The way one may look is not always the way one may act. The concept that looks can be deceiving is exemplified with Arthur (Boo) Radley, Dolphus Raymond and Mrs. Dubose in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Although perceived as a drunk, a racist and a phantom, these characteristics do not make up that person as a whole. Because of the prejudice and bias in Maycomb, Alabama in the 1930s, the appearances of these people are deceptive to everyone around them. However, it is not just appearances that give misleading impressions, it is also how people present themselves to society. Living in a community full of insufficient, racist opinions and tainted values will make a person see a situation from one point of view, not fully taking into consideration the other points of views involved. Mrs. Dubose clearly illustrates this when Scout and Jem, the neighborhood …show more content…
Dubose, Dolphus Raymond’s drinking issue is visible to everyone. Dolphus Raymond portrays himself as one of the town drunks, where he constantly displays his drinking issue. This is proven when Jem acknowledges, “He’s got a Co-Cola bottle full of whiskey in there. That’s so’s not to upset the ladies. You’ll see him sip it all afternoon, he’ll step out for a while and fill it back up” even though everyone within Maycomb are aware of Dolphus Raymond’s whiskey problem, nobody intends to question him on it (Lee 214). As the community notices Dolphus Raymond’s behavior, they choose to ignore it because, “It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason. When I come to town, which is seldom, if I weave a little and drink out of this sack, folks can say Dolphus Raymond’s in the clutches of whiskey- that’s why he won’t change his ways” and with this choice comes the standard of not having to live up to anyone’s expectations (Lee 268). Dolphus Raymond on the surface is a drunk who cannot change his ways, yet Dolphus Raymond as a whole is somebody who cannot and will not live up to anyone’s
Prejudice is one of the world’s greatest struggles. It does not only hold society back, but is harmful to the people who do good .In Harper Lee’s book To Kill A Mockingbird, Scout and Jem live through and witness prejudice and racism in the small town of Maycomb. They see someone wrongly accused of a crime because of his race. Scout and Jem also witness and take part in prejudice against a man no one knows anything about. In the novel To Kill A Mockingbird Harper Lee uses characterization to show the negative effects of prejudice and racism.
In, To Kill A Mockingbird, we often see examples of racism in Maycomb as well as other misconceptions about those are not of a minority. The first example in the book is seen on page 16. In this excerpt, Jem describes how he imagines Boo Radley looks, based off of stories he has heard. He describes Boo as being six feet tall, having yellow teeth, having pooped eyes, he often drools, and that he eats squirrels and cats. As we see later in the story, these misconceptions cause the children to want to see Boo more and more, causing them to see him as a freak and not a person. The second example on page 267 comes from Scout about Mr. Dolphus Raymond, a man who is said to be half black. He calls Dill over to calm him down and Scout narrates by saying,
In the Novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Lee uses the characters Mrs. Dubose, Mr. Dolphus Raymond, and Tom Robinson to show the many ways that deceptive appearance can be seen. If it is the individual who puts up a mask, one’s personality, or past stereotypes that cause deceptive appearances: Lee tries to show you throughout the novel how perceiving someone before they get the chance to show you who they are, often turns out they are not as bad or they are not like how they once seemed to be. Today in our society many people are afraid to show who they are in fear of judgment of others so they put up a front so that they will be judge that part of them instead of that part of their true selves. Society’s eyes is the cause of the need to be a false image of yourself and the reason why people analyze someone based on stereotypes before getting to know their
Citizens in this small southern town believe there is one proper way of living life. Those who choose not to conform to society become victims of racial and social bias. Prejudice is prevalent in the community and is shown in how the citizens of Maycomb respond and react to Tom Robinson, Boo Radley, and Dolphus Raymond. The prejudice toward these three characters is rooted by ear and misunderstanding.
The way someone acts and presents themselves may be deceiving. People are scared to be judged or scrutinized by others. One might even go to extreme lengths to impress or give the impression that they are someone else. In Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, the people of Maycomb do exactly that. This small town in southern Alabama is full of people disguising themselves and putting up facades to hide their darkest secrets and true feelings, instead of facing reality.
The Three Mockingbirds People’s first instinct is to judge people based on how they appear rather than who they are as a person; they believe what is on the outside is more important than what is on the inside. Arthur Radley, a middle aged man, Dolphus Raymond, a local drunk and Tom Robinson, a black man, all have experienced victimization by society in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. These characters discriminated against society by the people of Maycomb, Alabama and reveal an important lesson. People should not judge one another based on the exterior, but should look at the interior.
Dolphus Raymond is one of the many victims of racism in Maycomb, as he is forced to live a life of false impressions. After Mr.Raymond let Dill take a sip of his drink, he discreetly said, “...if I weave a little and drink out of this sack, folks can say Dolphus Raymond’s in the clutches of whiskey...”(Lee, 200). Mr. Raymond is letting the people of Maycomb inaccurately believe he is a drunk to give them a reason to tolerate his decision to be in a relationship with an African American woman. Dill identifies Mr.Raymond in the crowd of colored people drinking out of his sack then commented, “‘Why’s he sitting with the colored folks?’ [Jem then replies]
In this essay, I obviously made a lot of mistakes, many of which I am not proud of. With mistakes in both grammar and organization, it’s quite obvious that I hurried. To begin with, the opening paragraph was good, but it all goes downhill from there. Both of the body paragraphs had mistakes in quotations and relevancy, and it looks like I just forgot to quote in them but went back and added a few words that were in To Kill A Mockingbird, even if they weren’t related to anything I was talking about. It’s a recurring theme in my essays to have a variety in vocabulary, combining simple words with advanced words.
In the book To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee expresses the theme of not to judge someone too fast. She shows this idea with the character Boo Radley and how the town treats him. He never comes out of his house, so the town gossips about how he is a monster. Also, this theme is expressed with Mr. Dolphus Raymond. The town of Maycomb assumes he is a drunk who lives with negros because he doesn’t comprehend what he is doing.
With the look of someone, people are able to come up with assumptions of their character without speaking a word to them. People’s opinions allow them to hate others with no reason to it. In the book, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, we are given the examples of how these unreasonable opinions can lead to a world of hurt. The first example includes Jem and Scout’s friend Dill. Here everyone sees a little boy who goes back and forth between homes.
The more mistakes that one makes, the more they learn. One may repeat the same errors, but each time they do, they learn something new that they can carry with them throughout their entire lives. The lessons we learn from our faults reflect on who we become in the future. When we learn empathy we learn to consider the thoughts and feelings of other people when making consequential decisions. The children’s early mistakes in judgement teach them valuable lessons, which help them to make mature decisions later on.
Many people are judged based on their appearance. When you judge someone based on appearance, In reality, they could be completely different. This is called appearance vs reality. This is relevant in the novel to kill a mockingbird. There are many instances in the novel that characters are misunderstood based on those three factors. One character that was misunderstood was Boo Radley. Boo is a man in his late 30`s that nobody really saw but the town of Maycomb spread rumors about Boo saying that he’s crazy and violent but in reality he is a harmless man that is shy and doesn't want to go outside because he has been isolated in his house by his father for many years. Another character that was misunderstood was Tom Robinson. Tom is a black man who is accused of raping a
Are people as innocent now as they were when they were a child? How is the perception of reality different than before? Comparatively, in the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, the author, Harper Lee, displays the loss of innocence in children in 1930s Alabama. The main character, Scout, is a young girl who is oblivious to the world around her, but slowly, she starts to open her eyes. Through gaining knowledge of the world around her, Scout’s ignorance and innocence are dropped, and maturity emerges. In her novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses the character of Scout to explore the themes of deceiving appearances and courage through a child’s eyes.
In Chapter 20 of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Mr. Dolphus Raymond reveals some intriguing things about himself. He opens up about “not being much of a drinker” (268), instead he drinks “nothing but Coca-Cola” (267) in his paper sack. But why would he lie about being an alcoholic in public, if it presents a bad impression on the Maycomb community? Mr. Dolphus Raymond goes along to explain to the kids (Dill, Jem, and Scout), that “‘I try to give ‘em a reason, you see. It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason. When I come to town, which is seldom, if I weave a little and drink out 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
“Some folks don’t- like the way I live. Now I could say the hell with ‘em, but I don’t care if they don’t like it… but you see they could never, never understand that I live like I do because that’s the way I want to live” (200-201). Dolphus Raymond shows courage by being himself. He does not let the opinions of the people of Maycomb change who he is. Raymond knows that the townsfolk speak ill of him and his family because of it being an interracial family, but he proceeds to do what makes him happy. Raymond goes a step further a