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DeWitt Albright
Raymond “Mouse” Alexander, Easy’s longtime friend from Houston, is a cunning, unpredictable figure whose loyalty to Easy is both a strength and a danger. Mouse’s penchant for violence and disregard for conventional morality contrast with Easy’s more cautious and principled approach, creating a tension that drives much of their dynamic. Mouse enters the story as Easy becomes entangled in DeWitt Albright’s schemes. Despite their differences, Mouse’s loyalty to Easy is unwavering, and he provides critical support when Easy’s life is on the line. When Frank Green breaks into Easy’s house and tries to kill him, for instance, Mouse arrives just in time and scares him away. However, this loyalty is complicated by Mouse’s ruthless nature. Easy recalls how Mouse once killed his own stepfather to claim his late mother’s inheritance, even paying Easy to drive the getaway car. Further, when Mouse kills Joppy Shag at the novel’s climax, claiming to avenge Easy’s honor after Joppy betrays him, Easy is conflicted. He knows that Joppy deserved punishment but questions whether it was Mouse’s place to deliver it. Mouse also kills Frank Green, settling a personal vendetta while simultaneously tying up loose ends in the story. Mouse is clever and adept at maneuvering himself out of difficult situations. However, his reward-driven nature is equally prominent. He is motivated to help Easy largely because he knows Daphne Monet possesses $30,000, and he cheats on his wife, EttaMae, without much consideration. Despite his flaws, Mouse’s loyalty and willingness to do whatever it takes to protect Easy make him an indispensable (if dangerous) ally.
Mouse Quotes in Devil in a Blue Dress
The Devil in a Blue Dress quotes below are all either spoken by Mouse or refer to Mouse. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 4 Quotes
And it was always the evil ones that would kill the good or the stupid. If anyone should have died in that bar it should have been Mouse. If there was any kind of justice he should have been the one.
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Chapter 7 Quotes
At the first words I went to my closet. I don’t know what I wanted to do there, maybe pack my bags and leave town. Maybe I just wanted to hide in the closet, I don’t know.
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Chapter 21 Quotes
“Tell us what we wanna know, Frankie, or I’m’a shoot ya.”
Frank’s jaw set and his left eye half closed. I could see that Daphne meant enough to him that he was ready to die to keep her safe.
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“Guilt?” He said the words as if it had no meaning. “You mean like what I did makes you feel bad?”
“That’s right.”
“I tell you what then,” he said. [...] “You let me work on this with you and I let you run the show.”
“Whas that mean?”
“I ain’t gonna do nuthin’ you don’t tell me t’do.”
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“Whatever you say, Easy. Maybe you gonna show me how a poor man can live wit’out blood.”
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Chapter 24 Quotes
“I don’t have a gun, Raymond. You know that.”
“You fool enough to go without no piece then you must wanna be dead.” His eyes were glazed and I was sure that he didn’t see me. He saw somebody, though, some demon he carried around in his head.
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Chapter 29 Quotes
“Now am I gonna lie to you, Ruby? Your brother’s dead.”
I had only been in an earthquake once but the feeling was the same: The ground under me seemed to shift. I looked at her to see the truth. But it wasn’t there. Her nose, cheeks, her skin color—they were white. Daphne was a white woman.
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“She can love a white man but all he can love is the white girl he think she is.”
“What’s that got to do with me?”
“That’s just like you, Easy. You learn stuff and you be thinkin’ like white men be thinkin’. You be thinkin’ that what’s right fo’ them is right fo’ you. She look like she white and you think like you white.”
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Mouse Character Timeline in Devil in a Blue Dress
The timeline below shows where the character Mouse appears in Devil in a Blue Dress. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 2
...have to find the woman—he can just pretend to look. Though Albright reminds Easy of Mouse, an untrustworthy man from his past in Houston, Easy agrees to consider the offer. He...
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Chapter 4
Reflecting on their drunken fight, Junior is grateful that Mouse pulled him off Easy before Junior did serious damage. As a solid, burly man, Junior...
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Chapter 7
Easy returns home and finds a letter from Houston waiting for him. It’s from Mouse, who got Easy’s address from a mutual friend. In the letter, Mouse says that his...
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...the event that drove him to leave Texas, join the military, and try to put Mouse out of his mind forever. Once best friends, Easy and Mouse spent nearly all their...
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...the rest of the day drinking vodka and people watching from his window, occasionally rereading Mouse’s letter. He reflects on the contrast between life in the South and California, noting that...
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Chapter 16
...the war. Upon waking, he calls EttaMae in Houston to ask how he might contact Mouse. Although EttaMae is happy to hear from Easy, she reminds him that she and Mouse...
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Chapter 21
...a voice from behind Frank greets him with a cold but familiar, “Evenin’, Frank.” It’s Mouse.
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Mouse holds a pistol to Frank’s head, demanding he drop his knife. When Frank complies, backing...
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Mouse proposes teaming up with Easy to profit from the Daphne situation, but Easy finally confronts...
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Chapter 22
Easy neglects to tell Mouse about the $30,000 allegedly in Daphne’s possession, instructing him only to worry about following Frank....
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...implicate him. But when the results confirm Easy’s innocence, the detectives begrudgingly let him go. Mouse picks him up outside and says he’s found Dupree, but Easy insists on making one...
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Chapter 23
Easy and Mouse go to Junior’s house, where Easy intends to talk to him about the late-night phone...
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Chapter 24
Easy and Mouse visit Dupree at his sister’s house, where he’s been staying since the police released him...
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Chapter 28
Easy dreams that he’s back in the war, proud to be fighting for freedom, when Mouse appears, urging him to abandon what he calls a “white man’s war” that offers no...
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Chapter 29
...but Albright catches him, and chaos ensues. Just as Albright is about to shoot Easy, Mouse appears, shooting and wounding Albright. When Mouse’s gun jams, Albright flees to his car and...
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...Ruby, refuses to give up her money, explaining it’s all that she and Frank have. Mouse informs her that Frank is dead, likely killed by Joppy, though Joppy denies he had...
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Daphne pleads with Easy to either shoot Mouse or give her the gun so that she can, but he refuses. They leave Albright’s,...
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After Mouse divides the stolen money—$10,000 each—Easy walks Daphne outside. He asks her to stay, but she...
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Chapter 30
The next day, as Easy drives Mouse to the bus station, they learn on the radio that Albright was found dead in...
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