Dills role within the novel is paramount to the development of both Jem and Scout.

His influence
extends far into the very crux of the novel as it attempts to shed light on the double standards
imposed upon the African American public in the deep southern states of America, known for its
conservative and draconian opinions on the matter of human rights. Dills integral part in the novel is
mainly understood through various chapters of speech in which he departs messages of wisdom far
greater than that which would be expected of his age. This essay shall explore the role Dill plays
within the novel both as a character and as a device whom shares an impartial mediatory view on
most of the unethical happenings engrained within Maycomb County.
When Dill is initially introduced to the novel as an imaginative person who shares the same insatiable
thirst to expose Boo Radley as his other child counterparts, Jem and Scout. However, there is a
fundamental difference; although they are similar in their beliefs and give in to curiosity as children,
the reader is able to see slight nuances in Dills greater maturity despite his age. He demonstrates a
benevolent nature when he proclaims that We wouldnt hurt him and wed buy him an ice-cream.
This demonstrates an increased and heightened understanding on the side of Dill as his intentions
are pure unlike the many other citizens of Maycomb who would wish to exacerbate the truth in return
for rumour. The repetition of personal pronouns demonstrate that he is thinking on a larger scale with
not only himself in mind. The parallel construct demonstrates his willingness to explain the rationale
behind his motives as he has nothing to hide. However the mood is still rather jovial and young as
one must not disregard the fact that Dill still is only a young child who has not yet ventured down the
path of maturity.
The Tom Robinson trial is an episode where Dill exposes the miserable ethical state of the Maycomb
county while vocally critisising it. When Tom Robinson is being questioned on the witness stand by
Mr. Gilmer, obvious discrepancies in treatment are noted between his treatment and the treatment of
his white counterparts. While Scout openly accepts Mr. Gilmer's rude treatment of Tom on the
witness stand as normal, perhaps because she has been inured to the hardships of the black
community of Maycomb, Dill starts crying uncontrollably when he sees Tom being treated so
differently from the white witnesses. The emotions he feels are so compelling that he is at a loss of
words unable to fully comprehend his feelings. Here another obscure figure steps in, Dolphus
Raymond who enlightens the puzzled Scout by saying that 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. The juxtaposition between the white folks, giving coloured folks,
hell. Demonstrates the extent of the double standard that exists within Maycomb county and sheds
light of the terrible inequality faced by African Americans in post great depression America in the
1930s where they did not even possess simple civil rights. The parallel construct demonstrates that
this practice is commonplace and people do not even give a second thought to evaluate the
consequences of their actions as this was an obligatory practice.
Dill's sensitivity to Maycomb's intolerance and racist mindset gives both Scout and the reader a
different model of how to respond to the daily happenings and suffering that is seemingly ignored in
Maycomb County. The contrast between Dill's angry tears and Scout's justification of Mr. Gilmer's

attitude with the surprisingly callous he's just a Negro. suggests that Scout has already been
influenced by the racist paradigm encapsulated within the stifling spirit of Maycomb County. Not even
being Atticus's daughter has been enough to shield her entirely from her community's prejudices, but
rather it thrusts her violently forward into the cruel inner workings of the world. While Scout and Jem
struggle after the trial to make sense of the Maycomb community that they thought they knew so
well, and to figure out their own place in it, Dill takes a more detached approach, jovially stating that
Well I'm gonna be a new kind of clown. I'm gonna stand in the middle of the ring and laugh at the
folks. This contrarian view although seeming irrelevant is an extended metaphor for the human
nature. Here Dill attempts to explain that sometimes it is better to be the standout for the greater
cause than to simply follow the majority who may hold faith in the wrong ideologies. Dill proclaims
such in spite of Mr. Raymonds callous predictions that Dill will grow out of crying into not caring. Dill
himself comes up with a different path, hiding the tears in laughter. Both responses, however, are
difficult for Scout to understand. Dill's character suggests what the limitations of Scout's perspective
might be, giving the reader a broader picture of what's the matter with Maycomb through the different
limitations of Dill's viewpoint.
To conclude Dill is an incredibly complex and sophisticated character who provides profound
independent insight into the plight of the African American community, a major theme within the
novel itself. He also provides the two Finches with someone to confide with and with his boundless
imagination are able to venture upon childish adventures which peel back the dusted veil to expose
the inner workings of this desolate and morally deficient county in the deep-south.