Examine how Dill reevaluates his ideas about Boo Radley.
Answer: At the beginning of the novel, Dill is influenced by Scout and Jem and their opinion about Boo. Gradually, Dill starts to think for himself and puts himself in Boo's shoes.
Explanation:
Boo, Dill, Scout and Jem are characters from Harper Lee's novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird." Scout and Jem are siblings, and Dill is their friend. Boo Radley is Scout and Jem's mysterious neighbor - rumor has it that he never leaves his house.
Initially, everything that Dill learns about Boo is from Scout and Jem's perspective. Over the course of time, Dill becomes quite interested, if not fascinated by Boo:
"The more we told Dill about the Radleys, the more he wanted to know... "(Chapter 1)
Gradually, Dill starts to see past rumors and to understand how Boo feels. He realizes that Boo is alone because no one wants to socialize with him, and not the other way round. Dill also assumes that Boo has no family to spend time with. By putting himself in Boo's shoes, Dill becomes empathetic:
"Well how'd you feel if you'd been shut up for a hundred years with nothin' but cats to eat?”
Does his new perspective make him any less prejudiced than Scout or Jem? Why or why not?
Answer: The new perspective does make him less prejudiced than Scout and Jem, at least initially. Dill then changes their perspective by showing them that Boo is just a human being.
Explanation:
This new perspective probably makes him less prejudiced than Scout and Jem, at least for the first time being. Jem and Scout believe the gossips that they hear - Scout, for instance, describes Boo as a "malevolent phantom". However, over the course of the story, Boo finds a number of ways to show the children that he is kind. For instance, he leaves the gifts for Scout and Jem in the tree. It could be argued that it is also Dill that changes Jem and Scout's perspective about their neighbor. Dill shows them that Boo is just a human being who experiences emotions, just like everyone else does.
