’s family was not poor, yet Dill visits Maycomb each summer because he feels unwanted by his parents. Jem says "Dill, I had to tell him," he said. "You can't run three hundred miles off without your mother knowin'." (Lee,188). Dill’s family wasn't poor although they were not as happy as a poor small-town family of the Finch’s. Dill’s origins teach the reader and the Finches that money cannot buy happiness. Dill’s imaginative lifestyle shows Jem and Scout a way out of the problems of reality. Dill tells Jem and Scout about his plans for the future: "I think I'll be a clown when I get grown […] 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."
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Dill grew up mostly alone due to his parents never wanting him home, therefore, he would have to imagine things to do by himself. Dill believes anything is possible, this allows him to not feel anything from the problems of reality. Unfortunately, Dill’s imagination still won't get him away from the problems of racism. Mr. Raymond explains Dill's feelings: "Things haven't caught up with that one's instinct yet. Let him get a little older and he won't get sick and cry […] about the simple hell people give other people—without even thinking. Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they're people, too."(269). Since Dill never truly learned of the severity of reality he is distraught when he witnesses the racism within the Tom Robinson trial. Dill’s reaction to the trial shows the audience just how severe the racism within Maycomb actually is. Dill’s past allows him to teach Jem and Scout how to use their imagination to escape reality and try to live in a "perfect
Dill grew up mostly alone due to his parents never wanting him home, therefore, he would have to imagine things to do by himself. Dill believes anything is possible, this allows him to not feel anything from the problems of reality. Unfortunately, Dill’s imagination still won't get him away from the problems of racism. Mr. Raymond explains Dill's feelings: "Things haven't caught up with that one's instinct yet. Let him get a little older and he won't get sick and cry […] about the simple hell people give other people—without even thinking. Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they're people, too."(269). Since Dill never truly learned of the severity of reality he is distraught when he witnesses the racism within the Tom Robinson trial. Dill’s reaction to the trial shows the audience just how severe the racism within Maycomb actually is. Dill’s past allows him to teach Jem and Scout how to use their imagination to escape reality and try to live in a "perfect