In chapter twenty Dill and Scout discover a lot about Dolphus Raymond's character. The first thing that they discover about Mr. Raymond is what he is drinking in his paper bag. "You mean all you drink in that sack's Coca-Cola? Just plain Coca-Cola," (Lee, 267). In the quote above Scout is in shock when she realizes that all Dophus is drinking is Coca-Cola. This proves that many people don't truly know about Dolphus Raymond, and that people simply make assumptions about him. Dill and Scout, being one of the community members making assumptions about his character, are shocked to find out that Mr. Raymond wants the Maycomb society to believe he is drinking alcohol. "I try to give 'em a reason, you see. It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason," (Lee, 268). Mr. Raymond is explaining to Scout and Dill that he knows his community views him as an outcast because he has mixed colored children and a black wife, so if his peers believe that he is a drinker it will help explain to them why he is different from the rest of Maycomb. "... but you see they could never, never understand the way I live like I do because that's the way I want to live," (Lee, 268). In order for his fellow community members to quit bugging him about how he lives his life he gives them a reason for it. He doesn't care what his peers think of him as long as they try not to change him. They also learn that Dolphus Raymond is a strong believer in black people being treated the same as white people. "Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they're people too," (Lee, 269). I believe that overall Dill and Scout discover that Dolphus Raymond is a very bold and outgoing person.
My questions is if he is so outgoing, why would he think that he has to give people a reason for why he lives his life differently? Why wouldn't he just let them think that there is no particular reason, besides the fact that he believes in whites and blacks being treated equally, that he chooses to go about life differently?
I think that Dolphus Raymond just doesn't want to be bothered. When he is talking to Dill and Scout outside of the courthouse, he says, "I try to give 'em a reason, you see. It helps folk if they latch onto a reason." (Lee 268). What Dolphus is trying to say is that white people won't be so confused or irritated that he likes the company of black people more than the whites. Dolphus just doesn't want to insult the other citizens of Maycomb. If he just said he didn't like staying around them, they would hate him, not just think badly of him and would try to change him.
ReplyDeleteMr. Raymond does not care about what people think about him, but he, “don’t say the hell with ‘em” (Lee 268). By saying this, Mr. Raymond is stating that he still has to be aware of what people could do if they dislike how he lives. The mob might not like how he is living. Dolphus could pretend to be a drinker so that the mob does not harm him like they wanted to harm Tom Robinson. By pretending, Mr. Raymond is keeping him and his family out of the public’s attention, and potentially saving their lives.
ReplyDeleteI believe that although Mr. Dolphus Raymond is a very brave and courageous person, he was pretending to be drunk because he was scared of facing Maycomb's reaction if they knew that he was hanging out with black people on purpose. I don't mean that he is cowardly, though, because if any grown people in Maycomb knew that he was doing this on purpose, they would definitely try to hurt and stop him, and I think that he made a wise decision. The old generation of Maycomb has been brought up assuming "that all Negroes lie, all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women" (Lee 273) an don't want to put in the huge amount of effort that it takes to start fresh and leave behind their assumptions. Scout and Jem, though, have been brought up by Atticuss, who is strongly opposed to racism, and are free of that assumption. Mr. Raymond knows this and answer's Scout's question by saying "Because you're children and you can understand it" (Lee 268) Mr. Raymond is brave and smart to find a way to do what he believes he has the right to do without being harassed.
ReplyDeleteI respectfully disagree with Tayseer's comment of "Dolphus just doesn't want to insult the other citizens of Maycomb". Dolphus says "I don't care if they, (the citizens of Maycomb), don't like it," (Lee 268). There is not a single person in the world that likes to get called mean names. It might affect some people less or more than others, but no one likes it. That is why Dolphus lies. He's scared of what the white community would do to him or say about him. If people believe someone to be a drunk, not as much talk will go around because you know that they do not have their wits about them. If a "perfectly normal" white man preferred spending time with blacks instead of whites, he might get a visit from the mob. Dolphus is a very smart man to use this strategy.
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