At the conclusion of "The Fight," as Dana and Kevin are attempting to "escape" from the Weylin Plantation on horseback, they are stopped by Rufus, who pulls a shotgun on them in a direct echo of the scene in "The River" at the very start of Dana's ordeal, when his father pulls a shotgun on Dana after she saves his son's life. This echo would seem to indicate that Rufus is "becoming his father" to a significant extent as he gets older. Dana explains her repeated willingness to give Rufus the benefit of the doubt as follows: "I kept thinking I knew him, and he kept proving that I didn't" (186).
Please take 5 minutes now to contemplate this scene and its implications in your notebook: Do you understand Dana's ambivalence about Rufus? Do you find him sympathetic at all, or is he utterly despicable? How does he compare to his father? To your idea of a "typical" slaveholder? How do you view his development as a character over the course of Dana's visits?
No comments:
Post a Comment