"Mr. John Edgar looked around and scratched his head, wanting to have a witness before proceeding. Not particularly eager to flip the thing over and say "Morning," to the Grim Reaper. He felt a creepy sensation in the back of his neck," (25).
In Randall Kenan's Things Of This World, race relations and religion merge into one mutual force of vindication; an eye for an eye, a dog for a dog, and everyone else now blind. Each character in the story seems to symbolize some type of Paradise Lost-like archetype, in that Mr. John Edgar Stokes seems to have fallen from grace as he retaliates against Terrel and then stands his ground from the cops on the porch with his gun; Lucifer defending his new earthly, sin-filled kingdom. Chi, is a black angel of death, a grim reaper, and his presence in Mr. Stoke's backyard at the beginning of the story is an ill omen, and sure enough, it is Chi who kills him; leaving as quickly as he came, bringing to the fallen angel the Hell he had already brought upon himself.
What does the subtitle of the story, "Angels Unawares," mean for the Paradise Lost-type of reading? and what does the fight between Percy Terrel and Mr. Stokes symbolize?
“Mr. John Edgar looked around and scratched his head, wanting to have a witness before proceeding. Not particularly eager to flip the thing over and say “Morning” to the Grim Reaper. He felt a creepy sort of sensation in the back of his neck.” (25)
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read this line, I thought Mr. John Edgar had simply meant he did not want to get to close to this body that could possibly hurt him in some fatal way at his old age. But now I believe that the author subtly put this at the beginning of the story so that we couldn’t put the pieces together at first. I found myself wondering throughout the entire short story, who is exactly is this mysterious figure that just showed up one this old man’s front lawn? I agree with Grayson when he says that Chi can symbolize a black angel of death, having “fallen” on Mr. John Edgar’s front steps with a duty to fulfill. The old man seems to have some kind of passion/life thrown back into him when Chi arrives, showing great amounts of courage and strength as he faces off against the Terrells and the sheriff. This last surge of energy allows Mr. John Edgar to be content with what he has done, and without knowing it, allows Chi to finish what he was sent to do.
Question: What role do death and religion play in this short story? The first night that Chi stays at the house, Mr. John Edgar says that he’s already lived his life. So why didn’t Chi take his life then instead of waiting longer if he felt fine with dying at that point?