Mr Dolphus Raymond Monologue

Mr. Dolphus Raymond had a notorious reputation all across Maycomb County due to his controversial lifestyle. He was a wealthy white man who chooses to live his life with his Negro mistress and their children. Not to mention, Raymond spent most of his days sipping a whiskey hidden inside a paper bag. The truth is that he pretends to be drunk so that the townspeople will have an acceptable explanation for behavior and the drink in the paper bag is in fact Coke-Cola. Raymond was simply jaded by the hypocrisy of the white society in Maycomb and was more comfortable living around colored folk. I should know because Mr. Dolphus Raymond is my father.

Being born of a Negro woman and a white man forced me to live between two worlds that don't accept

me. I don't necessarily belong anywhere. Colored folks don't want because they're half white and white folks don’t want me because I'm half colored. I choose to live on the colored side of life because they are more accepting of my pale skin and my Negro nose. Right now there was only one other person who was living in between the black and white world besides my siblings was Tom Robinson. Colored or white you knew Tom was innocent but whites were too prideful and ashamed of admitting it. The court hearing today would determine whose words are more credible a nigger or a white woman and I think everyone already knows the answer.

It seems as if everyone from all across Maycomb County was headed towards to the courthouse to hear Tom Robinson's case.

The streets were buzzing with cars and the sidewalks were filled with people walking at an excessive speed. Outside the courthouse, everyone was just lingering about silently expect a group of older women dressed in light colored dresses with petticoats who were muttering to themselves. Whites stood on the left side and colored folk on the other. Everyone stood tall and stiff and no one dared to look at the other side. I could feel the tension getting so tense between the opposing sides that the air felt as if it was getting heavier. Then the doors of the courthouse opened. Only whites were allowed to sit on the first floor so that meant that the rest of us colored folk were forced to wait till they settle down and find a seat upstairs on the balcony. It wouldn't be such a big dilemma if the balcony didn't have such few number of seats and reeked of rotten

mildew.

I managed to locate a seat in the front row on the balcony and to my good fortune, it gave me the perfect view of Atticus, Tom Robinson, Judge Taylor and Mr. Gilmer. From the corner of my eye, I noticed Reverend Sykes from the First Purchase African M.E. church accompanied by two small white children who I recognize as Jean Louise Finch (Scout) and Jeremy Finch (Jem). They all sat down on the other side of the balcony.

I turned my head to the front of the court where Judge Taylor hit his gavel on the desk to indicate the trial has commenced.

Throughout the entire trial, Atticus revealed that the Ewells were attempting to hide the fact that Mayella Ewell attempted to seduce Tom. Her father Bob Ewell then proceeded to beat her. The only way to cover up their shames was by accusing Tom Robinson of rape and perjuring against him in court. There was no possible way that Tom could have beaten Mayella on her right side because Tom has a paralyzed right arm and was right-handed. Bob Ewell, on the other hand, was left-handed with a short fuse.

In my personal opinion, Mayella Ewell just lives a lonely and miserable life who broke a social taboo by trying to seduce Tom and reacted like a coward by accusing him of rape and taking that poor man to court. Knowing damn well the court will believe a white man's words over a black man. Bob Ewell on the other hand is Old Nick reincarnated. He is an ignorant old man filled with pure evil and spends most of his time drinking paid off by relief checks. Nothing good will ever come from a

Ewell.

A long time has passed and the jury was still attempting to decide the verdict. There were only 24 hours in a day but this day seemed to be going on longer than that. The only thing there was to do was wait.

When the verdict comes I know I'm neither going to be surprised nor disappointed because every man knew the outcome of the case before the trial even started. There was no God to perform such miracles to Tom and set him free. At the end of the day, he is a colored man and Mayella and her family is white. The evidence was black and white but here in Maycomb no matter how much evidence there is a nigger would always be found guilty.

The wait was over the verdict came in, Tom Robinson was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

The jury just killed a Mockingbird.