Lucas Beauchamp Lucas Beauchamp is one of the central characters in the novel, the man accused of murdering Vinson Gowrie. Although still vigorous, he is in his seventies as the story takes place. The black owner of a small cabin and farm on the Edmonds estate, Beauchamp is in fact a direct descendent of Carothers…
Category: Literature
Intruder In The Dust: Summary
Chapters 1–2 This classic novel by William Faulkner opens with the news that Lucas Beauchamp, a black man living in the countryside of Yoknapatawpha County, has been accused of murdering a white man, Vinson Gowrie. The novel is told from the point of view of sixteen year-old Charles ‘‘Chick’’ Mallison, and the news reminds him…
Themes in The Glory Field by Walter Dean Myers
The Importance of Family and Land One overriding theme of the saga that is The Glory Field is the value of kinship and relations. Myers expresses this idea by emphasizing the importance of the relationships between the generations of the Lewis family and their holding onto the land they own in Curry Island, South Carolina….
Oedipus at Colonus: Summary & Analysis
DATE: produced posthumously in 401, written in 407/6 COMPETITION: unknown CHARACTERS: Oedipus, Antigone, Stranger, Ismene, Theseus, Kreon, Polyneikes, Messenger CHORUS: men of Colonus SETTING: the grove of the Eumenides at Colonus, a village just outside Athens SUMMARY: After many years of wandering the blind and accursed Oedipus and his daughter Antigone arrive at Colonus, near…
Philoctetes by Sophocles: Summary & Analysis
DATE: 409 COMPETITION: first prize CHARACTERS: Odysseus, Neoptolemos, Philoctetes, Merchant, Herakles CHORUS: sailors from the ship of Neoptolemos SETTING: the deserted island of Lemnos SUMMARY: The Greeks have been besieging Troy for ten years and discover that they cannot take the city without the presence of Philoctetes and the bow of Herakles. They (especially Odysseus…
Electra by Sophocles: Summary & Analysis
DATE: a matter of great uncertainty, but 418–410 seem most likely. COMPETITION: unknown CHARACTERS: Orestes, Paidagogos, Electra, Chrysothemis, Klytaimestra, Aigisthos; Pylades (silent) CHORUS: women of the palace SETTING: the palace of Agamemnon at Mycenae SUMMARY: Orestes returns home to Mycenae with the faithful tutor (paidagogos), to whom his sister Electra entrusted him after their father’s…
Oedipus Tyrannus/ Oedipus Rex/ Oedipus the King: Summary & Analysis
DATE: before 424 – the plague at the start of the play may reflect the plague that struck Athens early in the War (430–425); most scholars argue for 429 or 427–5. COMPETITION: Sophocles’ presentations finished second to Philokles. CHARACTERS: Oedipus, Priest, Kreon, Teiresias, Jokasta, messenger from Corinth, Theban herdsman, Messenger; Antigone, Ismene (silent) CHORUS: elders…
Sophocles’ Trachinian Women (Trachiniai, Women of Trachis): Summary & Analysis
DATE: unknown – placed as early as 450 or as late as 410; probably late 430s COMPETITION: unknown CHARACTERS: Deianeira, Nurse, Hyllos, Messenger, Lichas, Old Man, Herakles; Iole (silent) CHORUS: women of the city of Trachis SETTING: the city of Trachis (in central Greece) SUMMARY: Because of her beauty, Deianeira, the wife of Herakles, had…
Antigone by Sophocles: Summary & Analysis
DATE: probably 443 or 442, although a case can be made for 438 COMPETITION: won first prize CHARACTERS: Antigone, Ismene, Kreon, Guard, Haimon, Teiresias, First Messenger, Eurydike, Second Messenger CHORUS: elders of Thebes SETTING: the palace at Thebes SYNOPSIS: It is the morning after the Argive army has attacked Thebes and been defeated. Oedipus’ two…
Sophocles’ Ajax: Summary & Analysis
DATE: probably the early 440s COMPETITION: unknown CHARACTERS: Athene, Odysseus, Ajax, Tekmessa, Soldier, Teukros, Menelaos, Agamemnon; Ajax’ son (silent) CHORUS: sailors from the ships of Ajax SETTING: the tent of Ajax, in the Greek camp before Troy SUMMARY: Ajax, a hero of the traditional sort, a man of action and honor, was second only to…