Who was Dill?

Dill Harris (real name: Charles Baker Harris) is a young boy who lives in Meridian, Mississippi. He visits Maycomb, Alabama every summer to stay with his aunt Rachel; while there, he often plays with his friends Jem Finch and Scout Finch and joins them in their attempts to lure Boo Radley out of his house. Dill is a short kid, even for his age, and has a very active imagination. Dill does not have a happy home life, as he feels that his mother and stepfather don't love him. At one point, he runs away from his home and hides in the Finch residence.
He is often seen as a representation of childhood innocence, a theme that is prevalent in the novel. A key scene comes during the trial of Tom Robinson, where Dill cries in response to Mr. Gilmer's awful treatment of Tom. This scene shows Dill as someone who doesn't exactly know how to respond to the cruelty he sees—he can only react with bitter tears. Readers might contrast this with Scout, who doesn't react as strongly to Mr. Gilmer's actions, accepting them as the way things are. With Dill and Scout's different reactions, the reader gets to see the different ways in which the children respond to the harshness of the world.