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To Kill A Mockingbird - The Character of Dill
From their first impression of Dill Scout and Jem feel that, Charles Baker Harris is a small, weedy, but oddly curious child whose name was "longer'n you are". At the initial meeting he was wearing "blue linen shorts that buttoned to his shirt, his hair was snow white and stuck to his head like duck fluff". Even though he seemed odd to Jem and Scout when he spoke of going to the cinema and seeing films like Dracula he automatically had their attention and respect. This initial meeting grows into a flourishing relationship between Dill and Jem and Scout.
After this first meeting Dill stays for the duration of each summer at his aunts house and then returning to his mother and stepfather for all we know at that time. Dill returns to and leaves Maycomb many times in the duration of the novel after that visit and their initial meeting.
Dill is dreamy, enigmatic and insecure. Unlike the Finch children he feels unwanted until they welcome him under their wing. Dill talks of his stepfather and mother as well off people who show him the sights of the urbanised area that they live in. In reality this is not what the picture is with Dill and his parents. They don't want him and he is passed from relative to relative in an attempt to be rid of him for some time. He is moved on from his one relative to the next when they get tired making Dill feels unwanted although he doesn't show it. As a result of this when Dill comes to Maycomb and meets Jem and Scout, he feels comforted and contented to be with people who have time for him and who enjoy his company.
At points in the book when Dill leaves, Scout and Jem miss him as he was the basis of their games during the entire summer. To them Dill is another person to interact with, who plays their games with them and whose company they both enjoy. Dill is also like a book to them because as they interact more with him they unfold more and more of his past rousing their curiosity to want to find out more.