Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter

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secret relationship with Silas, takes advantaged of Larry's admiration for he CECIL WALKER charactu traits: racist, abusive relationship with other characters: Coul Olt's drinking buddy, Cindy Walke's stepfather (molests and behaves betually inappropriate towards he, propably her killer) BASIC FACTS >Tom Frankling (2019) >Chabot, Mississippi, 1970s and present >novel -Literary thriller, crime /literary fiction, Southern Literature >crime story which includes the main topics: ↳ family and friendship, belonging, identity, race, betrayal narrative perspective third person narrator 4(alternating between Larry and Silas; creation of suspense) >unchronological (present /post-mixture) AMERICAN SOUTH discrimination makes it hard for black people to integrate in society 'poor people live isolated >wide gap between rich and poor >known for conservative political attitudes CROOKED LETTER >title refers to how children in the American south learn to spell Mississippi >symbolizes Mississippi implies certain attitudes that are often found in the South the storyline is "crooked" (not chronologically, flashbacks, the troth is often revealed gradually!! the atmosphere in Chabot is "crooked" (everyone is sure about Larry's guilt, but they look at things the wrong way) Larry's and Silas' friendship is unusual, as well as Silas and Cindy's relation the letter "s" looks like a snake which often appear as a symbol in the book > "crooked" also means "dishonest"; many dishonest chouactus in the story: Glarry using Cindy to become more popular and impress his povents ↳ Silas not decloving Loury's innocence 4 Coul not admitting his fatherhood of Silas Cindy using Larry to secretly meet Silas Swallace lying, eg, about his job MISSISSIP RIVER symbolic of the meandering of the story, its curves, developing slowly, going back a bit and forward again CONSEQUENCES OF SOCIAL REJECTION Causes for Larry's exclusion > lack of manliness → father rejects him > due to his skincolour, he has difficulties concerning integration > physically interior + does individual activities (reading) > his family lives rather isolated > difficulties in communication: no eye-contact + shares his knowledge without being asked introverted action > desperately tries to be friends with Ken & David by initating their behaviour (even though he knows his actions are wrong) > in the garage, he does minor jobs but mainly tries to be invisible not to make his father angry role of father in GT uses different strategies to make friends (Silas vs. Ren/David) and adjusts his character (adventurous us. calm /introverted) consequences of Larry's behaviour >His actions turn out to make his situation worse →physical and psychological violence >His secret friendship to Silas is stronger > no (positive) father-son-relationship is left >he accepts his situation > but the anger (→racial sturs) fills up his soul → being betrayed → being treated unfairly TROUBLED FATHER-SON-RELATIONSHIP The actor Alan Cummings describes the relationship to his father as full of hate langer, hierarchal, not healthy (father gives his son tasks he can not fulfill), disrespectful, one-sided powerful, disconnected, physically and psychologically violent and full of fear. Comparison to carl /Larry: >similarities: no emotional connection from father to son. clear patriarchy.no interest, disappointment, full of fear, obedience, manipulative, (starry differences: not as physically violent, Carl has taught him a lot of skills (but is disappointed when he fails) Ansätze sehnan Eugehörigkeit DIFFERENT APPROACHES TO YEARN TO BELONG >Larry: is hungry for being noticed / for belonging. Therefore, he follows every order anyone might give him to fulfill his her →insult "Monkey Lips"-en/Dawid father-gorage expectations →Cindy date, drive in, beer, blanket, reading, no eye contact ne from? ne sporia →Larry is ignored /rejected but partly also isolates himself, team →The mask can be seen as a symbol of his astaciam and him being a social monster > Silas creates belonging through his sports team whom he also meets in private. He includes himself to the school's society by joining events (such as proms) and especially in the Haunted House scene by ignoring Larry and laughing about him, together with his group reasons : revenge/peer pressure /keeping his image THE BOYHOOD FRIENDSHIP WHY IS IT DOOMED TO FAIL? > different interest (reading us. sport), beliefs > friendship has to be kept secret →→parent's disapproval > segregation is still a topic concerning people's mindset > the bond is not deep enough → jealousy, Larry's fear of loasing Silas (baseball) > social status (rich vs. poor, socialized us. alone in school) Larry is influenced by his racist father →n-word ⇒Both have betrayed the mutual trust between them, disappointed and utterly disrespected each other. IMPACT OF THE FIGHT ON LARRY Larry is ashracized and isolated on a private level in school → his attempts at achieving a great sense of belonging have ultuly failed The connection to his father becomes worse The friendship has come to an eternal and as Larry stutters the n-word and Silas humiliates him. IMPACT & AFTERMATH OF THE DATE (Larry+Cindy Walke) Larry excited, new hopes of being finally accepted, feels like a 'normal' boy his age, feelings of lightness and anticipation ('his life had changed'), steals beer from the fridge, threatened by Intimidated-> to be overly polite Larry gives her too much power. over the situation, he trusts in her plan crucial event # 1 before the date Larry must let Cindy drive his father's car, she drinks alcohol, All his hopes are destroyed, but he agrees to Cindy's plan. his family his mother is hopeful and happy that Larry has a date, even his father is taking an interest in him ('take the Buick) and gives him 20 dollars to spend, remarks. High expectations Definition "friend": A person with whom one has a bond of mutual af- fection. A person who is not an en- emy or opponent; an ally. (English Oxford. Dictionary) during the date crucial event #2 In the cinema, he pretends that Cindy is sitting next to him by using a blanket. Ken and David believe she's with him. after the date impact on Larry Larry is interrogated by the sheriff, blamed for Cindy's disappearance, perceived as an alleged rapist and killer by most people. He drops out of school and is sent to the army. → complete isolation, wthdrawal, marginalisation, ostracism, total breakdown of social ties his peers Larry has risen in esteem among his peers, they seem to include him and give him advice about how to proceed at the drive-in theatre and how to buy contraceptives, think Larry is a Admire/ respe, do not believe it at first DRIVE-IN crucial event #3 As Cindy is not at the arranged spot, he waits there for a long time. In addition, he does't tell the truth about Cindy's pregnancy Following her wishes/will/expectations impact on his family his father continues drinking heavily and finally dies in a car accident, his business is dwindling, he does not talk to Larry anymore, his mother stops going to church, stays home and is eventy tually taken to a care h s in de home. their lives have had stopped Total breakdown of social ties (in the family and towards others-> no sense of belonging-> ostracizm-> hopelessness LARRY'S FRIENDSHIP WITH WALLACE 1. Wallace watching Larry coming to church, trying to contact him 2. Larry not returning to church 3. Wallace oneaking into larry's barn 4. Larry scaring wallace off in his zombie Mask 5. Wallace coming to Loury's place, pretending to sell lorry a satellite dish 6. Larry recognizing Wallace, knowing that he has been lied to 7. Larry grakful that he is not alone anymore 8. Wallace giving Loury a revolves as a present 8. Larry touched by Wallace's gift 10. Wallace and Loury celebrating together, Loury telling stories M Wallace trying to admit to Cindy's murder, talking violently about sexual abuse and threatening • Larry sending Wallace off his property 13. Wallace cutting off contact with Lorry after an outburst of rage 14. Larry concerned about wallace, thinking about offering him a job Wallace Stringfellow In common Does not judge him despite the rumors → KUMPELS Larry Ott to abuse sb., self-denial, hungry for contact, to open up to sb., self-disclosure, to confide in sb., to admire sb for (doing) sth., to be impressed by, to overlook, to pretend to be friends with, take advantage of sb, to turn a blind eye towards, be vulnerable... CONSEQUENCES OF NOT BELONGING > mental health threatened suicide, to go mental feeling clepressed > become a clanger for others > Self-isolation → become strange >change one's pesonality self-doubts emotionally cold anxiety 'tuin to be extreme taking wrong decisions losing the ability to communicate MOST IMPORTANT CHANGES >from Scaury Larry to... ...shot Ott ... to a grown up man, accepled himself and not caring about any opinions of others > from a baseball boy to... feeling guilty ... person that stands up for his mistakes ...undustanding = their developments are connected. Without Silas' development there would not have been Lorry's development and the other way around RECONCILING A BROKEN FRIENDSHIP LARRY : Denies Silas (wants to change the room in hospital), needs time to evaluate think takes responsibility for his own life wants to live it! offers Silas to repair his car SILAS: Realizes his guilt: tells Angie about his past feeds Larry's chickens, visits him in hospital, cleans his house Catones for his guilt shows Larry that he needs him ** the repaired car can be seen as a symbol for their "repaired" friendship their reconciliation (→have first met in the cas, Coul Of as the destroyer, cas= negative and positive symbol) share their common past and familiar ties and are ready to accept it and profit from each other → Larry has the strength to forgive Silas after him resuming responsibility THE ZOMBIE MASK • occurrence in the story: ordered by teenager Larry, who brought it to school and was famous for one day and even invited, hid behind the mask to Halloween pouty; later used by Larry to scave away intrudu (wallace); stolen by wallace who has it on when shooting Larry; convicts Wallace when Silas finds it at his place, Lany does not want his mask back (bc it's no longer innocent-used for crimes, monnection •symbolism: hidden identity, being someone else, power, popularity to the past wants to close up his past Chapter 1, p.8 adult Coury attacked by Wallace who is weaving Loury's zombie mask "Larry felt a strange forgiveness for him because all monsters were misunderstood." Chaples 8. p. 165 Larry as a teenage, invited to Halloween party because of his zombie mask, "popular for one day") "Carry stood in the floodlight for a long time. Figuring it out. The mask deflated under his arm. Finally he turned and walked down the clirt road toward the paved one. He paused at the road in his whipping sheet and waited C.I waited a long time [..] In case anybody glanced ove and happened to notice him and yell. 'Hey, look! It's Larry! Come back! Join the pouty !' No one did, including Silas, including Cindy." BOOKS *occurence in the story: Larry has always been an avid reader (much to his father's displeasure), special fan of Stephen King's horror stories, tries to interest Silas in the stories as well; as an adult books are Larry's only companions •symbolism: escape, Cany's status as an outside (us. "cool", athletically inclined boys), Larry seen as weak and girlish .education/Larry's field of expertise →Chapter 2, p. 23 conversation between adult Silas and colleagues about Laury and his love of horror books "I was in school with him's all. Knew him a little way back when." He didn't play ball, did he? Voncille asked. 'Now. Just read books. 'Horror books', French said. His house is full of em."" status as an outside →Chapter 5. p. 82 Coul wanting young Loury to behave more like a "real boy" "He went down the hall towards his room but heard his father call, 'Hey boy?'. He hurried back. 'Yes sir?" "You stay outside today. Cut the grass which meant Don't read all day." Larry seen as weak and girlish Chapter 7 p. 155 afto Cindy's Clisappearance "Larry never returned to school, the weeks stretching into months, and when even the most frevent optimists were beginning to doubt she'd run away, after Silas had utt Oxford, Larry spent his hours in his room, reading" -escape Chaple 12, p. 251 Larry in hospital, Silas remembering the past and coury's love of books. "Did you bring me 'Night Shift'? The men followed his eyes to the book on the table between the beds [..] 'Did you ever read it?' "Yeah.' You like it?"No! he said. [..] He wanted to say how Larry's vosions, way back when, were better, but French cleaved his throat." ⇒education/Lorry's field of expertise SCAPEGOAT • "OLD" Larry: has been the scapegoat for the whole town, everyone blamed him for the commilled crimes (socially excluded) • "NEW" Larry: realized that he has never had any type of friends; he is disappointed and mad at Silas, stops covering from wallace SNAKES • occurrence in the story: Larry loves snakes; Wallace collects them and places one in Irina's mailbox; Silas is almost killed by a snake in Wallace's house •symbolism: devilish temptation to see the truth; foreboding something bad; crookedness; in Lorry's case also his expertise on nature (friendship with Silas, status as an oddball, common ground with wallace) →Chapter 2, p. 83 Silas investigating snake in the mailbox "Yall got any idea who might have done this? 'he asked. The women frowing at one another [...]" ⇒foreboding Chapter 4.pp 69/70 Silas remembering him and Coury as friends "They'd [...] caught lizouds-anoles, Laury had called them. Then quickly added,' But some people call em "Lizards", "too" Larry's expertise on nature Chapter 12, pp. 261/262 conversation between Silas and Irina Moit, threads gradually connecting and pointing towards Wallace as the culprit) "So this guy you think he mailed the snake? "Maybe. She admitted she left her other place cause of him. He kept riding by. Calling! "What's his name?" "Wallace. wallace String fellow. Lives Over on past the catfish farm.' He felt his pocket for a pen and scribbled the name on a napkin, stuffed it in his jeans pocket. It rang a dim bell. That guy on the four wheeld? with the pillowcase, wasn't that his name? Didn't Carry once say a good way to carry snokes was in a pillowcase? foreboding Chaples 14 pp. 278/279 Silas investigating at Wallace's house "Silas went around the counter into the kitchen, scanning the room, the aquariums between the two of them, and bent, his face inches from a fat cottonmouth, lying like a big burnt arm. He could see it's floren frown, the pits unow its slit eyes, flicking tongue the only sign it was alive." foreboding MAILBOXES • occurence in the story: Carry's regularly the target of wanton destruction, manifesting his ostracism; rattlesnake in Irina's mailbox finally leads to Wallace Stringfellow CARLOTT'S RIFLE • occurence in the story: Larry borrows it from his father and shows it to Silas (beginning of their friendship), later lencs it to Silas ("buying "his friend); Carl makes Laury and Silas fight over the gun (end of friendship), Silas wins the gun, in the end Silas returns the gun to larry's home (kind of apology); Carry as a suspect not allowed to own guns; Wallace obsessed with guns. gives Laury a gun for Christmas •symbolism: manliness, fathwhood, power, beginning rend/ renewal of friendship Chapter S.p. 103 Silas and Larry fighting for Coul On's rifle "Let me-me-me-me... uh-uh-up, Loury said again, louder. a note of panic. Silas tightened his grip. "La-la-la-listen at the little stuttuing baby. Cal said. 'Quit it sessilas!' he cried. Ple-ple-ple-please. Silas held on. "You, Loury burbled. 'you n-n-n-nigger.' Silas let him go and rase. [...] Silas looked different than Laury had ever seen him. His eyes now flashed the same fierceness the other black boys at school hod" power; end of friendship Chapter 18.pp. 304/305 Silas and Angie preparing Lorry's house for his return from hospital "For a moment he held the old rifle, which Angie had helped him clean that morning. It seemed lighter than it used to. [..] Holding it for a moment he was a boy again, the world the world it had been a long time ago, a world full of unknowns, a world full of future and possibility, but then he reached and set the rifle down stock first in the green velvet oval and fit its borrel in its green velvet groove and it stood there, a thing returned to its rightful place. Silas Silas inhaled, a man now, full of unknowns yet, but, maybe with some future still ahead. Some possibility. He looked a moment longer, then turned and went up the hall to whee his girl was standing up, pushing her hands into the small of he back" renewal of friendship •symbolism:connection of individual to outside world (or lack there-of) Chapter 2, pp. 28129 Silas sent to investigate snake in Irina Mott's mailbox "You need to get over to Fourteenth and West. It's a rattlesnake in somebody's mailbox. [...] It being, you know, in the bax? That mokes it a fecual crime."" →Chapter 13, p. 264 Larry in hospital remembering acts of vandalism against his mailbox. "Larry was flicking through channels on cable television, thinking of his mailbox. Over the years he'd repaired it half a dozen times, mornings as he left for work discovering it by the highway, asked on its post or the whole thing knocked down and splayed in the mud, sometimes magazines fluttuing over the road like chickens on the loose. Once the box and post missing altogether. He knew about this, how teenagers rode along, hanging out car windows with baseball bats. Knowing it happened to others should've been a comfort, but as he'd driven on to his stop those days, he'd noticed other mailboxes still standing and known that he alone had been taugeted". CHICKENS •Occurence in the story: Larry cares for his mothers chickens, even builds a contraption to give them fresh grass each day; when Larry is in hospital, Silas feeds the chickens for him; his only companionship, chickens are weak, passive & coward.calm (just like (aury) • symbolism: Larry's devotion and loyalty as a soni kindness towards animals; Silas's cowardice and later redemption →Chapter 6.p.144 Silas discovering Larry's mobile contraption for the chicken pen) "He noticed the wheels on the back of the cage, frowned as he I walked its width and turned and walked, the chickens shadowing him, its length. He toed the trailer hitch. Why would Larry want wheels on his pen? He looked out ove the field and saw several brownish spots in the otherwise bright green weeds and and wild flowers, each spot the size of the cage over the land, the chickens fluttering along inside." Larry's devotion and loyalty as a son, kindness towards animals →Chapter 10, p. 237 Silas feeling bad for not telling the truth about the night of Cindy's disappearance, remembering his mother's rebuke "What's missing out of you, Silas? Courage, he thought. No wonder he felt at ease among these damn chickens." ⇒cowardice Feigheat COATS AND GLOVES · Occurence in the story: Ina Olt gives coats to Alice and Silas when they first move to Mississippi, but does not want them to ride in Coul's car to school; Larry leaves gloves for Silas in the forest •symbolism: poverty of Silas and his mother, Alice's affair with Coul; Alice's humiliation; unbalanced friendship between Shas and Larry, Silas's pride →Chaple 3, p. 39 Larry's and Silas's first meeting in Caul Ott's car "Larry stuck out his calfskin glave. Silas's slender brown hand was bove, and despite the quick soul shake it gave, Larry fell now cold his skin was. If he gave him one of his graves, they could each have one woum hand. He wanted to do this, but how?" Chapter 3, p.43 Ina Ott giving coats to Silas and Alice, implicitly Criticizing her for her affair with Coul "You've never minded, ' Lorry's mother sold to Alice, looking houd at her, ' using other people's things." →Chapter 3. p. 69 | Loury leaving gloves in the forest for Silas "The last thing he did was pull at the fingers of his gloves, removing the left one, the right, and erect a stick the shape of a Y in the cold mulch beneath the leaves. On each peg he left a glove." FIREARMS POSITIVE ASSOCIATIONS >Larry lends Silas his fathers gun for protection /proof of friendship ↳might have had an influence on his choice of job (being protective constable) violent connection to guns Larry's relation to his father is connected to guns clear connection to his childhood protection (Silas) NEGATIVE ASSOCIATION >clestroys their friendship-fight initiated by Call who has a rather Larry is shot in the beginning → dangerous lethas weapon > Wallace owns and uses guns in an irresponsible way RELIGION • atheist: sb. who does not believe in God or any supernatural power • confession: acknowledgement of one's sins(to a priest) •hypocrisy : pretending to be more moral or more noble than in reality •redemption: the action of being relieved of one's sing sacrifice giving up 8th. valable. Often for the sake of others Ina Olt is highly religious night time prayer about a "special friend" for Larry family/peer group GENDER ·sex vs. gender: sex refers to the biological distinction between male, female and others whereas gender is concerned with social roles ascribed to the different sexes, •consequences and problems: stereotypical masculinity or femininity traits, hold for some to live up to them •Larry seen as girlish and not manly enough by his father and peers family /peer group Chapter S. p. 88: Ina Ott praying for a special friend for he young son Laury "Dear Lord,' she prayed, 'thank you for your grace. Thank You for healing Laury's stultering and his asthma. [...]. God, send him a special friend. Larry initially wants to continue to go to his mother's church, connection to his mother, loyally family/pee group →Chapter 3, p. 45 description of Laury's marked difference from his fathe Rather than his father's tall pitche's physique and blond curls and dark skin and green eyes, Loury got Uncle Colin and his mother's olive skin and straight brown hair and brown eyes with long lashes which attractive on women, made Larry and Unde Colin soft and feminine, seat belt uses who ate tilapia." • church is the place where Wallace String fellow sees Loury for the first time →Chapter 9, pp. 197/198 Wallace remembering how he saw Loury for the first time ·Laury's "girlishness" one of the reason why he is an outsider In church eleven years ago • church mostly segregated in (ory's and Silas's youth ethnicity and why his alleged date is so important to him = family/peeks Chaples 7, p. 137 Loury's feelings about his date with Cindy which malus him intuesting to other bays for the first time Chapter 3. p.51 Larry's thoughts on segregation as a kid The churches were still segregated if the schools weven't, and sometimes Lorry wondwed why grown-ups made the kids mingle when they themselves didn't" "Loury looked at the corn on his tray, too happy to eat, a dab the next day and friends to tell about it." •one aspect of the plot: (sexual) crime against women (Cindy W., Tina R.), wallace String fellow's misogynist attitude (dog John Wayne Racy, named after serial killer and rapist) Chapter 9.p.205 Wallace String fellow's attitude towards women "Sometimes they like it, getting raped. They want you to do it. Coury em out to that cabin and thow em on the floor. Gag em.. [...]" ETHNICITY THE AMERICAN SOUTH AND RACE RELATIONS American South also called Dixi/land (south of the Mason-Dixon line) or just the South forced fight for Coul Ott's rifle includes the states that fought for the Confeduate States in the American Civil Was (1861-1865), i.e. states that wanted to keep up slavery and leave the Union: South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia. Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, Texas; Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, (Missouri, Kentucky) -past: slave labour, plantations • after Civil War: segregation of schools and public facilities (Jim Crow laws) •Civil Rights Movement (mainly 1950s and 19600) insult "nigger ends Carry's and Silas's friendship (Connection with infuiority, humiliation, getting the upper hand) Chapler 5, p. 103 Carry's insolt when Silas is about to win the •dialect: a language variety based on geography • Civil Rights legislation in the 1960s officially ended segregation and discrimination register: a language variety based on a certain topic, subject, but de facto there are many areas of inequality up until today →Chapter 10, p. 230 Silas and Gindy growing attention when walking togeth. "and they walked along the road, [..] a passing cas slowed and the white man behind the wheel glased out his window. "You okay? he called to Cindy. That boy bothering you?' "You, Loury burbled, you n-n-n-nigger. 'Silas let him go and rose. [...] Silas looked different than lory had ever seen him. His eyes now flashed the same fierceness the other black boys at school had, that the girl covolyn had" LANGUAGE Chapter 10. p. 252/233 Alice warns Silas off of his relationship with Cindy "Son, you got to stop with that white girl. C.] Son, nothing good ever come out of color mixing.[..] Such and suching like you doing would be dangerous enough in Chicago, but you in Mississippi now. Emmet Till' i she said, 'was from Chicago."" "setting: Southen United States: Mississippi. late 1970s (after segregation period) •Lorry and Silas go to a racially integrated high school, but racism still post of everyday like →Chapter 3, p.41 Larry's and Silas's first meeting, in Carl Olf's truck "In Fulsom his father dropped the boys off at school, Alice climbing out and then Silas, Cary awave how unusual, inappropriate, it was for black people to be getting out of a while man's truck" Chapter 3. pp. 47/48 Coul entertaining other men /customers in his •African American Auce as maid (and mistress) of while Olt family (Coul), poverty, single mother, Silas's feeling of being disadvantaged/inferior ( →Chaplo S.p. 86 Larry's thoughts about his and Silas' Interracial friendship But if somebody white was willing to befriend somebody black, offer them gifts, even a place to live, shouldn't the blacks be grateful?" "C_JOle Devoid come straggeving out fanning dust and holdingage his head a-yelling, "Call a got-dog aum-bu-lance!" Had a line of blood dripping off his nose. A cussing up and down the chout, got damn this and got damn that, son-of-a-bitching shit hall damn. Gazy nigger. (Coul]'d say laughing,' sold me the car on the spot for two hundret dolous cash. Iclosed the hood and wired it shut and give him a ride home in that very cou, him • Larry's racism as means to belong to a group of while boys and as reaction to humiliation and bullying ("Monkey lips "incident) = family/peer group •Loury presented as rather well-read through his we of technical terms. Chaples 3, p. 57 Larry's thoughts while being bullied by the black children in his class hunched down the whole time, worried bout that hood [..]" after insulting one of them as means to belong to a group of white boys "Monkey lips, he thought as more books pelted him. Monkey lips, Monkey Lips, Monkey Lips. Then, Nigger, nigger.nigger,nigger." mixed-race relationship between Silas and Cindy still undesirable, which gets in motion the events leading to Cindy's unexplained disappearance →Chaples S. p. 197 Loury correcting Wallace's we of a foreign word "[...] She used to tell us what a good drawer you was. She'd setting or activity •Sociolect: a language waviety based on the socioeconomic dass, age, gende, ethnicity of its speaks •venacular: a language voviely spoken by people in everyday situations • especially in direct speech: Southen vernacular which emphosises the novel's local character poully racist sturs and insults to mark "men's speech" (Coul OH, Cecil wolker, but also wallace Shing fellow) ethnicity, gender show us your pictures. One of a little truck, which she said was a potect example of prespective. "Perspective, 'Loury said." FAMILY/PEER GROUP dysfunctional family: a family with a lot of problems and conflicts. where violence or abuse often takes place illegitimate child: a child born out of wedlock (friendship) on (un)equal terms: a friendship in which the partners (do not) meet at eye level, i.e. neither/one is superior in social standing, intellectual talents or othe abilities, etc. •Otherness: being different from the majority/the "norm" • peer group: a group of people of similar age, background, stalus, interests: a group from which one otten picks one's friends •role model: sb providing orientation and an example to others FAMILY Silas is Coul Ol's illegitimate child Larry's chovacker strongly shaped by the presence of clominating/ cruel father.sila's by the absence of a father figure Chapter 16, p. 293 Larry and Silas in hospital, talking about their father for the first time "He wished you'd been the white one, ' Carry said. [.]' You think it was better. "Loury said, 'Uving with him?' 'No, Silas admitted. 'I speck it wasn't.' Then he said, 'It wasn't easy without one, either. I used to wish I was you, all that land, all them guns. That waim house that boun. *** Larry's lifelong loyalty to his parents : becomes a mechanic like his father, diligently looks after his povents' house and his mother's chickens, regularly visits his mother in cave home. PEER GROUP •Silas's relationship with his mother: Alice loves Silas dearly and works houd to provide him with better chances in like; Silas on the one hand is dissatisfied with his poor and fatherless upbringing and his mother's seeming servility to white people, on the other hand he often feels guilty for not being a good son and "Lacking something in his moine's eyes →guilt/redemption Chapter 6, pp. 122-126 Silas and Alice on their way from Chicago to Chabot, Silas running away "He leaned up and looked at his mother's profile, as she smiled, listening to the bus driver who had one hand on the steering wheel and the other flapping, some story his mother was supposed to laugh at. Silas knew without looking at her that she would, because it was polite and she lived in a world where the had to be poule all the time. It was a world he wanted no pout of. He wanted no pout of her. He was already up, backpack in hand, and over the sideboard and gone. [..] 'What's missing out of you. Silas?" she looked houd. You ain't seen it that bad. I know. I know cause I have seen it that bad. But you. Up till now you had it easier than I ever did. But now! see what kind of man it's made you, I don't know if maybe I didn't do you a disservice!" Chapter 8, pp. 177/178 | Silas feeling guilty towards his mother "What's missing out of you, silas? His mother had had to work two jobs plus clean houses to pay for the trailer home she'd bought in Fulsom. Back then he'd told himself she just wanted him out of the way. That was why she'd sent him off. lying to himself even as he opened the letters she mailed him in Oxford, unfolding the limp five- and ten-dolla bills she sent each week so he could go to his classes and play baseball without having to get a job. He knew now she'd loved him despite his I never writing her back, despite the trouble and feal he caused her, despite the thing missing out of him. He'd returned her love by rarely coming home, and when he did she'd doled over him, as it every meal was his last. or her, straightened his paper napkin and laid another chicken leg on his plate and filled his milk glass or his iced tea so much he could bovely stand it. He'd refused to see the truth, that she was starving from loneliness. In fact, he could bovely look at he." •Larry's youth: outside, not accepted by other boys, victim of school bullying gender Chapter 3. p. 40: Carry's difference from and apposent infoiority to the other boys at his school "Everything Loury couldn't do-spike a volleyball, throw a football or catch one, field a grounder, fire a dodgeball - these black boys could. Did. [..] None read, fough, or undustood Loury's love for books. Chapter 3. p.55 Larry trying to impress classmates with jump Off swing "He thought that if he did a good one, better than anybody else, they might let him go to the drive-in, he imagined telling his dady about it, where you going boy? To the drive-in movie with my friends, in a car." friendship with Silas on unsqual footing : Silas is socially "inferior", but more self-confident, more popular class →Chapter 3, p. 63 beginning of Loury's and Silas's friendship Then he moved the gun, continued his pan until he stopped on a pine free and shot. He levered the rifle and this time caught the ejected hull. It clinked against the other in his coat pocket, and it struck Loury with a wave of sadness, a boy sowing the hulls as something uuluable.' Go on keep it. ' Larry blurted. The rifle." Chapter S.p.87 friendship on unequal footing Because Silas had started playing baseball at school, (ory worried that he was losing him." interracial friendship unvoval ethnicity Chapter 3.p.60 Larry and Silas becoming friends outside of "social boundovies" "Silas hesitated, too, then, pheops because they were alone in the woods, no school around them, they shook, Silas's fingers again enveloped Loury's glove. Chapter 4.p. 69 Silas remembering his and Laury's secret friendsh "He stood leaning on the gate and saw himself years ago the day he'd come here. No grown-ups, no teaches, no other girls or boys, black or white, just him and Loury." Chapter 8. p. 174 after Silas has secretly mowed the grass at the Olts' place and Guehears Coul GH Praising Laury for it "Good work, boy. Silas remembered it. He had felt, at that moment, most aculely in his life, the absence of a father. He'd walled home that night, through the doukening woods, aware that all this land-over five hundret acres, Laury had said- was theirs, which meant it was Loury's, or would be. And Silas who had nothing. looked up to where the sky had been." • as an adult, Larry's social standing has autuiorated high school dropout, fow customers, has to sell land family/peer gr adult silas, however, has become a well-respected member of society: first his baseball coureer offered him an opportunity to go to college, then he becomes a member of Chabot's police force family/peur group →Chapter 1, p. 4 adult Lary's thoughts on his professional situation "There he was. A mechanic but only in theory. He operated a two-bay shop on Highway 11 North, the crumbling white concrete block building with green frim." Chaple 2. p. 26 adult Laury's desolate professional situation "French was right that Ottornative Repair hadn't had a local customer-or any customer really since Loury's father had died and Laury'd taken ove. [..]~ Chapter 2, p.9 adult Silas's position in society • Wallace (an unduprivileged young man) sees the outsider and potential criminal Loury Ott as a role model to look up to gender "Silas Jonas was his name but people call him 32, his baseball number, or Constable, his occupation. He was himself the sole law enforcement of Chabot, Mississippi. →Chapter 9, p. 187 wallace and lorry talking about their "He wed to come around when he was a boy. Lorry saw a little of himself in him, school coveers both have quit school maybe. This strange lonely kid. Maybe, to this kid, in this world Larry hadn't cought. "While Trash Avenue": Wallace Stringfellow, Irina Motl and up to, Laury was even a kind of hea." Chapter 13, p. 270 description of Laxy's and Wallace's relationship CLASS •Larry is born into a rather well-off-middle-class family (possession of land, father's others as typical representatives of a while "unduclass Chopler 2, pp.30 134 description of "While Trash Avenue" L.J Every time he cruised past the white residents frowned from chairs on their porches, thin tattooed bleach-blond women with babies on their laps, strained-looking grandmothers in housedresses smoking cigaveltes, gaubage •Silas's early time in Chabot marked by extreme poverty: single mother Alice has two jobs in the youds, clotheslines with sheets lifting in the wind, sheer panties, nylons. In one youd was an old Chevy Vega, no hood bilturweed growing through the engine block, windows broken, the trunk open [...] respected job in his own gavage) => family /peur group they live on the fringes of society in Ol's old cabin; Silas aware of his inequality →family/peer group →Chapter 3. pp. 38/39 the Jones' poverty at the beginning of their time in Chabat "The first thing he noticed was that they didn't have cools. [..] They smelled like smoke, Silas and his mother, and Loury realized where they must live. His father owned over five hundret acres, much of it in the bottom-right corner of the country, and on the southeast · BUT : Silas prioritises his career and tries to forget about Cindy's disappearance walker family: lower class, dysfunctional family, Cindy's wish to escape family/peu group end, a half a mile from the dirt road, if you knew where to look, was an old log hunting cabin cented along with a few trees in a field a few acres across, just a little bump on the land. Bove furnishings inside, dirt floor, no water ar electricity." •Silas popularity and social standing in Chabot: baseball star, later police officer, but also based on conceating the truth about Cindy's disappearance guilt/redemption Chapter 8.p.163 Silas remembering his youth and his abandonment of Loury "[...] By then I was playing baseball. Everybody calling me 32. Name in the poper all the time. And Laury Ott, he was just a hick that nobody liked. "How come?" 'He was weird. Lived so far out in the country he didn't have any friends. Never came to ball games, didn't go to the junior prom. Always reading his books. He used to bring stuff to school, snakes he'd catch, trying to make people notice him. •Silas's relationship with Angie: only gradually opening up to her and letting her see behind the façade of the famous ex-baseball and popular police officer Chapter 8, p. 166 Conversation Silas and Angie in "The Hub" "Did you ever go out with he?' 'Cindy? 'Not meeting her eyes, furning his hat over on the table. Thinking Just tell her but instead shaking his head nope, saying, 'Her stepdaddy was one of them white men any smart black boy would avoid, espacially in Mississippi.[..] Hur radio squawked and Tab came on, wreck over on 201. 'Shit'. She rose with her drink. Sorry, baby. I hate to leave cause this is the most you have ever talked."" •Laury's like afto Cindy's disappearance: marked by complete loneliness →Chapter 1, p.6 Lorry musing about his few contacts friend." And Wallace String fellow of course, who was his only →Chapter 4, p.68 Silas imagining Laury's lonely life "There was a rocking chair with a cushion and he imagined Loury here each evening, the other half of of the porch empty. " Chapter 10. p. 230 Cindy's wish to get away from her family "She went on talking tough, said how she couldn't wait to get the hell out of Mississippi, away from Cecil and her Imouse of a mother." →place, refuge, security, memories, roots, identity family, basis, longing, hobits, familouity, love HOME • Larry's and Silas's local area/home: Chabot, Amos and Fulsom, Mississippi: places in decay, drug problems.etc. •Silas moves to Chabot from Chicago at 13, returns after college •Lourry does not leave despite being an outside and having no customers •They both have a deep-rooted connection to home: family loyalty family/peer group, ' unfinished business" guilt/redemption Chapter 7.pp. 157/188 Lorry bound to Chabot despite his loneliness "Larry was called in to his cabin's office near the end of his third year of service to hear the news. Honorably discharged, he was moved shortly thereafter back home where all agreed [..I that he should care for his mother. In Chabot, Silas was still gone. And still no Cindy [J. For years, after Larry had signed his mother into River Acres, he would wake each morning to the fovaway growl of power sams culting down trees on the acres he'd been forced to sell [...] Evenings, on his porch or by his fire, he read. Nights he spent alone" Chapter 8, p. 163 Silas's feelings towards Mississippi "I didn't like it at first, he said, loving down here. But after a while, after I'd got me that rifle from Loury, and after I started playing baseball, I felt like I belonged here. It's pout of why I came back, after all that time. I'd never forgot that place." ( VIOLENCE GUN OWNERSHIP IN THE US Second Amendment to the US Constitution : "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a flee state, the right of the people to keep and beau cums, chall not be infringed. "(adopled in 1971) •Today gun ownership controversial: especially after mass shootings • Arguments of advocates (e.g. NFA - National Rifle Association): →independence and freedom →individualiam →democracy ("checks and balances") → frontier spirit •Numbers. →USA owns about half of the world's guns →about 89 to 100 guns per 100 Americans →Only a quarter of the population ove gun owner; most gun owners have more than one gun →64% of all killings gen-related in USA (in comparison : 4.5% in England) in their adult lives, both men ove rather suspicious of guns →Chaples 2, p.13 Silas as policeman "I've he was two years as Chabot's low and he'd never fried his pistol except at toughts." •Loury's experiences with violence : victim of school bullying, abusive father, accused of violent sexually motivated crime against Cindy walker (and Tina Rutherford), almost killed by wallace Stringfellow •Coul Ott's rifle marks beginning and ending of Loury's and Silas's friendship •gun ownership connected to masculinity, power, having a father (figure); attractive to young Loury and las family/ peer group, gender Chapler S.p. 101 Coul Olt to Silas before making him and Loury fight for his gun Dead! well, ain't that sod. And he didn't leave you no gun? Ain't that one of daddy's duties? Leave his boy a firecum?" →Chapter 8.p.101 conversation between Loury and wallace about guns ""Ain't you got a gun? Loury shook his head and wallace sat there with his mouth open, as if he were unable to fathom gunlessness." GUILT/REDEMTION: bad deed guilt ↓ violence/ bad conscience apology! Crime 1 forgivent's •apparently obvious guilt (Loury and his alleged crime) vs. hidden guilt (Silas's cowardice) redemption + Chapter 12, p. 254 Silas admitting his involvement in Cindy's disappearance for the first time "We were friends. Ween't we silas?' Tell the fucking truth 32. Silas. You were, Larry,' he said. "I don't know what I was.'* Chapter 14, p. 273 conversation about guilt and responsibility between Silas and Moula in "The Hub" | "Well sugar, I. I don't be too hard on yourself. Now and again it's okay to let yourself off the hook. But that was his trouble, wasn't it? Letting himself off the hook had been his way of life." "nigger" insult as real reason for end of friendship or as pretext for conscience-stricken Silas not to tell the truth. →Chapter 6. p. 105 Silas trying to justify his abandonment of Loury, "For so long he'd used that stultued 'nigger' as an excuse to avoid him. Coming back home, rare as he did, from Ole Miss, from the nowy. Silas had never asked about Loury. Once in a while as he drank and smoked weed with MRM and their toals, Laury's name would come up. Scoury Loury they'd begun to call him; should they ride over fuck with him? But Silas would change the subject, put Loury out of his mind." • Wallace 's obvious guilt and Laury's attempt at denying it. Chapter 8.p. 209 Larry realising that Wallace has done something wrong, but still wanting to help him "Wallace's visits had shown him that being lonesome was its own fast that after going unnourished for so long, even the foulest bile could remind your body how much it needed to eat. That you could be atouving and not even know it! Dear God, he prayed at night. Please forgive my sins, and send me some business. Give Momma a good day tomorrow or take her if it's time. And help Wallace,God.Pls." •Silas's attempts at making up for past errors : feeding the chickens, visiting Murs OH, finally telling the truth, visiting Laury. →Chapter 18, pp. 302/303 Silas persistently visiting Laury in hospital, attempt at making amends. "He did just that, came in the room and sat on the edge of the bed. Larry wouldn't look at him, just gazed at the television [...] He'd put the box of mail on the foot of Larry's bed but Loury wouldn't acknowledge it. [..] I'm still feeding the first ladies, he said. Getting them eggs. [...] Need to hire somebody to cut your grass, it's getting pretly high. I'd do it myself but, you know 'Raising his sling. He sat for nearly an hour and then pushed himself up. Okay, he said. I'll see you tomorrow. Bring the mail." •Open question: is forgiveness possible after years of lies? →Chapter 19, pp. 311-313 Silas driving Loury home from hospital, Cautious rapprochement "Your carburetor. Larry said, cocking his head. Sounds like it needs rebuilding. [..] 'You reckon, 'Silas said, if I was to bring this old Jeep in, you might look at the carburetor for me? Larry took a moment to answer. 'I don't know how long it'll be fore I open, he said. They told me I need to take it easy awhile. "I reckon that's true. "L..] Larry closed the door. Silas waited as he made his way slowly up the walk. Halfway to the house, he turned over his shoulder. Silas? I suppose you could bring the Jeep by here tomorrow. I got tools in my truck yonder. " 'I'll do that, 'Silas said. [..] what he (Loury) thought before falling arleep was that he needed to call Silas in the morning, tell him to stop at the auto parts house, get a couburetor kit for the Jeep. He, Silas, knew the model." LARRY OTT >41 years old > while, lean face, brown hair, olive skin, long lashes →→sol, feminine > lives in rural Mississippi in his parent's house without any neighbour nearby his mother lives in a nursing home; his father died in a car accident works as a mechanic in his own shop: never/bovely has costumers >he is an outcast :likes to be for himself, his chickens are his only "friends", "Scary Larry" (nicknamel, bad reputation because he is the first suspect in a crime (missing girl > introvert, smout, flees into his work > rejected and bullied by peers in his childhood difficult father-son-relationship social outcast; isolation 'secret interracial friendship with Silas books daily routines 'ambiguous relation with wallace 'critical reflection of himself /his past development 'regaining a sense of belonging (Wallace) bonding with Silas attempt at reconciliation and a new start CHALLENGES AND HOW LARRY-AMBIGUITY OF SOCIAL IDENTITY > black against while to district groups > does not belong to the "white group" because he has different interest (e.g. books) 'he tries to belong but does not know how, wants to get attention (e.g. snakes) but it just confirms his weird" reputation one time he thinks he's been accepled (zombie mark) is an illusion SILAS "32" JONES >49 years old >black, athletic she gets shunned by everyone because he is the number one suspect in the case of the two missing girls >as an adult it seems that he will always be "Scary larry" and he questions if he will ever lose his reputation as an outside lived in Chicago, then in an old cabin owned by Larry's father without water, electricity and gas Carl Ott authoritative father, alcoholic, bias and racist "puts pressure on Larry with high expectations >distanced behaviour towards their family >rejects Larry as a son (has a preconception of how Larry should be) lack of support and trust in his son > his mother clied eight years ago; was raised by a single mom (Larry's half-brother); had an agressive stepfather works as a police officer TRYING TO BELONG 'dakes Angle HE COPES WITH THEM: unknown father racial issues poverty unable to maintain an emotional relationship 'secret interracial friendship with Larry competing for fatherly love (rifle) has an accepled job as a policeman rights the wrong (does not in his private (ite; lies in terms of cindy) baseball integration in society (girlfriend) realisation of guilt Pacceptance of responsibilities realisation of the values of bonding; opens up to girlfriend attempts at reconciliation and a new stout SILAS-AMBIGUITY OF PERSONAL IDENTITY his identity seems clear finds it easier to integrate in school, gets popular 'Silas was the cool kid but builds a connection with the misfit grew up not knowing his father and seems to accept that discovering who his father is makes him question his identity due to their family relation he makes amends to rekindle their friendship (feels guilty) at the end he takes responsibility for himself and his faults (too late?) FAMILY is also Silas' father =Silas and Larry are half-brothers infuence on their relationship Alice Jones 'black single mom ›cares for Silas and want to offer him a good like slamy does not feel a sense of belonging to his father, lack of conficience, 'works several jobs to afford a medest living stand ourd Ina Ott at the bottom of social ladde > tries to defend Larry against his father Silas does not appreciate her hard work until he's an adult prays for him (her biggest wish is a friend for Larry) FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN LARRY AND SILAS > Larry enjoys books, Silas is more outgoing /active > the two boys must keep their friendship a secret (families would disapprove to their friendship) 'both suffer from sort of exclusion (Silas because of his skin colour, Larry because of his unpopular hobbies and character in general) >Larry invests more time into the friendship since Silas to his only friend (and the first real friend) Lany introduces Silas to his horror stories Larry inviles Cindy to spy on her > they are half-brothers →→still a connection between them → unbalanced, fragile friendship →Larry frusts Silas (e.g.rifle) and he relies on him →Silas seems to be embarrassed about the friendship (especially later) →able to rekindle their relation due to their family connection IMPACT OF THE FIGHT ON LARRY >Larry loses not only the fight but destroys the friendship due to his racist remork towards Stas ultimate denial by his father: Larry does not meet the expectations of his father the fight adds another struggle to Larry's life as it is never discussed at home 4 Sense of belonging to the family decreases more and more painfully realises that his attempt to maintain a friendship fails ↳his world collapses/ his confidence vanishes and the stultving momentarily reappears 'he ignores his vales /loses control of his principles • the consequences are much severe and the amount of regret is much higher than it was when he has called a girl "monkey lips" in school FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN LARRY AND WALLACE they are both outcast, rejected from society ›Larry is glad that he has a friend (sense of belonging), but is sceptical and wants to know him first (got betrayed in the past) She is wrong to trust him, nearly costs him his like larry offers Wallace a job as a mechanic > Wallace searches a soulmate because he tries to cope with his murder, wants Carry to trust him and force a false confession out of him › When Wallace does not get what he wants, he becomes aggressive and violent "she watches him playing baseball 'must keep their relation a secret FRIENDSHIP BETWEEN SILAS AND CINDY > first attached to him when he defends her against Cecil they are in love Cindy sees Silas as her ticket out of Chobot ›Silas is sceptical about a Future for them because of their different races • he would need to sacrifice too much BETRAYAL ›Larry calls Silas "nigger" (after a fight forced by his father) which destroys their friendship, the instantly regrets saying it •Silas did not open up about what happened in the night of Cindy's disappearance and let Larry take the blame for it, Larry was ashacized from society for years ›Cindy uses Larry to meet her boyfriend because she knows that he will not refuse to help her 'Carl Of cheated on his wife, he brings shame on Ina by allowing Alice and her son to live on their land •Silas breaks up with Cindy to save his baseball career, Cindy thought he would help her out of her family situation, he let her run away in the down, if he had spoken up, the murderer might have been found "Wallace betrays Larry's friendship, Larry thinks he found, but Wallace only wants his confession to a crime, he kills the Rutherford girl to be Larry's "hero", he tries to destroy Larry by shooting him