Minor Characters In To Kill A Mockingbird

People generally look at the bigger picture or overall effect of something, rather than the small details that made it what it is because they seem to be not important. That's how it may seem but if you look and think about these small details, they are actually very important. In Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird, the significance of minor characters can be seen through the development of the plot. In her novel, a family lives in Alabama during the Great Depression. During this time apart from poverty there were many forms of discrimination. Although they are minor characters, Dolphus Raymond, Mrs.Dubose, and Boo Radley shows the extent of discrimination.
Through the actions of Dolphus Raymond, he shows us that not everyone is discriminant
and shows the problems of discrimination. Dolphus Raymond is a wealthy white man who is married to a black woman and has mixed children. Scout encounters Dolphus Raymond when Dill begins to cry during the Tom Robinson trial. When Scout and Dill get outside of the courthouse, Dolphus Raymond offers Dill a drink out of his sack. Most people believe the sack has some kind of alcoholic drink because Dolphus Raymond always seems drunk when he is in town drinking out of his sack. When Dill takes a sip of his drink we find out it is Coca-Cola. When Scout asks why he pretends and lets the people think he is drunk, he responds “‘I try to give ‘em a reason, you see. It helps folks if they can latch onto a reason. When I come to town, which is seldom, if I weave a little and drink out of this sack, folks can say Dolphus Raymond’s in the clutches of whiskey-that’s why he won’t change his ways’”(Lee 268). He wants the townspeople to think he is a drunk so they will not criticize him for marrying a black woman. Dolphus Raymond puts on this act so he does not end up being hated or rejected from the society. By saying this he is also implying that the people can never accept a white person being with a black without a reason, such as being drunk. As their conversation continues Dolphus Raymond also says “‘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 would never understand that I live like I do because that’s the way I want to live’”(Lee 268). Dolphus Raymond reveals that he likes the way he lives and the people he lives with. Even though he likes the way he lives and is not prejudice he does not do anything to change the people’s view on black people. Instead of coming out and saying he likes to live with the African Americans and saying they are nice people, he puts on an act for the society. He does not trust that his society will accept his love toward his wife and the black community, and is afraid of their reaction, which shows what a big deal racial discrimination was. The final thing Dolphus Raymond says to Scout and Dill is “‘you haven’t seen enough of the world yet. You haven’t even seen this town, but all you gotta do is step back inside the courthouse’”(Lee 269). Dolphus Raymond is saying there is more to racial discrimination than from what Scout and Dill knows and from what they heard from him. When Scout and Dill go back to the courthouse they learn how much race plays a role in the world. Even though the majority of the evidence shows that Tom Robinson couldn’t have been the one to rape Mayella Ewell, he was still called guilty, mainly because of his race. Although being a minor character, Dolphus Raymond shows us that not everyone is prejudice and shows us the problems of discrimination.