God's Little Acre: Analysis of Major Characters
"God's Little Acre" is a novel that explores the complexities of human desires, relationships, and the pursuit of wealth through its diverse characters, primarily set against the backdrop of a struggling southern farm. At the heart of the story is Ty Ty Walden, an eccentric patriarch fixated on finding gold on his property, which he disruptively mines while neglecting the land’s potential. His eccentricities are paralleled by his son-in-law, Will Thompson, who embodies the struggles of the working class in a company town. Will's tragic fate as a strike leader highlights a commentary on labor struggles, leading to a climactic sacrifice that ignites solidarity among the workers.
The women in the novel, including Griselda, Darling Jill, and Rosamond, navigate their own complex relationships with men, each exhibiting distinct traits that reflect themes of beauty, loyalty, and infidelity. While Griselda captivates the attention of many, her connection to Will complicates the dynamics. Darling Jill's flirtatious nature contrasts with Rosamond’s patience and endurance in the face of her husband's infidelities. Meanwhile, Pluto Swint, Darling Jill’s suitor, represents the complacency and yearning for acceptance amidst rejection. Collectively, the characters in "God's Little Acre" illustrate a rich tapestry of life, struggles, and the often ironic search for fulfillment.
God's Little Acre: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Erskine Caldwell
First published: 1933
Genre: Novel
Locale: Georgia and South Carolina
Plot: Naturalism
Time: The early 1930's
Ty Ty Walden, an eccentric patriarch and sage of the Walden clan. He was a prosperous Georgia cotton farmer with more than one hundred acres, two black sharecroppers, and mules. For the past fifteen years, Ty Ty has been mining for gold on his property. He has destroyed the rich land and the crop with his obsessive search for the precious metal. To ease his conscience, the owner has set aside one acre of the land and dedicated it to God and the church. He frequently moves that acre around the property, however, creating a new location whenever he wishes to dig at the old one. Ty Ty claims not only that gold exists on his land because he has been looking for it all these years but also that he is very scientific about his excavating. His search becomes even more ludicrous when it leads him to kidnap and hold an albino male in the mistaken belief that the hostage will locate the gold for him. Ty Ty loves to philosophize about life: “There was a mean trick played on us somewhere. God put us in the bodies of animals and tried to make us act like people. That was the beginning of trouble.” His two greatest joys in life are digging a new hole for the elusive gold and staring at the female members of his family, particularly when they are undressing.
Will Thompson, Ty Ty's son-in-law, who is married to Ty Ty's daughter Rosamond. Will and Ty Ty are much alike in outlook, philosophy, and vitality. Will likes to drink, fight, and womanize. He openly seduces his sisters-in-law, Darling Jill and the previously unobtainable Griselda. Will is not a farmer like the others but a loom-weaving mill worker who has been on strike for a year and a half. The three Walden brothers openly dislike him and derisively call him “linthead.” He is the symbolic leader of the strikers and angrily resents the American Federation of Labor's strategy of not coming to terms with management. His fury is fueled by living in a company town and by being powerless to end the strike. Will becomes a tragic hero at the end when he leads the disgruntled workers back into the factory and turns on the equipment. He is shot three times in the back by security guards and is killed. His sacrificial death, the dramatic high point of the novel, stirs the workers to take action and brings the three Walden women who loved him closer together.
Griselda Walden, Ty Ty's beautiful daughter-in-law, who is married to a jealous husband, Buck. Ty Ty says of her repeatedly that she is the prettiest girl in Georgia. Men are attracted to her, but she is put off by all of them except Will Thompson, whom she feels is a real man. Griselda openly offers herself to the eager Will in front of his wife and Darling Jill.
Darling Jill Walden, Ty Ty's attractive and openly promiscuous daughter, who flirts with, and seduces, almost every man she meets. Her interest in lovers is momentary, however, and no man can truly claim her. Darling Jill badly mistreats and embarrasses her amiable suitor, Pluto Swint. Resentful of his corpulent appearance, she tells Pluto bluntly that he must lose his large belly. Attracted to the unobtainable Will, she finally promises to marry Pluto one day, but “I'd have to be a few months gone before I'd do that.”
Rosamond Thompson, Ty Ty's other daughter, who is the very patient and long-suffering wife of Will Thompson. She dearly loves her husband and is extremely tolerant of his many love affairs, until she discovers him making love to her sister, Darling Jill, and beats them with a hairbrush. She fires a pistol at her wastrel husband, who leaps out a window and runs naked through the town streets. Rosamond must also suffer Will's open seduction of the willing Griselda. Ultimately, however, she accepts Will's drunkenness, adultery, and inevitable martyrdom.
Pluto Swint, the obese, bald-headed suitor of Darling Jill. He is a candidate for sheriff and worried that he will not be elected. Pluto has absolutely no ambition in life and has done very little work for years. His idea of a good life is to sit around all day and shoot pool, especially if he is elected. He owns a car and manages to get by on the income from a sixty-acre farm that is homesteaded by a black sharecropper. His passion for Darling Jill is overwhelming, and the more she openly abuses him and seduces other men, the more he desires her. Pluto knows that Darling Jill will marry him one day—it is only a matter of time.