to kill a mockingbird

“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. He can’t help himself, that’s why he lives the way he does.” ch 20

People think Mr. Raymond is a drunk. He was drinking from a paper sack and offered dill some of it. Dill takes a sip and states that it is, just Coca Cola. Mr. Raymond tells the children that he pretends to be a drunk to give the other white people an explanation for his lifestyle, in actuality he simply prefers black people to whites. That is a courageous thing to do in a racist climate like Maycomb.