One of the best quotes that demonstrates Scout's ambivalence toward Mr. Raymond is,
I had a feeling that I shouldn’t be here listening to this sinful man who had mixed children and didn’t care who knew it, but he was fascinating. I had never encountered a being who deliberately perpetrated fraud against himself. But why had he entrusted us with his deepest secret?
In this interaction, Scout is fascinated by Mr. Raymond. She has been told that Mr. Raymond is an "evil man" who drinks copiously. Certainly, he is someone to avoid associating with. However, Mr. Raymond's rational behavior contradicts everything Scout has ever been told about him. During their conversation, Scout discovers that Mr. Raymond is really quite normal. Additionally, his views about justice, race relations, and society make perfect sense.
Mr. Raymond pretends to be an alcoholic so that he can fit into Maycomb society. He confesses that people in Maycomb need a reason to accept his unconventional life. For her part, Scout thinks that it is dishonest of Mr. Raymond to live a double life, and she lets him know it.
“That ain’t honest, Mr. Raymond, making yourself out badder’n you are already—”
“It ain’t honest but it’s mighty helpful to folks. Secretly, Miss Finch, I’m not much of a drinker, but you see they could never, never understand that I live like I do because that’s the way I want to live.”
Yet, Scout accepts Mr. Raymond's conception of racial injustice:
“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.”
“Atticus says cheatin‘ a colored man is ten times worse than cheatin’ a white man,” I muttered. “Says it’s the worst thing you can do.”
Because of her upbringing, Scout does not question Mr. Raymond's views about racism. Yet, because of entrenched public opinion, she does question Mr. Raymond's need for a faux public persona. Scout's ambivalence toward Mr. Raymond highlights a man versus self conflict in the novel. She must reconcile what society thinks is acceptable with how her moral nature (nurtured by Atticus) compels her to act.
Thursday, February 6, 2014
Think about Scout's reaction to Mr. Raymond. How does her reaction to him show a person vs. self conflict that she is working through in her mind? How has she been influenced to have some idea about him? How does she question some of those ideas and accept others?
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