Please note: Page numbers will vary by edition. Chapter numbers are provided here for each quotation.

Dill Harris, whose real name is Charles Baker, is a beloved friend of both Scout and Jem. Although he and Scout are engaged, he grows closer to Jem, and the two boys sometimes exclude her because she is a girl. Dill has a difficult relationship with his family and enjoys spending time in Maycomb and with the Finches. Scout tries to be considerate of his feelings, although she knows he is a not merely an inventive story teller but a fantastic liar. The three of them are involved together in the surveillance of the Radley home and a related game they invent, as well as attending the Robinson trial together.

Dill shows great curiosity, such as about the Radley house, but he can also be sensitive to other’s feelings. In chapter 1, when Jem tries to think of a way to coax Arthur “Boo” Radley out of his house, he uses the metaphor of striking a match under a turtle’s shell. Dill thinks this idea is “hateful,” and challenges Jem’s assertion that it would not hurt the turtle.

“How do you know a match don’t hurt him?”

“Turtles can’t feel, stupid,” said Jem.

“Were you ever a turtle, huh?”

It is Dill who comes up with the idea of delivering a note to Boo Radley (chapter 6). Jem’s approaching the Radley house to make this delivery has the unfortunate result of Nathan Radley shooting at him and his losing his pants when they catch on the fence. Dill is very helpful in quickly coming up with a lie to tell Atticus when he asks Jem where his pants are.

“Ah—I won ’em from him,” he said vaguely.

“Won them? How?”

“We were playin’ strip poker up yonder by the fishpool,” he said.

Starting from page 12, Dill Harris appears throughout the story as a good friend of Jem and Scout. The following quotes come from their first few meetings.

Dill first introduces himself to Jem and Scout as "Charles Baker Harris," telling them: "I can read."

On page 13, he states:

I just thought you'd like to know I can read. You got anything needs readin' I can do it.

Jem gives him the cold shoulder until Dill tells him he has seen Dracula. Their conversation then moves on to books and films. On page 14, Scout asks Dill where his father is. Dill replies:

I haven't got one.

On page 18 and 19, Dill becomes interested in the reclusive Boo Radley. He asks

Wonder what he does in there?

and

Wonder what he looks like?

On page 19, he tries to persuade Jem to go up to the Radley's house by saying,

You're scared [. . .] You're too scared even to put your big toe in the front yard."

He further challenges Jem on page 20 by saying,

You gonna run on a dare?

On pages 20 and 21, he tries to reassure Jem by telling him he and Scout will help him out if Boo tries to attack him.

Scout'n' me'll jump on him and hold him down till we can tell him we ain't gonna hurt him.

Dill is Scout's best friend throughout the novel who lives in Meridian and visits his aunt during the summers. Dill runs away because he does not feel wanted. Dill has a conversation explaining his motivation to run away from home with Scout. Dill expresses his loneliness by saying, 

"The thing is, what I'm tryin' to say is---they do get on a lot better without me, I can't help them any. They ain't mean. They buy me everything I want, but it's now-you've-got-it-go-play-with-it" (Lee 88).

During the trial, Dill cannot stand seeing Mr. Gilmer treat Tom Robinson disrespectfully. At this point in the novel, Dill has not lost his innocence and is sickened at the way Mr. Gilmer speaks down to Tom. Dill's stomach begins to hurt and he starts to cry. When they get out of the courtroom, Dill tells Scout, 

"I don't care one speck. I ain't right, somehow it ain't right to do 'em that way. Hasn't anybody got any business talkin' like that---it just makes me sick" (Lee 121).

Following the trial, all of the children have lost their childhood innocence after witnessing Tom's wrongful conviction. Dill feels awful about the prejudiced community and tells Jem and Scout, 

"I think I'll be a clown when I get grown" (Lee 133).

Dill believes that being a clown will make him immune to the blatant prejudice and hate throughout the Maycomb community. 

When Jem and Scout first meet up with Charles Baker Harris, he is squatting in his Aunt Rachel's collards patch. They soon have a new best friend. "Folks call me Dill," said Dill... (Chapter 1, p. 7) It was Dill's curiosity that inspired Jem and Scout to pursue the "malevolent phantom" inside the Radley House--the unseen Boo Radley. "Let's try to make him come out," said Dill. "I'd like to see what he looks like." (Chapter 1, p. 13) It is Dill who finally recognizes the reason that Boo has remained hidden in his house for so long. Dill sees that Boo feels safe from the outside world there. "Maybe he doesn't have anywhere to run off to..." (Chapter 14, p. 144) During the trial, Dill is literally sickened by the way Tom is treated by the defense attorney. Scout leads him outside for a breath of fresh air, and Dill explains that "... somehow it ain't right to do 'em that way. Hasn't anybody got any business talkin' like that--it just makes me sick." (Chapter 19, p. 199)