Mr. Raymond is from a family of wealth and connections
going back into the history of the community, so at first glance, one might think he
would fit in very well with Maycomb's social elite. However, Raymond also has children
with an African-American woman, which is more than enough to qualify him as a social
outcast to people like Aunt Alexandra. He sits under a tree during the Robinson trial
drinking out of a bag. . .but the bag doesn't contain alcohol, it contains soda. His
reasoning:
When I come to town. . . 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. He can't help
himself.
In other words,
Raymond understands that he doesn't fit into the rigid and unforgiving social categories
of 1933 Alabama, and so he's turned the tables a bit and made it easier for the "folks"
to reconcile their beliefs with what they're seeing in how he lives in life. Although
it's not clear why he feels compelled to do this, one might imagine that he's
figuratively (and maybe literally) getting the "last laugh" as they
say.
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