Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Chapter 4
Mrs. Burden has been killed by the accused Joe Christmas. Mrs. Burden's head had been completely detached from her body and her throat was slit by a person from the town. A rumor spreads that Christmas is half black and he killed Burden out of racial issues. Brown blames Christmas for the killing as a $1,000 dollar reward is offered for the culprit. Consquently, Brown becomes economically viable and blames Christmas for a crime he did not possibly commit? Was it Christmas or Brown? Why, would anyone do this to Mrs. Burden?
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Although Brown's story does seem surreal, I'm not completely sure it is not true. There has always been a mysterious vibe with Christmas so I would be surprised if he did kill her, but I wouldn't have doubt it. The thing is, if everyone hates African American people, then why does Brown hang out with him?
ReplyDeleteI believe a reason Brown associates himself with Christmas because of the profit he gains by doing so. Their bootlegging business must make them a profitable amount if neither one needs to hold a job elsewhere anymore. In addition to the money, Brown is also given access to as much liquor as he wants, which, as we have seen, he takes advantage of. And so, in spite of Christmas' mixed race, Brown finds these reasons to be Christmas' partner. As a side note, perhaps Brown is comforted by the fact that Christmas is also living in isolation and was drawn to him because of his own solitude, aiming to "cure" Christmas' isolation in order to prove to himself that it is not a permanent state. Reassuring himself that he can also leave such a state of solidarity.
DeleteI agree with Jovanni, Brown merely saw how he could use Christmas to his advantage.
DeleteWell i believe that Brown and Christmas became more and more detached since Brown found out that Christmas was part black. Such as in chapter 5 Brown calls Christmas nigger and Christmas jumps him. Then in Chapter 4 Brown comes into town to tell the town Christmas was the one that killed burden and they likely believe him since told them Christmas was part black. But i believe someone from the town killed burden because her ancestors were anti slavery
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ReplyDeleteBrown seems like everything he said was to get the $1,000 reward, but knowing how Christmas is I wouldn't be too surprised if he was the one that kill her. I think Brown hangs out with Christmas because they were both loners at one point also like Jovanni said, Brown gets to drink as much as he wants.
ReplyDeleteIt's shown later on that Brown hates Christmas for what he is, or atleast tries to hang it over his head. It also shows that it was a rather recent revelation for Brown. However, how Brown discovered and how the town discovered seems a mystery. For Bunch had told Hightower about Christmas before Brown came claiming the reward. Also Christmas seems almost ashamed of his heritage, and unlikely to tell Brown outright. Therefore, this leaves me to believe that there is a third party involved, or some kind of extenuating circumstance that led Christmas to kill Mrs. Burden. Maybe (this is a longshot) Mrs. Burden is Christmas's mother, (becuase even though sex was implied with them, it was never confirmed) and Christmas's anguish led him to kill Mrs. Burden on impulse. However that seems far fetched, as does any scenario were Christmas kills Mrs. Burden, as she is the most accepting of him.
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