The main characters aren’t the only ones who contribute to the innocent perspective of Maycomb. Dill, the best friend of both Scout and Jem uses his emotions and past experiences to relate to the hatred black people like Tom Robinson face on a daily basis. During the Tom Robinson trial, Dill gets upset over the way Tom is treated by Mr. Gilmer: “This was as much as I heard of Mr. Gilmer’s cross examination, because Jem made me take DIll out. For some reason DIll had started crying and couldn’t stop; quietly at first, then his sobs were heard by several people in the balcony” (Lee 265). Dill later tells us that he didn’t appreciate Mr. Gilmer’s attitude toward Tom Robinson. He realizes that Tom is treated with absolutely no respect and has great …show more content…
Dill claims that he was abandoned by his parents because they didn’t pay much attention to him since they met: “‘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. You’ve got a roomful of things. I-got-you-that-book-so-go-read-it’” (Lee 191). Here, Dill explains how his parent’s don’t get him involved with their daily lives as much which is his reason for running away from home to Scout and Jem. He describes how his parents would buy him things but wouldn’t give the full love and attention most parents would give. This obviously upsets Dill and gives him the feeling of being forsaken and mistreated. This is a reasonable explanation for why Dill began to cry during the trial. He could have simply been reminded of the feelings of being mistreated and abandoned through the way Tom Robinson was treated by Mr. Gilmer. Tom Robinson is mistreated for being falsely accused of raping a girl and for being a black person while also having most of Maycomb despise him, even when no evidence for the accusation is