Red Leaves | Red Leaves

At a glance:

Author: William Faulkner
First Published: 1930
Type of Plot: Satire
Time of Work: The nineteenth century, before the American Civil War
Setting: Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi
Principal Characters: Herman Basket, Louis Berry, The black man, Moketubbe, Issetibbeha, Doom, Ole Grandfather
Genres: Realism, Short fiction, Satire
Subjects: Tradition, Slavery or slaves, Native Americans or American Indians, Rites or ceremonies, Hunting or hunters, Life and death, Sacrifice, Cannibalism
Locales: Yoknapatawpha County (fictive)

The situation at the beginning of “Red Leaves” is presented in a dialogue between sixty-year-old Herman Basket and his companion Louis Berry. The two are carrying out an assignment demanded by the age-old custom of some Mississippi Indians of burying slaves with the body of a chief. The two Indians are looking for the body servant of Chief Issetibbeha, who has just died under questionable circumstances. The servant is a black slave from Guinea. In mock-heroic tone and diction, the seekers discuss the fact that the man does not want to die. Bits of information...

Red Leaves | Red Leaves

At a glance:

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