Lucius

Lucius is what would be called a house slave rather than a field slave; i.e. like his wife Philadelphia, his work brings him into regular contact with the Sartorises. While the other slaves in the story seem entirely loyal to the white family they serve, "something," as Bayard puts it, "had happened to Lucius" when the Civil War began (669). That "something" is the possibility of emancipation: he is reported as saying that he plans "to be long gone" as soon as the Yankee army arrives in Yoknapatawpha (669). Granny treats his aspirations with sarcastic contempt, referring to him as "all the free men" on the plantation (669), and offering him "all Yankeedom to move around in" (670). Bayard's narrative treats his aspirations with dismissive comedy: after the Yankees do arrive, Lucius is sent on an errand - and gets lost for four days (690). (In The Unvanquished, where he is called "Loosh," his desire for freedom is treated a bit more seriously, though in the end, as in this story, he returns to his prescribed place in the Sartoris household.)