The Rock Cried Out: Analysis of Major Characters
"The Rock Cried Out: Analysis of Major Characters" delves into the intricacies of several pivotal characters set against the backdrop of the American South during the tumultuous 1960s and early 1970s. The protagonist, Alan McLaurin, is a conscientious objector who grapples with the haunting memory of his cousin Phoebe's tragic death, which significantly influences his relationships and reflections. Phoebe, characterized by her beauty and potential, becomes a symbol of lost promise for Alan. Dallas Boykin, a Vietnam veteran, struggles with his past and ultimately confronts his guilt surrounding Phoebe's death, revealing deeper themes of redemption and spiritual conflict.
Other key figures include Miriam West, Alan's girlfriend who becomes entangled with another character, and Sam Daniels, a caretaker whose life is deeply affected by the societal changes around him. Through these characters, the narrative explores themes of love, loss, guilt, and the quest for personal truth amidst a changing world. Each character's journey is interwoven with the historical and cultural tensions of the era, highlighting the complexities of human experience and connection in the face of tragedy.
The Rock Cried Out: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: Ellen Douglas
First published: 1979
Genre: Novel
Locale: Homochitto County, Mississippi
Plot: Realism
Time: The 1960's and the 1970's
Alan McLaurin, the narrator of the story. Alan is twenty-nine years old in 1978, the year he records the events of two earlier years, 1964 and 1971. At the time of the main action of the novel, 1971, Alan is twenty-two, a conscientious objector, a college dropout, and a would-be poet. He has returned to Mississippi to take up residence on his family's land at Chickasaw Ridge. Haunted by the death of his older cousin, Phoebe, Alan has left behind Miriam, the girlfriend who reminds him of his lost love. During the course of a few months spent in the remoteness of Chickasaw, Alan is reunited with several people connected with the fateful summer of 1964. After Miriam and his aunt join him at the farm, he learns the truth about his cousin's death. The narrative he creates seven years after the events of 1971 records his reactions at the time and his more mature reflections several years later.
Phoebe Chipman, Alan's beautiful and gifted cousin. Her death in a fiery automobile accident in the summer of 1964 has been a constant burden for Alan, who thought that Phoebe was destined to achieve great things.
Dallas Boykin, a pulp wood cutter. Dallas, a Vietnam veteran who says that he learned to enjoy killing during the war, has returned to Chickasaw, married a young woman from a nearby town, fathered a child, and, from all appearances, settled down. Dallas feels oppressed because he cannot achieve a religious experience that will bring him peace. He finally makes his spiritual breakthrough by confessing his role in Phoebe's death: He fired the shot that caused the accident that took her life.
Miriam West, Alan's Northern girlfriend. After she arrives at Chickasaw, she becomes romantically involved with Alan's boyhood acquaintance, Lee, and eventually deserts Alan to accompany Lee to New Orleans.
Lindsay Lee Boykin, Dallas Boykin's younger brother. He has also returned to Chickasaw in the winter of 1971. Lee, as he now prefers to be called, has been living in New Orleans, where he has become a hippie. His long hair and flamboyant clothing, as well as his attempts to interview and photograph the country people of Chickasaw for a projected newspaper article, bring him trouble. After he learns the truth about his mother's origins, he flees back to the city, taking Miriam with him.
Sam Daniels, a middle-aged black man. Sam, who taught the youthful Alan about life in the country, lives on the McLaurin farm as a caretaker. He is at the wheel the night that the fatal accident involving Phoebe and Timmie, his wife, takes place. Later, despondent over civilization's encroachments on his beloved woods, Sam attacks a satellite tracking station. Sentenced to a prison term, he attempts to escape and is shot by the sheriff. Now paroled, he seems to Alan to be diminished both physically and spiritually from the strong personality he once was.
Timmie Daniels, Sam's wife. She is killed with Phoebe in the accident near Mercy Seat Church.
Leila McLaurin, Alan's aunt. She comes to Chickasaw to serve as chaperon for Alan and Miriam. A free-spirited woman who has created a new life and business for herself after her divorce, she reveals to Alan and Miriam that she and Sam once had an affair.
Noah Daniels, Sam's father and patriarch of the black community at Chickasaw. Noah provides information to Alan about the McLaurin family's past.
Lorene Boykin, Dallas Boykin's young wife. Lorene is an intensely religious woman who believes that she is possessed by the Holy Spirit. She urges her husband to give up his life to the Spirit, and her insistence that he “come through” pushes him into making his confession about Phoebe's death.
Lester Chipman, Phoebe's father and Alan's uncle. A conservative and conventional man, he still grieves for his lost daughter. His refusal to listen to Dallas Boykin's confession contributes to Dallas'choosing to admit his guilt on a citizens band radio broadcast.
Calhoun Levitt, a black man whose family has owned land at Chickasaw for many years. His story about the Boykins, told to Alan, Miriam, and Lee during a taping session for Lee's projected newspaper article, causes Lee to leave Chickasaw.
Gene Hamm, Dallas and Lee Boykin's maternal grandfather. Calhoun Levitt relates the story of Hamm's arrival at Chickasaw in December, 1933. Hamm, an idealistic preacher with progressive ideas, envisions a racially mixed South. He is killed after discussing his ideals with a pair of local white men.
Frances Hamm, Gene Hamm's wife. She dies of a fever shortly after her husband's murder. Before her death, she delivers her little girl to Calhoun Levitt for safekeeping.
Mrs. Mac Boykin, the daughter of Gene and Frances Hamm and the mother of Dallas and Lee Boykin. After being orphaned, she is adopted by the Boykin family. Eventually, she marries one of her stepfather's sons, Mac. Shortly before her death in the summer of 1964, she informs the Federal Bureau of Investigation about Ku Klux Klan activity in the Chickasaw area.
Mac Boykin, the father of Dallas and Lee Boykin. During the summer of 1964, Boykin is active in the Ku Klux Klan. He carries his sons to Klan meetings and assigns them to spy on a civil rights meeting at Mercy Seat Church; as a result of his involvement, Dallas causes the deaths of Phoebe and Timmie.
Henry Levitt, the brother of Calhoun Levitt. While drunk, Henry encounters Lee Boykin in a country store at Chickasaw. Alan is forced to intervene to save Lee, who has been surreptitiously photographing Henry and his brother, from violence.