Jem made the choice that I would have made, but is it right? Jem, Scout, and Dill all have different points of views. There is also the topic about how Dill and Scout’s relationship is such a huge part in this book. Everyone has a hard time at home, one way or another. Scout and Jem’s family gives them too much attention because their family wants them to grow up, and make the Finch name proud. Dill’s doesn’t give him enough attention because they just want him out of the way. I have four sisters, and I can honestly say that there are times that I have too much attention and too little at times. Family is hard but family is more important that anyone has ever known. Jem knew that Dill’s family would be looking for him and that they should have the right to know where their son is. You can see this when Jem says “You oughta let your mother know where you are” (Lee 187). When Jem tells Atticus it shows us that he is growing up and getting more mature. Jem seemed to already know that Atticus wouldn’t be mad at Dill, I am sure that he knew what he was doing. I would have made the same decision as Jem, to tell my parents because I trust them. I know that my mom would help me if I had a friend like Dill, I am certain, just like how Jem was certain about Atticus. Scout didn’t want to tell Atticus, because she didn’t know for certain how Atticus was going to react to Dill’s arrival. Scout knew that Dill was hurting and she didn’t want to see him like that anymore. Scout and Dill have a bond, ever since they met, a bond that will last forever. I never had that with a friend but with sisters, you get that bond either way. I can see why it is hard to tell on a friend that is as close as Dill is with Scout. My sisters always debate if we should tell our parents, if one of us is doing something wrong. At the end it just depends if you trust yourself and trust the people around you know you more than you know yourself. Dill shouldn’t have run away but his reasons are sensible. He didn’t feel like he belonged, or that his parents wanted him there. It must be really hard being in a family that never wants you around, and I would also have a hard time living like that too. It was smart of him to run to Scout and Jem. It shows where his trust lies, and where he believes he belongs. They are his family now, and I don’t think anyone could change that. His reasons seem very logical, a kid, teenager, and maybe even an adult would run, if they feel like that. He didn’t feel like he belonged with his mother and new father. The most important thing is that he felt like he belonged with Scout and Jem, and that shows that they are his real family now. When Scout and Dill started to talk about Dill’s family, you could see the connection they have. It is hard to find someone that will have that connection with you. It really shows it when Dill tells Scout about what really happened to him. When they started to talk about Boo Radley, you can tell that Dill knows how Boo feels in his house, alone and depressed, when he says “Maybe he doesn’t have anywhere to run off to…” (Lee 192). The difference between Boo Radley and Dill is that Dill had Scout and Jem to run off to, but Boo seems to have no one. Dill had a small part of him that thought that he had no one at one point. I know this because the only reason Dill could have said that was because he knew how it felt at one point. In the 1930s people maybe started saying 2 things if a child ran. 1) If they don’t know how to control one child, then they have failed as a parent. 2) Is that the children have to learn about respect and honor. There must be children who may have run away from home because the parents may have hurt them, it still happens today, why not in the 1930s. In the end a kid and parent needs communication and a connection.
