Jerrell Williams
1/15/09
English 9
In the dictionary fear is defined as being an emotional response to threats and danger. Fear has been incorporated in every aspect of life since the dawn of time. “Fear passes from man to man unknowing, as one leaf passes its shudder to another” (Charles Simic). The fear of change is contagious and spreads quickly without knowledge. The case of Tom Robinson is causing unease in people. The idea of change in social order is quickly arising in Maycomb. If Tom Robinson is tried and proven innocent, then everyone’s perspective of the African Americans is susceptible to change.
The poem “Fear” demonstrates the racism in Maycomb between the whites and blacks. Stuck in middle sits Mr. Dolphus Raymond. Dolphus Raymond is a secretive man who distances himself from the Maycomb society because he disagrees with their unjust views. Dolphus marries an African American woman and is criticized by the rest of Maycomb County. He puts on a front of being drunk the majority of the time by carrying a Pepsi bottle with "alcohol" inside. This “alcohol problem” is for the rest of Maycomb to think that alcohol is why he is with the African Americans. Dolphus has several kids who are also criticized because of the fact that they are not the same as everyone else. The town is “afraid” of Dolphus Raymond not because he’s scary but he is a threat to the society. If he was not married to an African American then the town would have most likely accepted him but because he is they reject him. “All at once the whole tree is trembling, and there is no sign of wind” (Charles Simic). Nobody has a clue of why they don’t like him. Kids “inherit” this hate and dislike of him and the black race because generations before them have not liked them. Everybody is scared but there really isn’t a reason to be. A tree can’t move without wind or another forces pushing it neither can you be an afraid of something for no reason.
Some might say that...