Light in August: Chapter 18 Summary & Analysis

Byron tries to see the sheriff, who is busy until noon with the Grand Jury. He stands by the courthouse, watching the men assembled to conduct Christmas’s trial. Previously, he would have felt self-conscious about people seeing him there, and particularly the judgments they would pass regarding his involvement with Lena. He is calmed by the thought that he will soon leave Jefferson. He walks through the crowd of people, straight to the boarding house. He greets Mrs. Beard and tries to pay the rent for Lena’s room, but she says it has already been paid. She predicts that Brown will get the $1000 reward and then marry Lena, and that Byron will then leave Jefferson. Byron agrees that he probably will.

Byron then goes to the sheriff and explains the whole story about Lena and Brown, saying it’s time for Brown to go see her. He says that he personally will probably travel up to Memphis, reflecting: “their aint nothing in these little towns.” The sheriff replies that this sounds like a good idea for someone like Byron, who isn’t weighed down by a family. He thinks Byron may indeed be better off there. The sheriff says that he will send Brown with his deputy to see Lena at 4 pm. Byron thanks him. The sheriff says he’s sure Byron will be back sometime, because no one leaves Jefferson for good, and that he hopes the town can treat him better next time.

Byron rides off. He sees the sea for the first time, and is astonished by its look of emptiness. He thinks about how anonymous he is outside Jefferson, with no one knowing or caring who he is. However, he then sees a man running through the woods near where he is riding. At first he sits still, but then a force comes over him like a wind, compelling him to move. He knows the man is Brown, although he will not quite admit that to himself. Although he knows he cannot force Brown to marry Lena, and that he might not even catch him, he is determined to try.

Earlier, Burford came to get Brown from jail, telling him they were going to visit someone. Brown insisted he had no one to visit, as he was a “stranger” in Jefferson. Burford teases him by saying that he is about to get his “reward,” telling him it is in his and Christmas’s old cabin. When Brown enters and sees Lena lying in the cot with the baby, he freezes in shock. Brown begins making excuses about why he didn’t call for her, but she just beckons him to come over and look at the baby. She asks him when they will start living together as a family, and he assures her it will be soon, just as soon as he gets his money.

Lena says she always knew she could depend on him. Brown starts talking about the “bastards” in Jefferson, saying that he has “enemies” who want to keep him from the money he earned. He tells her there is a man outside waiting for him and disappears without saying goodbye. At this moment, he runs. He covers almost two miles in twenty minutes, his body resembling that of a “fleeing animal.” He finally slows down and sees a group of “negro cabins.”

Approaching the cabins, Brown sees an old black woman sitting on a porch. Calling her “aunty,” he stops and asks her if there’s anyone around who will deliver a message to town for him, promising he’ll pay a dollar. She is tentatively intrigued, although warns him that the only people in the cabin are her and two children, who are likely too young for the task. Brown then mentions that the message is for the sheriff, at which point the woman immediately refuses. She says she knows of a black man who visited the sheriff once and never came back. Brown walks away before she has even finished talking.

As Brown is walking away, the old woman shouts after him, saying she has found a young man who will go. Brown scribbles a misspelled note in which he asks the recipient to give his reward to the “barer” so it can be returned to him. Instead of signing it, he writes: “You no who.” Brown gives the man $1, promising to give $5 if he is back within the hour. The old woman, who is still nearby, urges the young man to go quick. A few moments later, Byron comes across the young man and asks him to direct him to Brown.

Meanwhile, Brown is left alone and begins muttering to himself about his plight, and his worries that he won’t receive the reward money. He feels that his life has come to resemble a game of chess, with everyone around him as pieces being moved by an invisible “Opponent.” He thinks that if by some miracle the young man does return with his reward money, he won’t believe it. He starts to laugh, and says that all he ever wanted was justice. Just then, Byron’s voice comes from behind him, demanding that he stand up.

A fight immediately breaks out between the two men; it is over in two minutes. Byron is left lying alone in the grass, bleeding from the face. He hears the whistle of a nearby train and slowly stands up. Feeling dazed, he watches Brown emerge as if from nowhere and jump onto the moving train. Byron is stunned by the skill with which he does it, and concludes that he must have done it many times before. Slowly, Byron makes his way back down the route he came. He finds a wagon, hoping to hitch a ride back to Jefferson, and the wagon driver informs him that Christmas has been killed.