Crooked Letter Crooked Letter
Crooked Letter Crooked Letter
Crooked Letter Crooked Letter
MISSISSIPPI
LARRY OTT
Forty-one years old
Leads a lonely life on an isolated farm somewhere in Mississippi (it was one mile to
his nearest neighbor)
It is the farm he inherited from his parents
A single man (no wife or children)
His father has died; his mother lives in a nearby nursing home, suffering from
Alzheimer’s disease
although Larry’s parents are no longer physically or mentally present in Larry’s life,
he seems to have (or have had) a close bond to both of them
Father:
Larry pursues the same trade as his father: works as a mechanic
He runs the garage he inherited from his father,
Continues to drive his father’s Ford pickup and his tractor;
He wears the same type of clothing as his father did, e.g. his steel-toed work shoes
this suggest that Larry probably was closely attached to his father, that he admired
him and therefore cherishes (in Ehren halten, schätzen) his memory
Mother:
Larry cares for her as far as possible
On her good days he visits her, takes food and also a photo album to the nursing
home because he has been told that reviving the past helps to activate her memory
we gain the impression that Larry’s childhood and youth still play a major role in
his present-day life
Larry works as a mechanic, but “only in theory” as there are no customers to his
repair shop (apart from some Mexicans staying in the motel across the street)
Larry keeps his premises (house and surroundings) in good condition; his farm is well-
kept, neat and orderly
On the farm he devotes much attention to the care of his chickens
Larry even constructed a movable pen so that they can have fresh food every day,
He addresses them as “ladies” as if they were human beings
the reader feels that Larry’s hens replace his family and friends
He follows a very repetitive daily routine; the course of his day is highly predictable
perhaps his rigorous daily routine helps Larry to gain stability and provide him
with a feeling of belonging ho his home and surroundings
Usually there are no calls on his cell phone and there is hardly any mail in his mailbox
apart from bill and a package of books from his book club from time to time
His bedroom is “piled (aufgehäuft, aufgetürmt) with paperbacks”, which shows that
he must be an avoid (eifrig, begeistert) reader
Larry has few visitors apart from some teenagers harassing him by night and his only
friend Wallace Stingfellow
Outward appearance:
His hair is still brown and choppy as he cut it himself; his beard, however, is already
beginning to turn grey
As a child he used to be chubby but now his face is lean
Due so some incident in the past Larry is no longer allowed to own a firearm
The police regard him as a “person of interest” (i.e. he is suspected of having
committed a crime) and therefore keep him under close observation; from time to
time Chief investigator French calls on him to search his house
Larry endures (ertragen, aushalten) these visitations without protest although he
perceives (empfinden, wahrnehmen) them as “unnerving”
He shows understanding because “If he’d been missing a daughter, he’d come here
too.” “Sure, he understood.”
From his childhood days Larry had kept a monster mask hidden in his closet
Also, he has sympathy for monsters “because all monsters were misunderstood”
When Larry is shot in his house by an intruder wearing his own monster mask Larry
does not defend himself but he opens his hands
Furthermore “he didn’t get to deny adducting the Rutherford girl last week or Cindy
Walker twenty-five years ago.”
He then willingly accepts to die: “Okay with Larry.”
CHAPTER 2
THE SETTING
Chabot – little town in the American south
About 500 inhabitants
Description of the town center ≜ Silas’s view from his office in the town hall
Chabot’s only have two full-time employees
o Miss Voncille, the town clark
o Silas Jones, the Constable
both their jobs are financed by the owners of the lumber mill.
FOURTEENTH AVENUE
Somewhere outside Chabot lies ‘Fourteenth Avenue’
an unkempt (=ungepflegt), squalid (=verwahrlost) living area with a few primitive
houses and some trailers
inhabited by poor, uneducated whites so-called ‘rednecks’, i.e. the lowest social
class / the dregs of society
Silas thinks of it as ‘white trash Avenue’
The Residents’ lives are determined by neglect, unemployment, a lack of future
perspectives, dilapidation (=Verfall), delinquency (=Kriminalität)
L A R R Y O T T (subsequent chapters)
He is one of the ‘usual suspects’ for chief investigation Roy French because he is
believed to have something to do with Cindy Walker’s disappearance 25 years ago
Larry took her out to a drive-in movie but she has never returned home however, he
has never confessed having committed a crime
His house is full of horror books
Voncille calls him ‘Psycho’ (short form of ‘psychopath’)
Roy French refers to him as ‘Norman Bates’ (a pathological killer of woman in the
movie ‘Psycho’)
Angie labels him as ‘Scary Larry’
Larry attended the same school as Silas
In contrast to Silas he didn’t play basketball but spent his time reading books
Silas knows he opens his workshop “regular as clockwork” even though he has never
had any local customer since he took over after his father’s death
Silas describes him as taller and thinner than during his childhood, thin a thin face
and tight lips
As a child he looked somewhat slow (his mouth always hung open) although he
wasn’t; he was smart, knew weird things: he had a special fascination for snakes and
possessed unusual knowledge about them
Due to Larry’s resemblance with his mother’s brother, his uncle Colin refers to him as
‘my little doppelgänger’
Larry has inherited Colin’s soft and feminine appearance and behavior as well as his
hanging shoulders and rather fat physique
Altogether Larry is a quite sickly boy, suffering from asthma and various allergies.
Besides, he undergoes a period of stuttering.
SILAS JONES
CHAPTER 3
Difficult relationship with his violet, redneck father Carl
Carl always picks up a black women (Alice) and her son (Silas) on his way to drop
Larry off at school
Alice and Silas have no winter coats and are shivering the cold
Larry gets aware of “how unusual, inappropriate it was for black people to be getting
out of a white man’s truck”
Larry is one of the few white students at Chabot’’ mostly black school (result of
government-mandated racial integration)
Pickups of Silas and his mother stop after Larry’s mother Ina found out about them
she herself drops Larry one day and hands Alice and Silas coats with the comment
“You’ve never minded using other people’s things”
After that incident, Carl completely stops picking up Alice and her son
Larry as overweight, neither athletic or mechanical kid, tries to gain his father’s love
by helping him with his garage
Larry loves listening to Carl’s racist stories
creates illusion of being happy when listening to stories
When one day Larry takes a rifle from his father and heads into the forest, he passes
Cindy Walker’s home (has romantic / sexual fantasies with her)
Flashback: Larry made a racist comment to a black girl at school because he wanted
to be a part of a group of popular boys, gets attacked by that girl and other black
students
Larry ends up in front of Silas’ and Alice’ shack, Silas discovers him and they shake
hand, form some kind of relationship over Alice’s car and Larry’s rifle, Larry allows
Silas to shoot it and lets Silas borrow it for some time
Silas is grateful for that rifle as a means to secure food
T H E C O N S E Q U E N C E S O F S O C I A L R E J E C T I O N (Larry Ott)
CAUSES
Bullied by black boys and ridiculed by white because he doesn’t is the stereo typical
white boy
Passion for books, sick as a child
No talent for mechanics, feminine, compared to his uncle who is his dad despises
ATTEMPS TO COPE
Tries to please his father by laughing at his racist jokes
Sneaks around Cindy’s house
Tries to impress white boys by calling Jackie “Monkey Lips”
Tries to hard to be a part of a group get’ used for amusements
Makes contact with Silas through his rifle
CONSEQUENCES
Still ignored by his father
Tricked by white boys
alone again
gets even more angry
changes behavior -> still rejected
After his unlucky jump from the swings Carl even gives him a belt whipping for having torn
his clothes
CHAPTER 4
Call from Angie, Larry has been shot but is still alive
Silas heads over to Larry’s house and stars investigating
Takes not of the blood and the gust left on the floor where Larry’s body was found
Place hasn’t changed in the past 20 years
Chief French arrives and starts more formal investigation
Silas preserves footprints and tire tracks
Notices the beer in Larry’s fridge (weird because Larry didn’t drink)
Larry wasn’t allowed to have or carry guns
Message on Silas’ answering machine from Larry, sent the night before, hinting to
something important that he wanted to talk about with Silas
CHAPTER 5
First day of summer holiday, Larry anticipates going to high school in fall and hopes
not being bullied anymore
Starts mowing the lawn, reflects on the time he has spent with Silas in spring
Larry visits Silas at the cabin in the woods after he is done mowing the lawn, watches
Silas practicing baseball
The both watch Cindy Walker sunbathing
Incident: Carl and Cecil try to take off her towel when she comes outside after having
taken a shower
Silas intervenes, telling them to stop but running away when they come after him
Larry just watches and hides, goes back to search for Silas who started to play
baseball again
In the night, Carl asks Larry for the rifle that he borrowed, Larry denies having it, is
bullied into admitting that he gave it to Silas
Larry’s mother interrupts, asking Carl how long Alice and Silas will be allowed to stay
in the cabin
Carl storms out
Later on, Larry’s mother is praying to God for Larry to find “a special friend” as
always, not aware that Larry had already found that one in his mind
Next day, Larry visits Silas again, realizes that Carl has followed him
Carl – drunk – wants to get his rifle back from Silas
Wants Silas and Larry to fight over to rifle, both initially refuse, but are bullied in
doing so by Carl
Larry stammers again (a habit that he had actually grown out of) and begs Silas to let
him go
Carl cheers Silas on who continues to hold Larry down
Larry calls Silas a “nigger” due to his frustration
Silas lets him go, gets the rifle and Larry notices the same anger in Silas’ eyes as he
saw in the black girl’s at school
Silas flees and “Larry was left alone, on the ground, in the weeds, with his father”
CHAPTER 6
Silas us eating breakfast at his favorite restaurant and starts investigations afterwards
Begins at Larry’s shop, recalls returning for his mother’s funeral, driving past Larry’s
shop, noticing Larry looking out the window at the street, not paying attention to him
– and doing exactly the same thing when he (Silas) is on his way back home after
clearing out his mother’s house
Goes to Larry’s house and collects more evidence: broken glass from a windshield as
he assumes, some tracks from a four-wheel drive, and the butt end of a marijuana
cigarette
Feeds the chickens
Goes through Larry’s old magazines, remembering seeing some of them when he and
Larry were friends; goes through the attic and discovers several papers including
contracts for the sale of parts of Larry’s land to the Rutherfords; bills for a cell phone;
and a shoebox of photographs
Phone bill is weird, only ever called one number
Box of photos: Silas takes note of how time is moving backwards in the photos to
when Larry was a baby – held on Alice’s lap
PAST
Silas remembers his life at the age of 13: a relatively good life in an all-black
community in Chicago, a good school, but a bad boyfriend for his mother, whose
arrest led them to sell all their belongings and disappearance to Chabot
Silas is reluctant in going to the South
Long bus ride to the South, afterwards Silas and his mother ride along with a bus
driver who seems to want sexual favors from Alice and who helps Alice when Silas
attempts to run away and when they are being robbed (including their coats)
Alice and Silas end up in Chabot making their way to the house in the wood
PRESENT
Silas’ reaction to the photo of his mother with Larry, noticing that her smile was the
one “she used around white people, not the one he remembered when she was
genuinely happy”
Gets a call from Angie who wants to meet him for lunch, feels that Silas is different
Silas agrees
Is “vaguely aware he was stealing evidence from a crime scene” but is not fazed by it
since “the only ghosts here knew the secrets already”
CHILDHOOD IN CHICAGO
lives with his mother Alice and her boyfriend Oliver in a small house
has his own room with a TV
gets hot food everyday
plays baseball with other boys
attends a decent school
On the journey Silas and Alice have lost all their belongings
Now they ate at the bottom of the social scale
Disturbed mother-son relationship
Confronted with open racism against blacks for the first time; Silas is not familiar with
the codes of behavior between white and blacks
The journey is a turning point in Silas’ life, he has been uprooted, deprived of belongings
CHAPTER 7
16-year-old Larry tells his parents about his date with Cindy Walker
Flashback: it was Cindy who had asked him out
Days between her invitation and the actual date: Larry is both excited and nervous,
makes friends with guys at school who used to bully him (are impressed about his
date)
Larry is assaulted by Cecil when he picks up Cindy
Cindy insists on driving Larry’s mother’s car, is speeding and deliberately runs over a
snake, takes them to a deserted roadway
Cindy tells Larry that she only wanted the date as a cover for a visit to her boyfriend
Confesses that she is pregnant
Larry is disappointed yet follows her plan, drops her off at a nearby road and
agreeing to picking her up later
Shows up at the movie drive-in as planned, makes it look as though she’s with him in
the front seat and disappearing when one of the guys from school starts to head in
his direction
Cindy doesn’t show up at the time planned
Larry waits for an hour but still no sign of her
Goes to her home to tell Cecil and Cindy’s mom that she is missing
They call Larry’s parents and the police, Larry has to tell them everything
Omits the fact that Cindy was pregnant and that he only pretended to be at the
drive-in
Larry is forced to tell the whole truth when Cindy still hasn’t returned after a few
days have passed
People don’t believe him but there is no evidence so Larry does not get arrested
Carl’s business suffers from what his son did in the eyes of community, becomes an
alcoholic and breaks his neck in an accident
Ina in turn gets more absent-minded and sad, Cindy’s parents move away
Larry joins the army, is trained as a mechanic there and eventually discharged
Returns to Chabot to take care of his mother who has surrendered to Alzheimer and
who eventually moves into a nursing home
Silas instead has left to attend high school someplace else
Larry becomes more and more isolated over the years
“Nights he spent alone, seldom thinking of his mother’s old prayer, the one where
she asked God to send him a special friend. Until it was answered.”
How does the date influence their lives or change their behaviors?
BEFORE THE DATE
LARRY PARENTS
Confused Excited
does not know what to do / say; how want to know how it was
to handle shocked / angry after knowing what
Is a suspect now happened
Everything ‘upside-down’
they don’t do their usual activities
like going to church (mother)
Communication completely gone
THE IMPACT
THE IMPACT II
“Their lives had stopped, frozen, as if a picture, and days were nothing more than empty
squares in a calendar (p.104, ll. 21-23)
complete loss of social contact
family live in total seclusion
deeply numbed, totally devastated, absolutely shattered
have reached the law point in their lives
LARRY
Does not go to school anymore
Spends his time reading in his room
Later: joins the army, learns a trade
Reliably runs the garage even though there are no customers
MOTHER
Stops going to church
Minds her chickens (replace human contact)
Gets more and more absent-minded
Finally gets Alzheimer’s disease
FATHER
Increasingly consumes alcohol
Eventually even dies in a drunk driving accident
CINDY WALKER
Takes advantage of Larry’s naivety, good-naturedness honesty, sincerity, reliability,
despair
Misuses Larry for her own benefit
Uses the date with him as a pretext to make Cecil allowed get to go out
CHAPTER 8
Silas has a lunch with Angie
They talk about how Larry is still unconscious, how French believes that Larry has
shot himself
Angie believes Larry might have done so either because of guilt about having
murdered Cindy and / or Tina Rutherford or because of everybody suspecting him of
doing so
Silas confesses his friendship with Larry to Angie and how he and his mother came to
Chabot
Also explains how their friendship grew despite Larry’s awkwardness (fondness of
snakes, reading horror novels)
Tells story of haunted house: Larry had a particularly horrible zombie mask and was
thus invited to be part of a haunted house party, everybody (including Silas himself
and Cindy) rejected him after the party
Angie asks Silas whether he had ever gone out with Cindy, but Silas denies that
Angie is called to an accident and Silas visits Larry who is barely alive and in coma and
afterwards visits Ina with whom he can barely talk due to her Alzheimer’s disease
Silas remembers the one time he was at Larry’s home (with the family gone) mowing
the lawn because he never had an opportunity to do so, Larry got all the credit for
that Silas feels lack of a father back then
In the present, Silas puts the puzzle pieces together: that Larry’s father impregnated
Alice who was them sent to Chicago and who reconnected with Carl when she
returned to Chabot
When revisiting the cabin where Silas used to live, he encounters a young white man
driving a tractor in the middle of the road
Warns the man against bad driving
Silas notices a white pillowcase and makes suggestions towards the Ku Klux Klan
The man name is Wallace Stringfellow, Silas lets him go with a warning
Silas reflects on how his mother uses to ask him what was missing out of him; on how
badly he treated her, rejecting her love and affection; and on his weird friendship
with Larry
Arriving at the cabin, Silas is shocked about the decayed condition the cabin is in,
covered in vines, weeds, and plants)
Someone had broken into the cabin
Silas realizes that someone has dug a grave underneath his former bed
CECIL WALKER
Grows up in indescribable poverty
As a teenager he attempts to impress his mates by swinging from a tree he fails
Illusion to Larry’s failed jump from the swing
struggles for acceptance (like Larry)
As an adult he is unemployed; spends his time drinking and smoking; neglects his
house
useless
Enjoys playing tricks on others, e.g. throwing fireworks at Cindy
mean, malicious / spiteful
Is the person who laughs hardest at Carl Ott’s racist jokes
a racist
again: strives to achieve or maintain social bounds
mistreats and molests his step-daughter
(“tries to pull down the towel”, “little whore”)
sexually abusive
fiercely attacks Larry before his date with Cindy
completely uncontrolled
has sexual desires for Cindy himself
CHAPTER 9
due to her disease, Ina hadn’t noticed things disappearing from the barn, or the
traces of someone being there
Larry did notice, but never told his mother
Larry discovered that the intruder was a young, skinny, blond boy whom Larry scared
away one day wearing the zombie mask
Years later, a young man – Wallace Stringfellow – came to visit Larry, Larry recognizes
him as the intruder
Wallace claims to be a cable TC salesman, but Larry soon figures out that he’s not
Wallace keeps visiting, and confesses that he is not a TV salesman, was just curious to
meet Larry due to his reputation, didn’t matter to him whether Larry had killed Cindy
or not
Wallace does eventually confess to imagining what raping and killing her must have
been like
Over the next months, Wallace keeps coming to Larry’s house, smokes marijuana
(that he buys from M&M), throws the marijuana butts in Larry’s yard
Reveals that he has a dog named John Wayne Gacy
Gives Larry a gun for Christmas
Admits that he was frightened of Larry on his very first visit years ago and that he is
actually sexually exited by the thought of Larry killing Cindy
One night, after Wallace had drunk and smoked a lot, Wallace pushes Larry to tell
him the truth about what happened to Cindy claiming that sometimes women
wanted to be raped and hurt
Larry doesn’t give in to Wallace, Wallace throws a tantrum, breaks Larry’s windshield
and headlights and storms off
After Wallace is gone, Larry realizes that he thought of Wallace as a friend, the
“special” friend that his mother had always prayed for
WALLACE STRINGFELLOW
Early twenties, bit under six feet, has a goatee, shirts one / two large on him & khaki
shorts general: looks filthy
Drinks much alcohol; smokes weed (with M&M)
A bit crazy / insane in his head sick fantasies
Doesn’t respect things like sexual experienced of Larry
Many similarities to Larry
drops out of school (quit)
was lonely; people made fun of him; don’t want to be with. Him
Is violence (addictive)
Kind of evil, callous (kills his animals)
Racist
LARRY SILAS
Accepts Wallace as his friend Actively tries to come close to Larry
Pleased he is liked by somebody Outsider himself
Thinks about leaving him his garage Fascinated by Larry ( revolver as a
gift to him)
gives everything in order to “gain” one
special friend a horror-version of Larry
outsider who has nobody to
…………….belong to
T H E L A C K O F A F A T H E R (Silas)
LARRY SILAS
‘Good work, boy’ Growing up with a single mother
Larry enjoys his father’s Silas lacks a father’s appreciation
recognition and a male role model
stable family life (in Silas’s perception) illegitimate child
Decent house, owns / will own No material possessions (lives in a
huge area of laud, father runs own cabin / trailer, no proper clothe at
business first)
no financial worries middle-class under privileged / lower-class
background background
But:
an outcast; rejected by the community fully accepted in his peer group, admired
for his athletic skills by both black and
whites
illustrates the ambiguity of belonging
Both Larry and Silas desperately struggle for belonging and for acceptance by their peers
and family.
Larry’s seemingly better chances turn out to be useless.
C H A P T E R 1 0 (present/past)
Body under Silas’s old bed was that of Tina Rutherford, had been lying there for a
while
Silas had lied about the reason for being at the cabin
Silas directs traffic for Tina’s funeral and takes a shift standing guard over Larry in the
hospital, who remained in his come and who was being watched by police
Silas becomes aware that a “stingy” man had tried to see Larry and catches a glimpse
pf the man himself
Also becomes aware that Angie is desperately trying to get hold of him, warns the
unconscious Larry that when he wakes up, things are going to be bad for him
Silas gets a call that Ina is having a good day and visit her, she recognizes him as
Larry’s old friend, also recognizes Larry in the photograph that Silas shows her
Ina refers to Alice as their maid, tells him that Alice became pregnant and had to
leave her employ
Slips back into dementia
Silas spends time with Angie and she firmly tells him to finish the story he began
earlier
Narrative slips into past: the beginning of the affair between Silas (then a high-school
baseball star) and Cindy who was desperate to get out of Chabot and change her life
Affair went for several months and although they kept it secret, Alice still knows
about it and urges Silas to stop it
The next weekend – Silas tells this in the present time – Cindy disappeared: Silas was
the boyfriend Cindy was supposed to meet when she had that arrangement with
Larry
Silas thinks Cindy was never really pregnant
Tells Angie that he and Cindy argued he left her where she was supposed to meet
Larry; when he got back home, Alice arranged for him to go to another high school
He forgot about Cindy and Larry and didn’t think of the consequences until he moved
back to Chabot
Silas and Angie come to the conclusion that it must have been Cecil who had killed
Cindy
Go back to Angie’s home, where they spend a sexless night together
Next morning, Silas drives to Larry’s home to feed the chickens and to contemplate
his next move; he knows now what is missing out of him: courage
Silas gets a call that Larry has finally woken up
MOTHER–SON–RELATIONSHIP
CINDY:
Wants to go to Chicago with Silas
For her the relationship is a way out of Mississippi and away from her abusive
stepfather
Scared because of her stepfather would have killed her and Silas if he found out
about the relationship
Uses Larry to cover up the relationship
ALICE:
Wants Silas to give up Cindy
Knows about the danger of having a mixed-race relation
Very worried about him mother instincts
Reminds him of what happened to Emmet Till
Silas is all she got cannot lose him
Doesn’t want him to make the same mistakes she did in the past better life for
Silas
Cindy’s father is a danger to Silas
Worried about Silas’ future life, she wants a normal life and with Cindy it’s not going
to be possible better future without Cindy
SILAS:
Cindy is his first love
He feels ‘honored’ that a white girl is interested in him
Scared to tell the truth about Cindy when she disappears, because he fears violent
reactions from a still racist community in the south and because he is not aware of
the consequences of not telling the truth
Selfish because his career and success as an athlete (giving him a sense of belonging)
are more important to him that clearing Larry from the suspicion of being a murderer
Betrays Larry and their friendship
Actually, relieved to be sent away
“Forgets” about Cindy and Larry: ‘Cindy just ran off – my mother never wrote about
Larry’.
SILAS’S SECRET
NOW:
Silas consciously faces the past
“Wasn’t till I came back down here that I saw the mess I made.”
Having undergone a painful interior struggle since his return to Chabot Silas finally
reveals the truth to his girl-friend Angie
He plucks up the courage to admit that, in fact, he was Cindy’s boyfriend and that he
let Larry take all the blame
Silas now sincerely regrets his former inactively
He would be glad if he could relieve the past and make things undone
CHAPTER 11
Larry’s wakes up
Learns that Silas saved his life; that Tina Rutherford is dead and that she was found in
the cabin on his property and that he is the suspect of her murder and of shooting
himself
Asks about the chickens and worries whether they were fed, is relieved when he is
told that Silas fed the chickens
Larry is interviewed by Sheriff Lolly and French
French mentions several pieces of evidence: the fact that Larry never sold the piece
of land with the cabin suggests that Larry milled both girls and then wanted to kill
himself out of remorse
Larry’s mind races through memories and images, can’t understand why he is
suspected
French tells him that the only way he’ll ever feel better about what he did “is to own
up and pay the price.”
CHAPTER 12
Silas arrives at the hospital, and interrupts French and Lolly’s interview of Larry
Reveals to everyone what really happened on the night of Cindy Walker’s death,
telling Larry that Cindy had not been pregnant and implying that it was mostly likely
Cecil who had killed her
Larry comments to Silas that they used to be friends, implying that a friend would not
have done what Silas did to Larry
Silas doesn’t know what he was to Larry
Silas is interviewed at the police station but does not admit to being Larry’s half-
brother
Silas is taken off guard duty
Goes back to hospital, wants to talk about what happened the night that Larry was
shot, although Larry wants to talk about what happened around Cindy’s death
Larry also wants to apologize for what happened the day when his father made him
and Silas fight over the rifle
Silas is having drinks at the bar with Irina, the flirt
Irina has no clue: one of her other roommates went on a “date” with a guy who had a
trailer full of guns and also a collection of snakes
That guy was Wallace Stringfellow and Irina also tells Silas where he lives
Silas remembers meeting Stringfellow and also the pillowcase that he had with him
and that Larry once said a good way to transport a snake was to use a pillowcase
Silas drives Irina back to her house, they are about to have sex when Silas remembers
Angie and thinks of Larry and he decides to leave
CHAPTER 13
During a thunderstorm he remembers his childhood including Cindy; Silas; him and
Silas drawing and coloring together; their teenaged years; the zombie mask
TV shows “a show about a serial killer and the serial killer who imitated him” and “a
king cobra rising with its hood fanned”
Larry sees the news about him and what he’s suspected of having done to Tina
Rutherford, and realizes he needs to tell French something: how after Tina
Rutherford disappeared, Stringfellow visited him and said he had “done something”
Larry actually wants to tell French everything he know about Wallace and that it is
likely that Wallace had killed Tina
Reflects on how only four people in the world “knew about the cabin where that
Rutherford girl was buried. (Him. His mother), who can’t remember anything. Silas
Jones. And Wallace Stringfellow.”
Also thinks about his mailbox and how it had been damaged over the years as an
intimidation, and how he’s determined to make it secure and stable
CHAPTER 14
Silas wakes up hangover but still goes to work and to the hospital
Feeds Larry’s chickens, finds out Stringfellow’s address from Ms. Voncille and tells
her he’s going out to interview him
Sees Stringfellow’s dog in the yard and finds Stringfellow on the porch
Manages to get into the house, find aquariums full of snakes and a zombie mask that
Stringfellow says he can’t recall getting
When Stringfellow goes outside to calm the dog, Silas feels that he needs to call for
back-up but is unable to grab his phone or radio
Stringfellow gets a gun and aims at Silas but Silas is faster and shoots him in his thigh
Stringfellow escapes in the woods and Silas tries to call for help, clumsily breaking
one of the aquariums, coming face to face with first the zombie mask and then a
rattlesnake
CHAPTER 15
Larry learns about the attack on Silas and who was responsible for that
Tells French everything he know about Wallace being the man who shot him and the
one who raped and killed Tina
French brings the zombie mask, Larry identifies it as his
Larry is being told about Wallace’s death and that he should watch the news in order
to find out how that happened
French asks Larry why he and Wallace became friends, Larry claims that he didn’t
have many options to choose from
Larry explains that he had suspected what Wallace had done for a while and wanted
to tell Silas but never returned any calls
French just says that it is time for Larry and Silas to finally talk and be honest with
each other
Being alone again, Larry reflects on the relationship between past and present, and
wonders what would have been different in the present if things had happened
differently in the past
Silas is brought to Larr’s room after surgery
T U R N I N G P O I N T O F L I V E S (Larry and Silas) (Chapter 11-15)
(NEW) LARRY:
Is determined to change his life:
o to take an active part
o to assume responsibility
o to fight back
deliberately build up strength / self-confidence / self-esteem
becomes aware of the false nature of his ‘friendship’ whit Wallace Stringfellow, who
has turned out to be anything but a true friend
When questioned by CI French Larry says:
“I thought he was my friend.”
“…but I ain’t had a lot of options.”
“We were both lonesome,” he said. “I think that’s why he came to see me in the first place. I
don’t think he had anybody to look up to, a daddy or uncle, and crazy as it sounds, he chose
me.”
Larry reproaches himself for not having understood Wallace’s real motives (trying to
identify with Larry, wanting to emulate him)
Feels he might have prevented various tragic events (Tina Rutherford’s murder, Silas
being almost killed in the confrontation with Wallace, Wallace taking his own life) if
he had a deeper insight into Wallace’s state of mind
(NEW) SILAS:
By finally revealing the truth about his relationship with Cindy Walker Silas
o Acknowledges his past mistakes
o Admits his former wrongdoing and tries to compensate for it
o Owns up to his guilt
Both Larry and Silas now begin to assume responsibility and to establish a new sense of
self.
CHAPTER 16
Narration tells readers that Silas’ arm will heal eventually, that Silas had asked to be put in
the same room as Larry, and that on the news, the story of Silas’ confrontation with
Stringfellow is a headline, the report revealing that Stringfellow killed himself, and that
evidence had been found that linked Stringfellow with the death of Tina Rutherford
After the news report, Silas tells Larry that Carl was being his (Silas’) father
Larry in turn admits that he suspected that (given the comment with the coat)
Afterwards comparison on how it was to grow up with Carl (Larry) and how it was to grow up
without him (Silas)
Larry asks to put in another room
CHAPTER 17
Angie who reconciles with Silas and invites Larry to her church and finally French, who tells
both Silas and Larry that Stringfellow has also been linked to the death of M&M, and that the
press is determined to interview them both, adding that he wants them to just stick to the
fact of the story and not get into whatever personal disputes are between them
Ms. Voncille brings flowers; the Mayor jokes with Silas about directing traffic; a couple of
deputies tell Silas about the rest of the snakes found in Stringfellow’ home
Silas is discharged, promising to visit Larry again
After he left, Larry tells the nurse that doesn’t want to be moved to a new room
CHAPTER 18
Silas is interviewed by a reporter, reporter thinks she is going to win afterward with that
story
Mayor and Voncille interview Silas afterwards, Silas is being promoted
Thanks them, but claims that he’ll only accept their offer after they’ve read the article in the
paper
At Angie’s, he is being pampered; the next day he visits Larry with a box of mail
Larry doesn’t say anything, and Silas stays for an hour
Silas then goes and visits Larry’s mother
Afterwards, he and Angie clean up Larry’s house
Silas spends a moment with the rifle that he had been given by Larry, which he had carefully
cleaned
CHAPTER 19
During the next four visits from Silas, Larry is consistent in staying silent
Larry gets a positive report from his doctors; goes to the front door of the hospital, where he
sees all the press waiting to interview him and heads back to the elevator
The same night, he walks out of the hospital unnoticed – expect by a security guard who calls
Silas
Silas gets in his jeep and, after a rough start, drives off to find Larry
Gives Larry a ride through town and to Larry’s house
Larry stays silent mostly except for noticing that the jeep is running rough
Silas asks Larry whether he might be interested in repairing it, and Larry says it’ll be a while
before he’s able to work again
Larry is given a plastic bag with his wallet, keys and cell phone and as Silas pulls away, Larry
calls to him to bring the jeep by the next day
Entering the house, Larry discovers the cleaning and other things that Silas and Angie have
done for him (including installing satellite TV and having fed the chickens properly)
Larry goes to bed, reminding himself to call Silas in the morning and get him to pick up some
parts for the jeep