Whispers of Innocence

Dolphus Raymond is a symbol of an innocent and peace-making mockingbird. Raymond reveals that he isn't actually drunk all the time. He just makes it seem like he has lost his mind to live a life he wants to live. This is only because if the people of Maycomb really knew that he had hung with the negroes, in his right mind, they would call him sinful. Raymond never explains why he prefers black people, and there is no specific reason why the white community hates the black. However, Raymond gives no harm to others, just like the mockingbirds that do no harm but bring peaceful music and serenity to the world; he does not rule and take advantage of other people, and affect others people's lives negatively like a bluejay would. He treats people with respect. "Cry about the simple hell people give other people - without even thinking. Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they're people, too." (Lee 269). Even though he says this, he also accepts that people wouldn't be able to accept him. "They could never, never understand that I live like I do because that's the way I want to live." (Lee 268). He gives the people a reason that is more acceptable than the real one, in order to create a something more peaceful. It was not a setback or a delay to something new. It was to keep them all from judging each other more harsh. Raymond may not seem like a mockingbird. He hurt his wife's heart, having an affair with a black woman. He broke the law. However, because of the general way he sees the world, he is nothing more than a peace maker. He has brought nothing but an idea that will help society and he brought the idea in a way that it was subtle enough to not create any chaos. Dolphus Raymond is a mockingbird, giving peace, and bring goodness to the world.