Character Analysis Of Dolphus Raymond In To Kill A Mockingbird By Harper Lee

As the cliché goes, “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.” It is appalling that a book with over 30 million copies is so diverse when correlating it to its movie. The setting of To Kill a Mockingbird takes place in the fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama during the 1930s. Many people find it fascinating that Harper Lee, the author of this novel, modeled the comfortable city of Maycomb after her hometown. There are an array amount of main characters in this novel yet it revolves around Jem, Scout, Tom Robinson and Atticus. Descriptive stories of prejudice, rape, growing up in Maycomb, racism, hidden love, and evil were all described in Scout’s perspective. Unfortunately, Jem and Scout had to witness hatred in the world at such a young age, which

allows this novel to relate to other who are/have been in the same position. On December 25, 1962 the movie To Kill a Mockingbird was released thanks to none other than the director of the eminent film, Robert Mulligan. To Kill a Mockingbird the movie was not only terrific but also slightly different from the novel. For example, some characters were left out of the film completely and some scenes were either out of order or ultimately rearranged. There are a variety of differences throughout the movie and the film; however, the plot remains the same while some of the character’s perspectives become altered.
Aunt Alexandra may not have been a treasured character in the novel but she had reason to her madness. This sophisticated character revolved around the idea of having a valuable reputation. Atticus’ sister made it her responsibility to make sure her niece and nephew lived up to their family name. Aunt Alexandra was needed in the novel to replace Jem and Scout’s mother because Scout was having some difficulties becoming lady like. Also, Aunt Alexandra is relevant because she gives the reader a glimpse of the two kinds of people in this world. For instance, Atticus is an affectionate and gracious man when compared to the bitter and racist character of Aunt Alexandra. Albeit Aunt Alexandra might have been extremely strict her character shaped the lives of her niece and nephew to what their society wanted to see. Above all this woman showed the audience more acts of racism and stereotyping in the novel, which helped people further comprehend this pastime. To name an example, “She took off her glasses and stared at me. ‘I’ll tell you why, Because-he-is-trash, that’s why you cant play with him. I’ll not have you around him picking up his habits and learning Lord knows what’”(Lee 301). Surprisingly, a clear difference was that the movie the stern character of Aunt Alexandra does not even exist. The result of this pompous character not making a singular appearance in the movie makes the film boring because when this character is removed them acts of racism and prejudice are also removed. Without Aunt Alexandra some people will find themselves lost when they try to comprehend the particular themes of this novel. After the iconic film released the majority of readers were outraged when they discovered Aunt Alexandra did not make the movie. Can one even imagine how upset people were when they discovered Dolphus Raymond was not in the movie as well?
In addition to Aunt Alexandra, Dolphus Raymond was yet another influential character in this novel.

Dolphus Raymond was a wealthy white man who was looked at differently because he lives with his black partner and mixed children. This man is an exceptionally paramount character in the novel because he showed acts of kindness when he cheered up Charles Baker Harris and left the adolescents with some memorable advice. Quoted from the novel Dolphus Raymond said, “‘It ain’t honest but it’s might 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 (Lee 268).’” Dolphus Raymond directed his advice to Scout about how people may easily come to the conclusion that he is drinking whisky out of his decrepit paper bag when in reality he is just sipping on Coca Cola. This affable man made Scout, Dill, and Jem realize that you cannot judge a book by its cover. Also, the children’s perspectives changed about their society when they learned that sometimes it is important to be what people want to see because then those around will feel better about themselves. In reality Dolphus Raymond may have just been an outcast but who else would have shared such meaningful advice? Unfortunately, in the movie the audience never gets to experience the loving personality of Dolphus Raymond because he does not exist and is not mentioned in the movie. A reason for why Dolphus Raymond did not make an appearance in the movie is because Dill never got upset and ran out of the courthouse in the first place. Nevertheless, the result of Dolphus Raymond not being in the movie changes the mindsets of the children because they never get to hear Dolphus’ words of wisdom. The children’s mindsets will be altered in the movie without Dolphus because this man made the younglings realize that in Maycomb they must do and see what Maycomb wants to see. Dolphus Raymond not being in the

movie did not change the plot but a theme of kindness and putting other people first disappeared when Dolphus did from the film. Canny and amiable, the character of Dolphus Raymond did not deserve to be forgotten.
Excluding Dolphus Raymond and Aunt Alexandra, the witty character of a woman named Mrs. Dubose was by far most extensive comparison in the novel and the movie. This character was astonishingly imperative in the novel because Jem had to read to her so she could attempt to stop her addiction to morphine before her death. Mrs.Dubose taught Scout and Jem to fight for what is deserved just like how she broke her addiction right before her death. Also, Jem and Scout later learn Mrs. Dubose may not have been such an awful person because for many years she was in sever pain which forced her to take out her anger on everyone else. Putting yourself into some one else’s shoes was yet another meaningful lesson for the children. Mrs. Dubose said, ‘“Don’t you say hey to me you ugly girl! You say good afternoon, Mrs.Dubose. ”’ (Lee 133). This proves the previous point of how rude this lady could get and how little everyone knew about her. This elder was the majority’s least favorite character because she was antisocial, disrespectful, inconsiderate, and denote. However, she brings a various amount of emotions to the novel that the movie does not have to offer. In the movie Mrs. Dubose only appears in one scene where she yells at Jem, Scout, and Dill. The whole incident of when Jem cuts Mrs.Dubose flowers, which resulted in him reading to her, did not occur in the movie. Be that it may Mrs.Dubose not existing in the movie is a major disadvantage for Jem because she pushed him to his final stages of manhood. Mrs. Dubose made Jem realize everything has a purpose, which is why he was reading to her in the first place. The audience cannot have a feeling of sorrow when they slowly begin to realize that the unpleasant woman had a right to be bitter. Without the interesting character of Mrs. Dubose in the movie there is much to compare and contrast.
One must be aware of the variety of differences throughout the novel and the movie. To Kill a Mockingbird film did a fantastic job of trying to incorporate all the hectic events of the novel into one movie but they did forget some key elements and characters. The movie did not change the plot of the story but some major themes of the novel were erased when characters were disappeared. Without the supporting characters from the novel characters in the movie began even more static. Even though there was an insane amount of material that went missing, both the movie and the novel still impact the world today.