Charles Baker Harris’s family in the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is extremely dysfunctional making his idea of a proper home with Jem, Scout, and Atticus Finch where he feels accepted. After making up countless stories about his real life, it is made clear that seven-year-old Charles Baker Harris also known as Dill, does not enjoy living with his relatives. Finding friendship with the neighbors, he creates a true bond with them. The people that love and cherish Dill the most are Scout, Jem, and Atticus Finch, his family. Dill’s biological family is chaos which caused his idea of love to be tarnished before meeting the Finchs. The novel states, “they do get on a lot better without me, I can’t help them any” (Lee 191). This quote shows how Dill did not feel needed in his mother’s home. In addition to not feeling wanted, Dill once created a story on how he was tied up in his parent’s basement and he needed…show more content… He comes racing to their house when he hates Meridian because he is happiest in Maycomb. An example of this is when he jumped a ride to the Finch household appearing underneath Scout’s bed. Harper Lee wrote, “Suddenly a filthy brown package shot from under the bed. Jem raised the broom and missed Dill’s head by an inch when it appeared” (Lee 186). Jumping out from underneath the bed, Dill scares the kids at first but then produces big smiles from both of them. Dill knows Scout and Jem will appreciate him spontaneously coming to Maycomb. Jem and Scout unconditionally love Dill so much. The novel states, “Dill left us early in September, to return to Meridian. We saw him off on the five o’clock bus and I was miserable without him…” (Lee 20). After leaving the kids to return to Meridian, Scout and Jem feel so lonely. In conclusion, Dill is extremely loved, trusted and treated as a family with the Finchs. He is missed when he is gone, but the Finchs are ecstatic when he
