The Sheriff's Children by Charles Waddell Chesnutt
"The Sheriff's Children" by Charles Waddell Chesnutt is a poignant short story set in a North Carolina village, highlighting themes of race, identity, and paternal conflict against the backdrop of post-Civil War America. The narrative begins with the shocking murder of a Civil War veteran, which incites a mob eager to lynch a young mulatto suspect, who is ultimately revealed to be the sheriff's son, Tom. The sheriff, a prominent figure in the community, grapples with his own prejudices and the moral implications of his actions as he attempts to protect the frightened young man.
As tensions escalate, Tom confronts his father, expressing deep resentment over his past as a slave and the societal forces that have shaped their lives. The confrontation lays bare the complex dynamics of race, lineage, and the harsh realities of a society still grappling with the consequences of slavery. Tragically, the story concludes with Tom’s death due to neglect, underscoring the tragic consequences of unresolved conflicts and the relentless grip of societal expectations. This narrative invites readers to reflect on issues of justice, familial duty, and the painful legacies of history, making it a powerful exploration of identity and morality in a divided society.
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The Sheriff's Children by Charles Waddell Chesnutt
First published: 1899
Type of plot: Social realism
Time of work: The late nineteenth century
Locale: A county seat in rural North Carolina
Principal Characters:
Colonel Campbell , the protagonist, a county sheriffPolly Campbell , his daughterTom , his illegitimate mulatto son
The Story
An unfamiliar event, the murder of an old Civil War veteran, has roused a placid North Carolina village. Within twenty-four hours, the sheriff and his posse have captured a suspect, a young mulatto, who is unknown to any of them. Disappointed that the preliminary hearing will not take place for another week, a crowd gathers around a whisky jug and plans to lynch the suspect, but Sheriff Campbell, an educated and socially prominent man, is tipped off and proceeds to hold the mob at bay.
After their initial retreat, the sheriff takes up a position in the prisoner's cell as the best position for keeping an eye on the mob. He removes the handcuffs and fetters from his prisoner to give the man a chance in case his protector is killed, although he feels nothing but "contempt and loathing" for the suspect. When a gunshot from the nearby woods whistles through the window and distracts the sheriff, the prisoner seizes a revolver that the law officer, armed with a shotgun, has left on a nearby bench. As the sheriff lays aside his shotgun, the prisoner, regarded as too cowardly and lacking in initiative to pose a threat, takes the sheriff prisoner.
Although he insists that he did not kill the old war veteran but merely stole a coat from him, the young man knows that he has no better chance with a jury than with the mob, and so he forces the sheriff to unlock the cell and front doors and prepares to kill him. When the sheriff exclaims, "You would not kill the man to whom you owe your own life," the prisoner informs him that he has spoken more truth than he realizes, for the young man is the sheriff's own son Tom by one of his slaves from prewar days. Campbell sold the mother and son south to a rice plantation in Alabama. "You gave me a white man's spirit, and you made me a slave, and crushed it out," his son censures him.
He promises not to kill his father if the latter will promise to delay attempts to recapture him until the following morning; when the sheriff hesitates, Tom raises his arm to fire only to have the weapon shot out of his hand by Polly, the sheriff's daughter, who has silently entered the jail during the confrontation. The sheriff binds the wound, tells his son that he will have the doctor attend him more thoroughly in the morning, locks him back up, and goes home to examine his conscience. Rejecting the idea of allowing Tom to escape as incompatible with his duty, he decides to devote all of his energies to securing an acquittal. On his return to the jail in the morning, he discovers that Tom has torn the bandage off his wound and bled to death during the night.
Bibliography
Duncan, Charles. The Absent Man: The Narrative Craft of Charles W. Chesnutt. Athens: Ohio University Press, 1998.
Kulii, Elon A. "Poetic License and Chesnutt's Use of Folklore." CLA Journal 38 (December, 1994): 247-253.
Lehman, Cynthia L. "The Social and Political View of Charles Chesnutt: Reflections on His Major Writings." Journal of Black Studies 26 (January, 1996).
McElrath, Joseph R., Jr., ed. Critical Essays on Charles W. Chesnutt. New York: G. K. Hall, 1999.
McFatter, Susan. "From Revenge to Resolution: The (R)evolution of Female Characters in Chesnutt's Fiction." CLA Journal 42 (December, 1998): 194-211.
McWilliams, Dean. Charles W. Chesnutt and the Fictions of Race. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 2002.
Pickens, Ernestine Williams. Charles W. Chesnutt and the Progressive Movement. New York: Pace University Press, 1994.
Render, Sylvia Lyons. Charles W. Chesnutt. Boston: Twayne, 1980.
Wilson, Matthew. Whiteness in the Novels of Charles W. Chesnutt. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2004.
Wonham, Henry B. Charles W. Chesnutt: A Study of the Short Fiction. New York: Twayne, 1998.