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that telling the truth will shock Delamere and affect Delamere’s health. That he prefers being lynched to causing death of his master shows that he loves his master.
The quotation also shows that Sandy is religious because he believes that God will look after him so he is not scared even if he has to die in the prison.
Sandy is a good servant. It can be seen when John Delamere says to him: “You have been a good servant and a good friend” Chesnutt, 2002: 170. Therefore,
Sandy is a good servant because his master considered him to be “a good servant and a good friend.”
Sandy is an honest, faithful, and trustworthy man. It is revealed when John Delamere does not believe that Sandy is a murderer:
Carteret, what is all this talk about lynching my man for murder and robbery and criminal assault? It ’s perfectly absurd The man was raised by me; he has
lived in my house forty years. He has been honest, faithful, and trustworthy. He would no more be capable of this crime than you would Chesnutt, 2002:
172.
The above quotation reveals that Sandy is honest, faithful, and trustworthy so it is impossible for him to commit the murder.
2. The Description of Josh Green
Josh Green is “a black giant” who “for many years had worked on the docks for Miller’s father” Chesnutt, 2002: 112. Therefore, Josh Green is a big black man
who has worked for Dr. Miller’s father for many years. Josh is tall, big, and strong. It can be seen when in the riot, white men admire
him: “Josh Green, the tallest and biggest of them all, had not apparently been touched. Some of the crowd paused in involuntary admiration of this black giant,
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famed on the wharves for his strength…” Chesnutt, 2002: 234. Thus, Josh is a tall, big, and strong man.
Josh chooses a violent way that is fighting to defend his right. It is revealed when Dr. Miller sees that Josh walks into the hospital with “a broken arm hanging
limply by his side.” When Dr. Miller asks him whether or not he has been fighting again, Josh answers: “No, suh, I don’ s’pose you could ha’dly call it a fight. One er
dem dagoes off’n a Souf American boat gimme some er his jaw, an’ I give ’im a back answer, an’ here I is wid a broken arm. He got holt er a belayin’-pin befo’ I could hit
’im” Chesnutt, 2002: 112. When Dr. Miller asks him what became of the other man, he answers:
Dey tuck him ter de Marine Horspittle in de amberlance, ‘cause his leg wuz broke, an’ I reckon somethin’ must ’a’ accident’ly hit ’im in de jaw, fer he wuz
scattr’rin’ teeth all de way ’long de street. I did n’ wan’ ter kill de man, fer he might have somebody dependin’ on ’im, an’ I knows how dat ’d be ter dem.
But no man kin call me damn low-down nigger and keep on enjoyin’ good health right along Chesnutt, 2002: 112.
The above quotations reveal that Josh fights to defend his right. He fights against people who attack him and who insult him. He fights so that there is no man who can
call him “damn low-down nigger.” That Josh fights to defend the right of his and his race is also revealed when
Sandy Campbell is going to be lynched. He wants to prevent the lynching by fighting: But look a-here, Mr. Watson, — Dr. Miller, is we-all jes’ got ter set down
here, widout opening’ ou’ mouths, an’ let dese w’ite folks hang er bu’n a man w’at we
know ain’t guilty? Dat ain’t no law, ner jestice, ner nothin’ Ef you-all won’t he’p, I ’ll do somethin’ myse’f Dere ’s two niggers ter one white man
in dis town, an’ I ’m sho’ I kin fin’ fifty of ’em w’at ’ll fight, ef dey kin fin’ anybody ter lead ’em Chesnutt, 2002: 160.
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The above quotation shows that Josh wants to fight to prevent the lynching. Josh is not going to do it alone; he will mobilize fifty black people to fight against the
lynching. The quotation also shows that Josh is an unwise man. It is because if he mobilizes fifty black people, there will be “a clash” and “instead of one dead negro
there ’d be fifty” Chesnutt, 2002: 160. Josh is truculent. It is revealed when Dr. Miller, Watson, and Josh gather at Dr.
Miller’s house to find a way to prevent the lynching of Sandy Campbell. They are going to meet some white men who might want to prevent the lynching. However,
Watson advises Dr. Miller to leave Josh at Dr. Miller’s house because he is too truculent: “We ’d better leave Josh here. He ’s too truculent. If we went on the street
he ’d make trouble, and if he accompanied us he ’d do more harm than good. Wait for us here, Josh, until we ’ve seen what we can do. We ’ll be back in half an hour”
Chesnutt, 2002: 162. The quotation shows that Josh is too truculent — he will make trouble if he accompanies Watson and Dr. Miller to find some white men who might
want to prevent the lynching. Josh wants to die in a quarrel with a white man. It can be seen when he says to
Dr. Miller: “I expec’s ter die a vi’lent death in a quarrel wid a w’ite man. An’ fu’thermo’, he ’s gwine ter die at the same time, er a little befo’. I be’n takin’ my own
time ’bout killin’ ’im Chesnutt, 2002: 112. The quotation shows that Josh wants to kill a white man and that he has been waiting to do it for a long time. It also shows
that he wants to die at the same time with the death of the white man.
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Josh asks Dr. Miller whether or not he remembers the Ku Klux Klan. Then he tells a story by which he tells who the white man whom he wants to kill is:
One night a crowd er w’ite men come ter ou’ house an’ tuck my daddy out an’ shot ’im ter death, an’ skeered my mammy so she ain’ be’n herse’f f’m dat
day ter dis. I wa’n’t mo’ ’n ten years ole at de time, an’ w’en my mammy seed de w’ite men comin’, she tol’ me ter run. I hid in de bushes an’ seen de whole
thing, an’ it wuz branded on my mem’ry, suh, like a red-hot iron bran’s de skin. De w’ite folks had masks on, but one of ’em fell off — he wuz de boss,
he wuz de head man, an’ tol’ de res w’at ter do, — an’ I seen his face. It wuz a easy face ter ’member; an’ I swo’ den, ’way down deep in my hea’t, little ez I
wuz, dat some day er ’nother I ’d kill dat man. I ain’ never had no doubt erbout it; it ’s jus’ w’at I ’m livin’ fer Chesnutt, 2002: 113.
The quotation tells that the white man whom Josh wants to kill is the leader of the Ku Klux Klan who killed his father and who made his mother crazy. The quotation also
shows that killing the Ku Klux Klan leader is his aim in life. That Josh Green’s aim in life is killing the leader of the Ku Klux Klan is
confirmed by Dr. Miller: Here was a negro who could remember an injury, who could shape his life to a
definite purpose, if not a high or holy one. When his race reached the point where they would resent a wrong, there was hope that they might soon attain
the stage where they would try, and, if need be, die, to defend a right. This man, too, had a purpose in life, and was willing to die that he might
accomplish it Chesnutt, 2002: 114.
Therefore, the reason why Josh Green’s aim in life is killing the leader of the Ku Klux Klan even if he has to die to accomplish it is because he wants to “defend a right” as a
black person whose father was murdered by Ku Klux Klan. Josh Green hates white people. It is revealed when he says to Dr. Miller:
A w’ite man kin do w’at he wants ter a nigger, but de minute de nigger gits back at ’im, up goes de nigger, an’ don’ come down tell somebody cuts ’im
down. If a nigger gits a’ office, er de race ’pears ter be prosperin’ too much, de
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w’ite folks up an’ kills a few, so dat de res’ kin keep on fergivin’ an’ bein’ thankful dat dey ’re lef’ alive. Don’ talk ter me ’bout dese w’ite folks, — I
knows ’em, I does Ef a nigger wants ter git down on his marrow-bones, an’ eat dirt, an’ call ’em ‘marster,’
he’s a good nigger, dere ’s room fer him. But I ain’ no w’ite folks’ nigger, I ain’. I don’ call no man ‘marster’ Chesnutt,
2002: 115.
The quotation reveals that Josh Green hates white people. It is because they treat black people badly. Another reason why Josh hates white people is because they kill
black people who are prosperous. Moreover, white people only like black people who call them “master.” It means that white people think that black people are not
equal to them. The quotation also reveals that Josh refuses to call white people “master.”
Josh is a brave man. It is revealed when Dr. Miller thinks that “Josh had a reputation for absolute fearlessness” Chesnutt, 2002: 112. That Josh is brave is also
revealed when the riot is happening. He is with his group that consists of some black men who want to fight against white people:
De w’ite folks are killin’ de niggers, an’ we ain’ gwine ter stan’ up an’ be shot down like dogs. We ’re gwine ter defen’ ou’ lives, an’ we ain’ gwine ter run
away f’m no place where we ’ve got a right ter be; an’ woe be ter de w’ite man w’at lays han’s on us Dere ’s two niggers in dis town ter eve’y w’ite
man, an’ ef we ’ve got ter be kilt, we ’ll take some w’ite folks ’long wid us, ez sho’ ez dere ’s a god in heaven Chesnutt, 2002: 217.
The quotation shows that Josh is brave because he is not afraid to die in attempt to defend the right of black people. He does not want white people to shoot black people
‘only’ because black people do nothing against them. Therefore, Josh is brave and always wants to defend the right of black people.
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` That Josh is brave can also be seen when Dr. Miller says to him that his group
“are rushing on to certain death” and then Josh answers: “Well, suh, maybe we is; but we ’re gwine ter die fightin’. Dey say de w’ite folks is gwine ter bu’n all de cullud
schools an’ chu’ches, an’ kill all de niggers dey kin ketch. Dey ’re gwine ter bu’n yo’ new hospittle, ef somebody don’ stop ’em” Chesnutt, 2002: 225. The quotation tells
that Josh is brave because he is not afraid to die when he is fighting to protect black people’s property.
Josh has leadership characteristic. It is revealed when his group is protecting black people’s property and a group of white men “were following them at a short
distance”: “Josh, with the eye of a general, perceived that some of his party were becoming a little nervous, and decided that they would feel safer behind shelter”
Chesnutt, 2002: 228. Therefore, Josh has leadership characteristic because he can make a decision that is good for his men that is going inside the hospital so they can
be safe while protecting the building. Josh is a man who never gives up. When the leader of the crowd of white men
and the murderer of his father, Captain McBane, tells him to give up or his group will “be shot like dogs,” Josh answers:
Dat ‘s no news, Mr. White Man. We ‘re use’ ter bein’ treated like dogs by men like you. If you w’ite people will go ’long an’ ten’ ter yo’ own business an’ let
us alone, we ’ll ten’ ter ou’n. You ’ve got guns, an’ we ’ve got jest as much right ter carry ’em as you have. Lay down yo’n, an’ we ’ll lay down ou’n,—
we did n’ take ’em up fust; but we ain’ gwine ter let you bu’n down ou’ chu’ches an’ school’ouses, er dis hospittle, an’ we ain’ comin’ out er dis
house, where we ain’ disturbin’ nobody, fer you ter shoot us down er sen’ us ter jail. You hear me” Chesnutt, 2002: 230.
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The quotation shows that Josh refuses to give up although he is threatened that he and his men will be shot down. He prefers taking the risk of being shot to giving up
because he does not let the white men burn down black people’s churches, schools, and hospitals. Therefore, Josh is a man who never gives up and who always wants to
defend the right of black people. That Josh never gives up is also revealed when the hospital is being burned
and “one or two” members of his group “had already been killed, and as many more disabled.” He exclaims:
Men — fer nobody but men would do w‘at you have done, — the day has gone ’g’inst us. We kin see ou’ finish; but fer my part, I ain’ gwine ter leave
dis worl’ widout takin’ a w’ite man ’long wid me, an’ I sees my man right out yonder waitin’, — I be’n waitin’ fer him twenty years, but he won’ have ter
wait fer me mo’ ’n ’bout twenty seconds. Eve’y one er you pick yo’ man We ’ll open de do’ an’ we ’ll give some w’ite men a chance ter be sorry dey ever
started dis fuss Chesnutt, 2002: 233.
Although Josh knows that his group does not have a chance to win the battle, he does not give up; he even tells his men to keep fighting. Therefore, Josh never gives up
although he is in a difficult situation. That Josh never gives up can also be seen when he is shot:
Like a wedge he dashed through the mob, which parted instinctively before him, and all oblivious of the rain of lead which fell around him, reached the
point where Captain McBane, the bravest man in the party, stood waiting to meet him. A pistol-flame flashed in his face, but he went on, and raising his
powerful right arm, buried his knife to the hilt in the heart of his enemy Chesnutt, 2002: 234.
Although Josh is shot, he keeps walking toward Captain McBane and jabs his knife into McBane’s heart. Thus, even though he knows that he will die soon, he never
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gives up and he can still do what he wants to do in his life that is killing the murderer of his father.
3. The Description of Jerry Letlow
