Calling Dill a pocket Merlin alludes to the legend of King Arthur, and particularly to Merlin, Arthur's magical wizard advisor who appears to be aging backwards. Merlin often has words of good advice for King Arthur.
To Scout, the small or pocket-sized Dill is like Merlin. He is magical in terms of his imagination and his many plans and ideas. His imagination can make him seem wiser than Scout or Jem, as if he is aging backward. Although only seven, he has snowy white hair, also reinforcing the idea of a wise child aging backwards. He seems to Scout to have appeared in Maycomb magically, out of nowhere, although he will eventually explain his background (however, Scout doubts his stories). Dill has even seen the movie Dracula, which impresses Jem.
Dill becomes a highly valued summer playmate to the Finch children.
The legend in question is that of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. One of the most memorable characters in that epic tale is Merlin the wizard.
It is summertime in Maycomb and that means playtime for the kids, with lots of opportunities for getting into all kinds of scrapes and crazy adventures. Scout and Jem are pretty imaginative when it comes to thinking up new ways to occupy themselves during those long, hot summer months, but Dill is in a different class all of his own:
Thus we came to know Dill as a pocket Merlin, whose head teemed with eccentric plans, strange longings and quaint fancies.
So says Scout. The boy clearly has a rich, imaginative fantasy world, the kind of thing that most children would find themselves being drawn to immediately. Scout's reference to "pocket Merlin" also highlights Dill's somewhat diminutive stature. He is one year older than Scout, yet she still towers over him. But what little Dill lacks in height, he more than makes up for in personality and imagination.
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