Why is Dill crying and how does Dolphus Raymond explain Dill's crying?

Towards the end of chapter 19, Dill bursts into tears in the middle of the trial after witnessing Mr. Gilmer speak down to Tom Robinson during the cross-examination and blatantly disrespect him in front of the entire community. Jem makes Scout remove Dill from the courtroom and outside of the courthouse, Dill explains why he began crying. Dill tells Scout that he couldn't take listening to Mr. Gilmer speak so hatefully to Tom Robinson by calling him "boy" and continually sneering at him.
At the beginning of chapter 20, Dolphus Raymond overhears Dill and offers him a sip of Coca-Cola from his brown bag. Dolphus then explains that only children seem to cry when they witness racial discrimination and injustice. He tells Scout that Dill's instincts haven't caught up with him yet and that in a few years he'll stop crying. When Scout asks what Dolphus is talking about, he says,

"Cry about the simple hell people give other people—without even thinking. Cry about the hell white people give colored folks, without even stopping to think that they’re people, too... You haven’t even seen this town, but all you gotta do is step back inside the courthouse" (Lee, 205).

Dolphus sympathizes with Dill's emotions and is attempting to explain Maycomb's prejudiced society and how innocent children like Dill eventually become callous and desensitized to seeing racial discrimination on an everyday basis as they grow older.


Dill breaks down in tears when Mr. Gilmer is questioning Tom Robinson in chapter 19, because he hates the tone of voice and the insinuating nature of Mr. Gilmer's interrogation of Tom. Scout leaves the courtroom with Dill and she blames Dill's fragility on the fact that he had only recently run away from home. When she tries to explain Mr. Gilmer's behavior as a lawyer's tactic to Dill, he won't be convinced. He is insistent that Mr. Gilmer's manner made him feel sick, and Dolphus Raymond, who is eavesdropping on their conversation, agrees with him. Dolphus thinks that Dill's sensitivity is something he will likely outgrow, and when Dill is older, he will be less likely to "[c]ry about the simple hell people give other people—without even thinking."

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