To Kill A Mockingbird, Chapter 13-21, Part II

After the incident with the mob at the jail cell, the town comes to life. There we see one Mr. Raymond, seemingly as drunk as it gets. I'm fascinated to discover that he is neither drunk nor mentally impaired, but is actually just ACTING like it. He claims that he would rather not have everyone in his business, and just assumed that if he gives them a reason for his behavior that they will accept, they will eave him alone. He's obviously not crazy, because it works for him brilliantly.

There is a reason that he has to put on his act. His wife is a black woman, unheard of in his day, and now, though not frowned upon by society quite as much, it is uncommon. The product of his marriage is half-black and half-white offspring. In our world, this is not a problem. Then, those children were outcasts from birth, with no one but siblings like them.

The fact that Scout, Jem, and Dill were seated in the black balcony was a symbol of the next generation's tolerance. I come to wonder, though, why the children were not thrown out of the balcony because they were white. The white people on the ground floor would have definitely jeered the black people out of their territory. I suppose it is the policy that, "If you don't like it done to you, why do it to someone else? They won't like it either."