Thursday, October 3, 2013
20-21 What do Scout and Dill learn about Dolphus Raymond?What does this tell you about this character?
On page 267 Scout calls Mr Raymond an "evil man"(Lee, 267). She is peaking just from what Jem has told her. When Dill gets sick from the behavior of the prosecuting attorney, he has to leave the courtroom. Dill and Scout are discussing human decency when Mr. Dolphus Raymond joins their comphersation. He offers Dill something to settle his nerves, something that Scout believes to be whiskey. When Dill sips it he realizes it is not in fact whiskey but coca cola. It is then revealed that Dolphus never is in fact drunk but rather fakes it so people will leave him alone. He says "I try to give them a reason, it helps folks to latch onto a reason... folks can say Dolphus Raymond is in the clutches thats why he won't change his ways"(Lee, 268). Mr Raymond understands that people will not understand interracial marriage and "breeding", so in order to keep his life peaceful and undisturbed he pretends to be drunk. If people thought a wealthy sober white man, would ever marry, a black woman of any kind, that would be so threatening to their way of life they would be tempted to take extreme measures and make an example out of him. He would see often the kind of mob Atticus stared down. If the other people can excuse his behavior as just the act of a half-in-the-bag widower, then they would be more inclined to leave him be. People in this time, even now are so opposed to change, to something that shakes up the norm, that they would be able to justify any means. For Mr Raymond, it is just worth it to pretend to be drunk. He never meant to threaten people, but he was enlightened enough to not discriminate in the most personal part of his life, and would put his own, and his families safety in danger to not pretend to be under the influence.
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Dolphus Raymond is like Atticus in the way that he doesn't try to defend his beliefs. However, while Atticus showcases courage by standing up to public pressure, Mr. Raymond pretends to be drunk, so people are not so prejudiced against him. I agree with you that Mr. Raymond does not have the courage to stand up to a mob, but I think that this is the easiest way that Mr. Raymond sees to escape public pressure. He doesn't express his opinions and views, and although he sees many things similar to the way Atticus does, he backs down and puts on his mask when in public. I think Mr. Raymond prefers the company of Negroes because he thinks whites are too quick to judge.
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ReplyDeleteI agree that the only reason Mr. Raymond acts drunk in public is for his own protection. He knows that he won't be accepted by society if they think he's a perfectly competent and wealthy white man who made the choice to live with black people. The people in Maycomb see that he's "drunk", and they dismiss the fact that he spends time with black people by saying it's just because he isn't in his right mind. He trusts Scout and Dill enough to tell them his secrets because he knows that they sit among the black people too… literally and figuratively. I definitely see a major difference between Atticus and Mr. Raymond even though they both think similarly. They both truly think that all men are created equal and not just that all white men are created equal. Except Atticus, “Is the same in the courtroom as he is in the public streets,” (Lee 266) as Scout says while quoting Miss Maudie. He chooses to let everyone know that he’s going to try hard to win the Tom Robinson case because he wants to... not just because he was assigned to the case. Mr. Raymond hides behind his reputation because he isn’t as courageous as Atticus, yet he still does whatever he has to do in order to live the life he wants.
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