Respond to two of your classmates in not less than 50 words per response. 

1.Describe the condition of the poor white southerners described in this story, and compare their standard of living to what Frederick Douglass says about poor white southerners at the end of chapter IX of his narrative. 

2. Many of the men in the town are still called Major or Captain even after the war is over. Why? What is Chesnutt telling the reader by including this detail? 

3. Why does Tom say that being lynched or going to court is merely "a choice of two ropes"? Compare and contrast the attempted lynching in this story to the laws about killing slaves described in Douglass's autobiography. 

4. At first, why did the sheriff want to protect the prisoner, and later why did he decide to help Tom? 

5. After reading about the history of lynching, would you say that Chesnutt is understated in his references to lynching? Why doesn't he tell the reader more about the gruesome details of lynching? 

6. How could the Sheriff be so dedicated to the law but sell his own child and separate him from his mother? What does Chesnutt mean when he says the Sheriff's conscience was "warped by his environment"? In Douglass's narrative, is Mrs. Auld's conscience warped by her environment. Explain. 

7. Exactly how does the sheriff plan to help Tom? Do you think he is sincere or not? What do you think is the "lesson" or "moral" in the fact that Tom dies before the sheriff has a chance to try to help him? 

8. Why do you think Chesnutt chose to have the character Tom speak in standard English and to have "some education"? 

9. Why is the ending of the story, when Tom dies, ironic? What are some other instances of irony in the story?  

Transcribed Image Text:

Lecture Notes-Sherriff's Children Point of View The story is told from a third person omniscient point of view, which means it is told by a narrator who knows the thoughts and feelings of all the characters and knows all the events, as opposed to a limited narrator who tells the story from the point of view of what one character sees, knows, feels, etc. Notice that the narrator's tone is detached and ironic, with a wry sense of humor. For example, look at this passage: "Well," said a round-shouldered farmer, who, in spite of his peaceable expression and faded grayeye, was known to have been one of the most daring followers of a rebel guerilla chieftain, "what air ye gwine ter to do about it? Ef you fellers air gwine ter set down an' let a wuthless nigger kill the bes' white man in Branson, an' not say nuthin' ner do nothin', I'll move outen the county." This speech gave tone and direction to the rest of the conversation. Whether the fear of losing the round-shouldered farmer operated to bring about the result or not is immaterial to this narrative; but at all events the crowd decided to lynch the Negro. They agreed that this was the least that could be done to avenge the death of their murdered friend, and that it was a becoming way to honor his memory (pages 2-3) The first instance of ironic humor in the passage is this phrase: "Whether the fear of losing the round-shouldered farmer operated to bring about the result or not is immaterial to this narrative." The farmer's threat to move out of the county if they don't agree to lynch the prisoner is clearly an exaggeration, and the idea that they would lawlessly kill a man to keep the farmer from moving out is ridiculous, which makes the narrator's comment intentionally ironic and humorous, not serious. A different kind of irony is at work in the second instance: "They agreed that this was the least that could be done to avenge the death of their murdered friend, and that it was a becoming way to honor his memory." This sentence expresses the true feelings of the lynch mob, but the narrator is pointing out to the reader how ironic it is for the mob to "honor" someone they admired by lynching a man, an action that is completely the opposite of honorable. Language The language spoken by the narrator is standard American English. The members of the lynch mob speak a white southern dialect, and the African Americans in the county speak a black southern dialect. In contrast Tom, the prisoner, and the Sheriff both speak standard American English. The effect of using different dialect is to show that the sherriff and Tom probably have more formal education than the black people in the town and the poor white people in the town. Lecture Notes-Sherriff's Children Point of View The story is told from a third person omniscient point of view, which means it is told by a narrator who knows the thoughts and feelings of all the characters and knows all the events, as opposed to a limited narrator who tells the story from the point of view of what one character sees, knows, feels, etc. Notice that the narrator's tone is detached and ironic, with a wry sense of humor. For example, look at this passage: "Well," said a round-shouldered farmer, who, in spite of his peaceable expression and faded grayeye, was known to have been one of the most daring followers of a rebel guerilla chieftain, "what air ye gwine ter to do about it? Ef you fellers air gwine ter set down an' let a wuthless nigger kill the bes' white man in Branson, an' not say nuthin' ner do nothin', I'll move outen the county." This speech gave tone and direction to the rest of the conversation. Whether the fear of losing the round-shouldered farmer operated to bring about the result or not is immaterial to this narrative; but at all events the crowd decided to lynch the Negro. They agreed that this was the least that could be done to avenge the death of their murdered friend, and that it was a becoming way to honor his memory (pages 2-3) The first instance of ironic humor in the passage is this phrase: "Whether the fear of losing the round-shouldered farmer operated to bring about the result or not is immaterial to this narrative." The farmer's threat to move out of the county if they don't agree to lynch the prisoner is clearly an exaggeration, and the idea that they would lawlessly kill a man to keep the farmer from moving out is ridiculous, which makes the narrator's comment intentionally ironic and humorous, not serious. A different kind of irony is at work in the second instance: "They agreed that this was the least that could be done to avenge the death of their murdered friend, and that it was a becoming way to honor his memory." This sentence expresses the true feelings of the lynch mob, but the narrator is pointing out to the reader how ironic it is for the mob to "honor" someone they admired by lynching a man, an action that is completely the opposite of honorable. Language The language spoken by the narrator is standard American English. The members of the lynch mob speak a white southern dialect, and the African Americans in the county speak a black southern dialect. In contrast Tom, the prisoner, and the Sheriff both speak standard American English. The effect of using different dialect is to show that the sherriff and Tom probably have more formal education than the black people in the town and the poor white people in the town.

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1 The condition of the poor white southeners was far more complex than the popular stereotype of proud aristocrats scorning honest work and ignorant and exploited poor whites It has many small slave o... View the full answer