"Retreat", 34 (Event)

Submitted by jburgers@gc.cuny.edu on Sun, 2015-03-29 23:15
Text: 
"Retreat"
Location: 
Sartoris Plantation in "Retreat" (Location)
Page Number: 
34
Order within Page: 
3
First 8-10 words of event: 
until Granny stopped and began to shake her. "Hush!"
Page Event Ends: 
36
Era: 
Civil War (1861-1865)
Characters Present: 
Joby
Loosh
Louvinia
Rosa Millard
Philadelphy
Ringo
Bayard Sartoris
Unnamed Union Cavalry
Characters Mentioned: 
Colonel John Sartoris
Narrative Status: 
Narrated
Date: 
Thursday, July 9, 1863 to Monday, August 31, 1863
Notes: 

In the conclusion of the story Loosh reveals to the Union soldiers where the silver is buried in order to buy his freedom. When "Granny" Rosa confronts him by saying it was not his to give, he replies, "Let the man that buried me in the black dark ax that of the man what dug me free" (35). Loosh and Philadelphy leave. After which Ringo, Bayard, and Granny return to the house to watch it burn, while screaming "The bastuds" (36).

Summary: 

The Yankees have set fire to the Sartoris mansion, but Granny seems even more upset that Loosh has told them where the silver is buried. She upbraids him, but he asserts his rights and, in a bid for freedom, leaves with his wife Philadelphy to follow the Union troops. Helplessly, Granny and the boys watch the house burn.

Chronological Order: 
57.00
Indeterminate Date Range: 
Keywords: 
House, Fire Self-Emancipation Freedom
Cultural Issues:
Slavery›Biblical analogy | Slavery›Loyalty | Slavery›Resistance | Slavery›Self-emancipation | War›Violence against civilians
Themes and Motifs:
Absence/Loss›Money|Wealth | Home›Destroyed
Relationships:
Familial›Husband-wife
Aesthetics:
Allusion, Biblical›Jordan | Diction›African American vernacular dialect

digyok:node/event/7359