Dolphus Raymond's Childhood

1370 Words6 Pages
Throughout the novel "To Kill A Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, the protagonist Scout finds herself discovering a different side to the town that she had grown up in. Her young view of the world allows her to notice fine details that adults would normally miss, such as the inequalities of segregation. Scout provides her recollection and accounts of the events that took place during her childhood. In many cases, Scouts youth would provide for an inaccurate telling of the events that had unfolded in Maycomb during her childhood, however her youthful innocence allows her to provide the readers with a clearer picture of the events and characters within the novel. The innocence of Scout at the time of the events provides the reader with a clearer…show more content…
For example, the children are able to understand Dolphus Raymond's life style. ""Because you're children and you can understand it," he said." (268 Lee) Dolphus says this as he is explaining to the children why he decides to act like a drunkard around the rest of the town. Adults in the town take offense to African Americans and whites loving each other. So, Dolphus decides to act like he is drunk in order to give them an explanation as to why he likes Blacks. The adults beliefs have not been forced upon Scout yet, so as Dolphus says she can understand his love of Blacks. Many adults would find his love strange, appalling, or potentially a crime. However, Scouts innocence makes her find no problem with Dolphus's love of African Americans. Due to this, the readers are able to get a clear image of the persecution that one man could risk undergoing from the town. The children do not question Mr. Dolphus's choice of life style, while the majority of the town does. Due to Scouts innocence, as well as her childish understanding, the reader can vividly see how racist the town truly is. Scout stands out in a town of racists, and due to this she is able to see and understand concepts that adults find unfathomable. One such concept that was seen as unfathomable was a black and a white person loving each other, due to many whites(and some…show more content…
If anything, Scout sees more than the adults that live in Maycomb. Her youth blocks her from the social normality's that are followed by the town of Maycomb. For example, Scout, and many of the other children such as Jem and Dill are able to see the unfair treatment, and racism that is occurring in Maycomb. The children have not been taught by the adults to hate the African Americans, and therefore they can see a large amount of hatred upon the African American community and the white community. Furthermore, the children are also able to see the injustices that are acted upon the African Americans. The children with their innocent, and clear mind are able to provide the reader with their disgust towards the treatment of the African Americans by the white people. Scout may not always be completely reliable, due to her age however, she is able to give the reader a different view of the 1930's, a view that can only be seen by a child. Harper Lee chose this viewpoint, instead of one from an adult. Therefore, the claim that her youth causes her to miss details that an adult would notice is invalid because the details that Scout does notice are what the author would like you to be informed of. Therefore the viewpoint of Scout does not change the details in the
Show More
Related

  • What Is Atticus Role In To Kill A Mockingbird

    467 Words  | 2 Pages

    the other children, clean, and cook. Her role is the physical materialization of what ignorance, racism and prejudice can do to a person. As an after effect of her awful childhood she has little feeling of self worth. Dolphus sees society as a racist and unjust community, and pretends to be drunk so,”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" (268). He represents the compromises people

    Read More

  • How Does Harper Lee Use Discrimination In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1391 Words  | 6 Pages

    harassment and discriminative on an essential level. The force of racism was not just troubling Scout, but was also touching many individuals in Maycomb. Furthermore, racism is life changing and causes some people to develop into outsiders, as in Mr. Dolphus Raymond's case who decided to live with the colored society. Racism is the main theme of this story and at this time integrity cannot overcome this prejudice. Considering the historical time in which the book takes place as compared to our world today

    Read More

More about Dolphus Raymond's Childhood

Open Document