A Summer Tragedy

Dialect is a key part of characterization, as it can indicate the social and/or geographic background of a character or characters. In the story, Jeff and Jennie Patton’s speech indicates their social and economic status as poor people in the Southern US, possibly with Creole roots. For instance, when Jeff asks for help tying his bow tie, Jennie responds, “You oughta could do a heap mo’ wid a thing like that ‘n me […] beingst as you got yo’ good sight” (349). Bontemps lived in Northern Alabama for several years, including the period in which he wrote this book, and his family origins were in Louisiana’s Creole culture. The text does not specify the Pattons’ hometown, but Jeff recalls adventures in New Orleans when they were younger, and sharecropping was primarily a Southern practice.

Throughout the drive to the river, Jeff flashes back to particular moments from his life. The most prominent flashback occurs at the climax of the story as Jeff and Jennie approach the river; he finally admits that he does not think he can go through with their suicide pact. This memory focuses on Jeff’s youth when he went to New Orleans with a “gay young crowd” (355). His flashback ultimately represents the fleeting joy of youth; during that trip, “Slim Burns had killed Joe Beasley – the crowd had been broken up” (355). After that trip, Jeff began working at Greenbrier Plantation, where he labored day in and day out while the years “had fallen on him like waves” (356), leaving him old and worn down. The flashback provides insight into the sustained difficulty of Jeff’s life and provides additional context for his feelings of Desperation and Hopelessness.