Saturday, July 31, 2010

Mr. Raymond says, “I don't reckon it's---Miss Jean Louise, you don't know your pa's not a run-of-the-mill man, it'll take a few years for that to...

In Chapter 20, Dolphus Raymond comments on Scout's childhood innocence and mentions that her father doesn't act like a typical Maycomb citizen. Atticus is a morally upright man who abides by his own conscience. Several times throughout the novel Atticus mentions to his children that he considers a person to be "trash" for treating black people wrong. The majority of Maycomb's citizens are prejudiced towards black people and believe that Atticus should not defend Tom Robinson. In Chapter 15, Link Deas comments to Atticus that he has everything to lose from defending Tom. Even Atticus' own family members encourage him to leave the case alone. Atticus believes that he could not face his children if he chose not to do the right thing by defending Tom Robinson.


When Dolphus Raymond comments that Scout hasn't seen enough of the world yet, he is referring to her innocent childhood disposition. Scout is too young to fully understand the wickedness and hatred that prejudiced white people have towards black community members. When Dolphus says that all Scout has to do is step back into the courtroom to see how the world operates, he is speaking about the racial injustice Tom Robinson is about to suffer. Mr. Raymond is all too familiar with how black people are treated in Maycomb. Dolphus is correct in his assumption that Maycomb's prejudice will be revealed via a guilty verdict. Scout ends up losing her childhood innocence after witnessing Tom's conviction.

No comments:

Post a Comment

How does the choice of details set the tone of the sermon?

Edwards is remembered for his choice of details, particularly in this classic sermon. His goal was not to tell people about his beliefs; he ...