After Jem and Scout befriend Dill, who is spending the summer with his aunt in Maycomb, the children proceed to reenact their favorite dramas and improve their tree house in the backyard for the majority of the summer. The children eventually become bored with their typical summer routine, and Dill suggests that they try to make Boo Radley come out of his house. Scout mentions,

But by the end of August our repertoire was vapid from countless reproductions, and it was then that Dill gave us the idea of making Boo Radley come out. (Lee, 8)

According to Scout, Dill is fascinated with the Radley house and spends a considerable amount of time standing with his arm around the nearby light pole, staring at the Radley place. Boo Radley is the Finch's reclusive, enigmatic neighbor, who never leaves his home and has a negative reputation as a "malevolent phantom" among the neighborhood children. Jem subscribes to the various negative rumors that surround Boo Radley and receives most of his information from Miss Stephanie Crawford, who portrays Boo as a spooky, intrusive individual with bad intentions. The more Jem tells Dill about Boo Radley, the more he is attracted to the idea of making him come out of the house. Dill eventually tells Jem and Scout,

Let’s try to make him come out...I’d like to see what he looks like. (Lee, 13)