David Kidd 9-19-11 Eng 9 2nd period Dolphus Raymond: The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, “To kill a mockingbird” takes readers to the roots of human behavior. Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving “To Kill a mockingbird” revolves around the finch family, a family in which the father Atticus has raised his two kids Jem and Scout in a way to see beyond the crippling power of racism, and into the eyes of a respectable man.

But when Atticus is appointed to defend a black man, Tom Robinson, who has been charged with rape of a white woman, the town begins to lose its composure, and sides both against tradition, and with it. It is during this time, that the character Dolphus Raymond emerges. Dolphus is unlike any other member in the community; he believes colored folk should be both respected, and loved. He fell in love with a black woman, married her, and has forever lost respect from many citizens of Maycomb County.

But it is also in this image that he gained a lot of respect, not only by Atticus, but from many of the other “Respectable White men”. A man who doesn’t care about his image, Dolphus Raymond is respectable, misleading, and is the very picture of the statement “Don’t judge a book from its cover”. Dolphus is not judged by his talents, or even his attributes, in my eyes he is judged as man of his actions, and his actions are admirable.

He shows great respect, not only too his white countrymen, but also more so to the colored folk. He does not judge a man by the color of his skin, but by that man himself. He actually married a black woman which in this time is unheard of, but shows how he is atypical, different and, well in my words a man who believes in this countrys vision, a country where all men are created equal. He realizes what life is like for the colored community, and in so how unjust this “free” nation really is.

As Dolphus quotes “Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that there people too”. In his eyes he sees an equal, not a problem. He loves his wife, and his way of life. But in the south, in this time period, he was looked down upon. Cast away and rejected he moved his wife and “mixed Children” to the woods, away from town. Where he would hope, and wait for maycomb county to realize there prejudice.