In chapter 20 Mr. Dulphus reveals his secret to Dill and Scout. He lets Dill drink out of his sack to make him feel better after he was crying and Dill finds out that he only drinks Coca-Cola and not whiskey. This is a surprise to them because they had only heard the stories of Mr. Dulphus the one who always is drinking whiskey. Mr. Dulphus uses this alcoholic excuse to be surrounded by the people he wants to be surrounded by, while others think he's just always drunk. He says, “... if I weave a little and drink of this sack, folks can say Dolphus Raymond’s in the clutches of whiskey- that’s why he won’t change his ways. He can’t help himself, that’s why he lives the way he does” (Lee, 268). Mr. Dulphus is known as the the alcoholic who made an irrational decisions because he was too drunk to do otherwise and that was an acceptable excuse to the community. He lied because he wanted to live life the he wanted to and if he had this lie in his life, that lie could explain it all for him that would put him in a better situation. He decided that it was better to lie about being an alcoholic than to live with the lie of desire of love he cannot get.
I strongly agree with Alex with how Mr. Dolphus Raymond lies about drinking and hanging around blacks, because he is always intoxicated. Mr. Dolphus Raymond is accepted in the community because he has a lot of money. Even if he still had that, if people found out he was faking it and actually liked being around black folks he would not be accepted. "I try to give 'em a reason, you see. It helps folks if they launch onto a reason... that ain't honest but it's might helpful to folks." (268) People in Maycomb don't ask questions or isolate him from the community because he has given them an excuse of why he acts that way. The people of Maycomb are no able to wrap their heads around a white man that wants to hang with blacks. Mr. Dolphus Raymond knows this so he lives a life that isn't true.
ReplyDeletelike Ja'niya, I also agree with Alex. Dolphus Raymond is only accepted within the white community because of his money and nothing else. The white community considers him a disgrace because of his black mistress and mixed children. Mr. Raymond feels more comfortable around the black community, because they accept him for who he is and do not view having a mistress of a different race as a sin. When scout is asking Dolphus Raymond why he pretends to be a drunk, he responds by saying, "Well it's very simple. Some folks don't-like the way I live...I don't care if they don't like it...It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason"(Lee 268). Mr. Raymond wants to give people an understandable reason to not accept him. He understands that he is not accepted within the white community, and instead of hiding, he makes himself accepted within the black community.
DeleteThey way Mr. Dolphus Raymond reveals his secret to Dill and scout was unsettling. At first he steps out behind a tree, and offers Dill a drink of his alcohol. Dill unknowingly takes a sip from the coca cola bottle, and it makes him feel happy again. I think that Dill knew it was alcohol so he didn't have any more from Mr. Raymonds bottle. Although Mr. Raymond is well known for being wealthy I still do not think that he can be trusted unsupervised.
ReplyDeleteWhat Mr. Dolphus Raymond does is very sad because in the time that To Kill A Mockingbird takes place in what he does is very socially unacceptable. Mr. Dolphus Raymond desires the love of a woman who is of another race than him, but he has to fake that he is drunk to obtain that. The people in Maycomb say that that is just his way when he gets drunk all the time, but it's just an act to obtain a forbidden desire that he couldn't have otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI agree when you say that Dolphus Raymond does it for an excuse. When Dolphus tells Dill to take a sip from the bag and its just coke, Dolphus says "You little folks wont tell on me now, will you? it'd ruin my reputation if you did" (Lee 267). He is upholding a reputation that he has as a drunk, and if his reputation were to be exposed, he would not be able to keep his black mistress.
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