Readings Case - Ugly Side of Luke Will

We again see the ugly side of Luke Will and his sidekicks getting uglier with each drink. Their hatred is not only targeted at the blacks but also anyone who disagrees with them. Nothing good is going to come from this little gang. Interesting dialogue when Luke Will tells the quiet customer to leave and Tee Jack tells him he is white and that can make trouble. In this section of reading we get a better picture of Mathu and his relationship with Mapes. These are men and women who have grown up together and in spite of their color differences they like each other. People who know what is expected to happen based solely on the events in the past. Mapes is almost begging for an answer without getting on his knees. I still don't know what he will do with the answer he gets. It is the calm before the storm when Clatoo speaks up. It must have taken everything for him to speak out; after all he has never had any trouble with the law. I really like the line he says "My intrance gone sour, keeping my militance down."(pg. 87) We are talking a lifetime of keeping it down and now with the strength of the group he is feeling brave. They are definitely stronger as a group and one by one each member of the group is opening up. You can almost hear the sound of pride in all of their voices. The reference to weeds that grow and about all the souls that rest under the trees again. They are doing this for them. In this section we also hear the voice of some of the women who comes to the defense of the group. Later on we have the great scene of Miss Merle handing out sandwich to everyone like it was a picnic. Mapes patiently listened to all

Parker 2

who wanted to speak. He also stands up for the group when he asked his Deputy to leave after making some ugly remarks and his standoff with Candy. He is the outsider. We learn so much from this tell-all section from all who speak. How can a man beat a machine one of the men asks? We hear the reference to the tractor again. Gaines is so good at throwing the reader clues and looping them all together. There are so many other great lines throughout this section of the raw emotion these people were feeling. The relationship between Candy and Mathu was made clearer on page 110 when she put her hand on his shoulder and he smiled. There is a bond between these two that nobody is going to come between.

The introduction of Gil and Cal and then of course Fix are great chapters. I like how Gaines always has the narrator on the outside looking in. Sully gives us a wonderful look at life in Cajun country and Beau's family. We learn of the dilemma they face at the death of one of their own. We hear of the old men in their group and how they are tired and unable to make a decision. Fix stated that he is old too and I fear he has the same problem as Mapes. The problem of what people expect him to do. I think

...