At the very beginning of To Kill a Mockingbird, Dill dare's Jem to touch the side of Boo Radley's house (in an attempt to make him come out). It all begins when Dill wonders what Boo really looks like and if they could make him appear. "Our first raid came to pass only because Dill bet Jem The Gray Ghost against two Tom Swifts that Jem wouldn't get any farther than the Radley gate. In all his life, Jem had never declined a dare" (13). Jem considers the dare for three days until Dill gets a bit more specific about it. "I won't say you aran out on a dare an' I'll swap you The Gray Ghost if you just go up and touch the house" (14). Jem not only accepts the dare, but succeeds. After the kids return, panting, they simply think they see one of the Radley's inside shutters move. This is the dare that begins it all and sets Jem and Scout on the journey that will eventually lead them to understand and love our dear and misunderstood Boo Radley.
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