Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Tobacco Road

Tobacco Road by Erskine Caldwell differs from the other novels that I have read so far; it represents the first quintessential Southern Gothic work of the summer. Indeed, with this novel, I have crossed into the nineteenth century, and, specifically, into the era of The Great Depression. First, let me take a second to marvel at Caldwell's writing. His clarity, honesty, and simplicity reminds me a lot of Carson McCullers; however, Caldwell's voice seems more mature; a bit more transportive. He captures the perpetual stagnation and aimless pursuits of poor whites in the south; a region that has yielded to industrialization and left the Lester family in the dust. The only other novel that I have read by Caldwell is Trouble in July, which presents an insightful look at race relations, but doesn't exactly develop in the Gothic tradition. However, Tobacco Road does.

The desolate and barren fields, obsolete tobacco route, and rickety sharecropping shack provides the decaying setting for the novel to unfold. It is interesting to note that the "house" the Lesters share burns down killing both the patriarch and matriarch of the family; an ode to "The Fall of the House of Usher." Additionally, Caldwell introduces physically grotesque characters who, in the same spirit of the bleak environment, represent haunting marginal sights for the audience: Sister Bessie's profound nostrils, Ellie Mae's cleft palate, and the Lester's collective emaciation.

The Lester family, specifically Jeeter Lester, seem to also be a tad insane. Jeeter's attachment to the agrarian lifestyle restrains him from transplanting his family to Augusta in order to find work in the mills. Instead, he clings to the notion that, one day, someone will provide him with the credit to purchase the bare necessities needed to turn a profit on his crop. This notion will never come to fruition because of the harsh economic times and because of the Lester's reputation. As a result of no income, his family is slowly starving to death, although they do receive an occasional cracker, sardine, and turnip. Their starvation causes them to loose control of their mental faculties; they become extremely cut-throat and savagely in their behavior. Thus, violence between the family members erupts in a survival of the fittest challenge where, usually, the women receive the leftover scraps from their male relatives. However, I must admit that the family brawl over the sack of turnips was ridiculously amusing.

Religious fanaticism also adds to the mild mental derangement of the Lesters. Jeeter is able to justify any vile deed—committed against family, friend, or foe— by simply repenting his actions to the Lord. He fears God, but when push comes to shove, he acts in his own best interest, not his family’s, and finds himself going through the motions: acknowledging his actions, repenting, and dreading the repercussions.

Tobacco Road, above all, provides fascinating accounts of oppression in regards to women. Caldwell portrays each of the Lester women as females who are perpetually trapped. They are virtually figure-heads: women who were bequeathed to suitors who desired to find a wife and start a family. This certainly proves true in Ada and Pearl’s case. Ada shows her marital dissatisfaction with Jeeter by refusing to speak to him for years. Jeeter expects her to bore his children, maintain the house, and follow his direction for the family. However, Ada remarks that she wants to go to Augusta, which illustrates her desire to escape the horror of Tobacco Road. It seems that Grandmother Lester shares the same story, and Pearl is destined to suffer the same fate. Jeeter is so broke that he is willing to exchange his thirteen-year-old daughter, Pearl, to Lov Bensey for food. Pearl is a child robbed of her innocence, and she shows her confusion by refusing to talk, acknowledge, or even look at her new husband. It is true that Lov shows more sympathy to Pearl than Jeeter ever did; however, he gradually becomes angered by Pearl’s lack of desire to consummate their marriage. Lov, the tactful problem-solver, eventually proposes tying her the bed in order to relieve his sexual frustration with her. Additionally, Grandmother Jeeter lives in a world in which she is nothing more than a neglected shadow. She is always in the background: living vicariously through her relatives; however, she is rarely acknowledged, and is eventually fatally hit by Sister Bessie’s car. Caldwell uses Grandmother Jeeter to illustrate how society disregards the elderly, although they have much to teach. However, on a broader note, Tobacco Road provides haunting portrayals of neglected women, who are, essentially, born into a stifling bondage, and fail to possess any means of escape.

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