The story of John Pearson's rise and fall post Civil War. Pearson is a powerful African American preacher who is riddled with weakness and shortcomings. This story is based on Hurston's parents which makes the narrative compelling. Young John leaves his family of sharecroppers by crossing the creek into the wealthier (and whiter) area. Like the saying about being from the wrong side of the tracks, John's youth is spent in a place that is so isolated, there were not even tracks. He is shocked by his first sighting of a locomotive. John falls in love with Lucy Potts, who he marries. Lucy believes in him and makes him a better man but he continues to fall short and can't stop himself from partaking in sins of the flesh. When Lucy dies, he marries Hattie, a woman who is as bad for him as he is for her. Their divorce leads to his expulsion from his church. He moves on and starts over, once again finding a good woman who helps him make something of himself.
I read this book long ago but that was before I knew the back story of the author and the significance of the work. I enjoyed it then but got much more out of it now.
No comments:
Post a Comment