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John McLendon
Heat
Faulkner uses metaphors of heat and combustion to convey the irrationality of the mob mentality among the white men in “Dry September.” The town has experienced sixty-two days of drought, and the weather becomes an…
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Ice
To counterbalance the images of heat and combustion in the story, ice symbolizes relief from social oppression. However, like ice, this relief is often brief and fleeting; just as ice is a transient physical state…
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Gun
John McLendon’s gun symbolizes the extreme violence behind the racism in Jefferson, and the imbalance of power among black and white men. McLendon’s gun is seen peeking out of his waistband as he leaves…
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Handcuffs
The handcuffs used in Will Mayes’s abduction symbolize the ongoing social and emotional enslavement of black men in this society, and the ways in which they are criminalized without reason or proof. As the…
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