Arielle Cruz
Mr Dolphus Raymond, a wealthy white man from an old family, lives with his black partner and their mixed-race children. He is understood to be a chronic alcoholic, often drinking from a brown paper bag. However, he is only pretending to be an alcoholic, drinking Coca-Cola instead of liquor. Dolphus lets the people of Maycomb believe it's alcohol and acts drunk to put them at ease and give them a reason to understand his lifestyle choices. He knows that they will not understand why he lives as he does, so by pretending he is a drunk, he avoids conflict and makes life easier for himself and his family.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Reason for pretending to be drunk | To give the prejudiced citizens of Maycomb an explanation for his behaviour that aligns with their societal expectations |
| To help them understand his affinity for living with black people | If they think he's drunk, they can blame his choices on alcohol, and that will make it easier for everyone to accept him and his mixed-race children |
| To avoid conflict | He doesn't want to live in constant conflict with the townspeople, so he tries to help them dislike his choices for a different reason |
| Social acceptance | He knows they won't understand why he lives as he does, so by pretending to be a drunk, he makes life easier for himself |
| Cowardice | Pretending to be drunk makes Mr Raymond look like a coward |
| Social safety | It reveals the lengths he goes to maintain his social safety |
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What You'll Learn
To avoid conflict with his prejudiced neighbours
Mr Dolphus Raymond is a wealthy white man who owns one whole side of the riverbank in Maycomb. He lives with his coloured partner and their mixed children. Dolphus Raymond is a confident and happy man who lives with choices that are considered unconventional and against the prevailing social norms regarding racial mixing. He is understood to be a chronic alcoholic, but he is only pretending to be one by drinking Coca-Cola out of a brown paper bag.
Dolphus Raymond pretends to be an alcoholic to give the prejudiced citizens of Maycomb a reason to "latch onto" for his association with black people. He knows that the prejudiced community of Maycomb disagrees with his lifestyle and freely associates with the black community. Dolphus does not want to constantly explain why he chooses to associate with black members of his community and also wishes to avoid conflict with his prejudiced neighbours. He believes that if the townspeople consider him a drunk, they can blame his choices on alcohol, and that will make it easier for everyone to accept him and his children.
By feigning alcoholism, he helps the townspeople rationalize his unconventional lifestyle, making it easier for them to accept him and avoid constant confrontation. Dolphus realizes that it is easier to handle strangeness when they have a reason to explain it. So long as people think he really is an alcoholic, then they'll pity him instead of excoriating him for going against the prevailing social norms regarding racial mixing.
Dolphus Raymond is taking responsibility for his actions by lying because, in the south, people think that one of the worst crimes is to have children with a coloured person, so most people obviously don't agree with his choice. If Dolphus Raymond told people the truth about how he is not an alcoholic, and that he made a sober decision to have an affair, his life would be over. No one would socialize with him or even look at him because he did a terrible thing.
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To give townspeople a reason to 'latch onto'
Mr Dolphus Raymond is a wealthy white man who owns one whole side of the riverbank in Maycomb. He is from an old family but lives with his coloured partner and their mixed children. He was engaged to marry a woman, who, according to some, committed suicide on their wedding day because she found out that he had an affair with a black woman. He lets the people of Maycomb believe it's alcohol and acts drunk to put them at ease and give them a reason to understand the way he is.
Mr Raymond doesn't want to live in constant conflict with the people in his town, so he tries to "help" them dislike his choices for an entirely different reason. He believes that if the townspeople consider him a drunk, they can blame his choices on alcohol, and that will make it easier for everyone to accept him and his children who run around Maycomb. Dolphus Raymond is a man who is confident and happy in his choices but would rather live as peacefully as possible with his fellow Maycomb citizens, and pretending to be the town drunk affords him this ability.
Dolphus explains how he tries to give them a reason: because if he offers them the reason that he did it because he was a crazy alcoholic, it seems to make him seem less crazy. There are many alcoholics, and in fact, most of the adult characters in the book drink. Dolphus realises that the prejudiced community of Maycomb disagrees with his lifestyle. Dolphus freely associates with the black community and even has several mixed children. In 1930s Alabama, interracial relationships were considered taboo. Dolphus does not want to continually explain why he chooses to associate with black members of his community and also wishes to avoid conflict with his prejudiced neighbours. Dolphus finds it easier to feign alcoholism and let people blame his lifestyle on liquor rather than continually defend himself.
Dolphus Raymond pretends to drink liquor as a way to cope with the racist attitudes of Maycomb and justify his lifestyle choices. When he comes to town, which is seldom, if he weaves a little and drinks out of this sack, folks can say Dolphus Raymond’s in the clutches of whiskey.
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To put people at ease
Mr Dolphus Raymond is a wealthy white man who owns one whole side of the riverbank in Maycomb. He is from an old family but lives with his coloured partner and their mixed children. He was once engaged to marry a woman who committed suicide, reportedly because she discovered his affair with a black woman. Dolphus is understood to be a chronic alcoholic, but he only pretends to be one by drinking Coca-Cola from a brown paper bag.
Dolphus lets the people of Maycomb believe it's alcohol and acts drunk to put them at ease and give them a reason to understand his way of life. He knows the townspeople will not understand why he lives as he does, so by pretending to be a drunk, he makes life easier for himself and avoids constant conflict. Dolphus believes that if the townspeople consider him a drunk, they can blame his choices on alcohol, and that will make it easier for everyone to accept him and his children.
Dolphus pretends to be an alcoholic because that allows people to reason with why he made the decision to live and have kids with a black woman. He explains that when he is drinking out of the brown paper bag, people will think that he is drunk and that is why he performs improper actions. He also says that when he comes to town, he pretends to weave a little and drink from the sack, so people can say he is "in the clutches of whiskey".
Dolphus further explains that he tries to give them a reason because if they can hold on to a reason they can understand, they can grasp why he lives the way he does. He knows that the prejudiced community of Maycomb disagrees with his lifestyle and freely associates with the black community. Dolphus does not want to continually explain why he chooses to associate with black members of his community and wishes to avoid conflict with his prejudiced neighbours. Thus, he finds it easier to pretend to be an alcoholic and let people blame his lifestyle on liquor rather than continually defend himself.
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To make it easier for people to accept him and his children
Mr Dolphus Raymond is a wealthy white man who owns one whole side of the riverbank in Maycomb. He comes from an old family but lives with his coloured partner and their mixed children. He is understood to be a chronic alcoholic, but he is only pretending to be an alcoholic by drinking Coca-Cola out of a brown paper bag. He lets the people of Maycomb believe it's alcohol and acts drunk to put them at ease and give them a reason to understand his way of life.
Mr Raymond doesn't want to live in constant conflict with the people in his town, so he tries to help them dislike his choices for an entirely different reason. He believes that if the townspeople consider him a drunk, they can blame his choices on alcohol, and that will make it easier for everyone to accept him and his children who run around Maycomb. Dolphus Raymond is a man who is confident and happy with his choices but would rather live as peacefully as possible with his fellow Maycomb citizens, and pretending to be the town drunk affords him this ability.
Dolphus explains that when he is drinking out of the brown paper bag, he is just drinking Coca-Cola. He thinks that if he pretends to be drunk, people will think that the reason he performs improper actions is because he is drunk. He also says that when he comes to town, which is seldom, if he weaves a little and drinks out of this sack, folks can say Dolphus Raymond is in the clutches of whiskey.
In the novel, Dolphus Raymond pretends to drink liquor because it allows the people in Maycomb to have an explanation for his behaviour that aligns with their societal expectations. Dolphus Raymond is actually drinking Coca-Cola, but he pretends it is alcohol in order to justify his choice to live with a black woman and have mixed-race children. Dolphus realises that the prejudiced community of Maycomb disagrees with his lifestyle. Dolphus freely associates with the black community and even has several mixed children. In 1930s Alabama, interracial relationships were considered taboo. Dolphus does not want to continually explain why he chooses to associate with black members of his community and also wishes to avoid conflict with his prejudiced neighbours.
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To cope with the racist attitudes of Maycomb
Mr Dolphus Raymond is a wealthy white man who owns one whole side of the riverbank in Maycomb. He comes from an old family but lives with his coloured partner and their mixed children. Due to the racist attitudes prevalent in Maycomb, Dolphus faces judgement and conflict from his fellow townspeople, who cannot understand his affinity for living with black people.
To cope with this racism and avoid constant confrontation, Dolphus pretends to be an alcoholic. He drinks Coca-Cola from a brown paper bag, letting the people of Maycomb believe that it is alcohol and that he is drunk. By doing this, Dolphus gives the townspeople a reason to "latch onto" to explain his unconventional lifestyle choices. If they think he is a drunkard, they can blame his choices on alcohol, and this makes it easier for them to accept him. Dolphus understands that the townspeople will not be able to understand his way of life, so by pretending to be drunk, he makes life easier for himself and avoids conflict.
Dolphus's decision to pretend to be an alcoholic can be seen as a way to navigate the prejudices and injustices of Maycomb's community. He knows that if anyone thought for a minute that he was putting on an act, his behaviour would be considered scandalous. So, he has no choice but to maintain the pretence of being a drunk if he wants to continue associating with the black community and breaking society's strictures against racial mixing.
Dolphus's behaviour also serves as a commentary on the racist mindset of Maycomb's society. It highlights how alcoholism is seen as a more acceptable excuse for unconventional behaviour than having progressive views on racial mixing. Dolphus's drunk act is in keeping with how he is perceived by the people of Maycomb, who pity him for his alcoholism instead of excoriating him for going against their racist norms.
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Frequently asked questions
Dolphus Raymond lets people believe he is an alcoholic because he knows they will not understand why he lives as he does, so by pretending he is a drunk, he makes life easier for himself.
Dolphus Raymond actually drinks Coca-Cola, but he lets everyone think he is a drunkard to help them cope with his affinity for living with Black people.
Dolphus Raymond tells Scout and Jem, "It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason... folks can say... that's why he lives the way he does."
Dill and Scout are initially confused but are eventually told by Dolphus to keep his "secret".
By the end of the novel, Scout realizes that Dolphus Raymond has chosen this pretense as a way to navigate the prejudices and injustices of their community.
