The Sheriff’s Children (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Charles Waddell Chesnutt
- First Published: 1899
- Type of Plot: Social realism
- Time of Work: The late nineteenth century
- Setting: A county seat in rural North Carolina
- Principal Characters: Colonel Campbell, Polly Campbell, Tom
- Genres: Social realism, Short fiction
- Subjects: Biracial people, Slavery or slaves, Interracial relationships, Prejudices or antipathies, Rulers, Ethics, Theft
- Locales: North Carolina
The Story
An unfamiliar event, the murder of an old Civil War veteran, has roused a placid North Carolina village. Within twenty-four hours, the sheriff and his posse have captured a suspect, a young mulatto, who is unknown to any of them. Disappointed that the preliminary hearing will not take place for another week, a crowd gathers around a whisky jug and plans to lynch the suspect, but Sheriff Campbell, an educated and socially prominent man, is tipped off and proceeds to hold the mob at bay.
After their initial retreat, the sheriff takes up a position in the...
[The entire page is 1698 words long]
