Scene 10

The tenth scene opens in the early morning hours at Hester’s house. The runaway convict Monster is rummaging through Hester’s possessions, looking for things to steal. He finds the meat that Butcher gave to Hester and eats it. While Monster is eating the meat, Hester enters the room singing. Monster immediately grabs her and demands that she turn over all her food and money, threatening to murder her. While Hester is handing over her money, Monster glimpses the scar on Hester’s left arm and has a moment of recognition, although he leaves without asking any further questions.

Scene 11

The three Hunters discover that Monster has been spotted nearby. The second Hunter takes credit for their good fortune, claiming that he made the bet that Monster wouldn’t come to their town because he knew he was unlucky and that he would therefore lose the bet. The first Hunter suggests that when the group catches Monster, they should “do a runthrough,” meaning they would impale the convict on a metal pole, then fasten the pole to the ground to watch him die. Through this, the audience understands that the Hunters are not only motivated to find Monster for the money but also to satiate their sadistic tendencies.

Scene 12

Hester is at the prison grounds, preparing for her long-awaited picnic with Boy. However, instead of Boy, the Guard brings out a convict called Jailbait who keeps insisting he doesn’t have a mother. Hester, unable to recognize her son after thirty years in prison, assumes Jailbait is Boy and breaks into tears. Jailbait is primarily interested in the picnic food, but it isn’t long before Hester begins insisting to see the scar on his left arm. Frustrated, Jailbait tells Hester his real name is Joe, and when Hester desperately inquires about a Boy Smith, Joe claims to have killed him a long time ago. Jailbait starts to grope Hester, who is so shocked by the news of her son’s death that she does nothing to stop the rape.

Scene 13

Monster and the First Lady are sitting together on the park bench overlooking the ocean. The set is littered with wanted posters advertising the price on Monster’s head. Monster asks the First Lady if she is pregnant and what her husband does for a living. When the First Lady replies that her husband is a “business tycoon,” Monster demands she bring him ten thousand gold coins by midnight. The First Lady threatens to alert the police, and Monster swears he will kill her if she does.

Scene 14

Two women are outside Hester’s back door, having a conversation in the language known as TALK. The First Lady appears, veiled to conceal her identity and holding her stomach. The women ask her if she has been having an affair and needs to dispose of the evidence before her husband finds out. The First Lady begins to concede, then has a revelation that her unborn child will act as her “salvation” regardless of whether or not it is the offspring of the Mayor. She hurries away.

Analysis

These scenes represent an important turning point in the play and deepen the characterization of several characters. Hester’s defiant and outraged reaction to her confrontation with Monster, her true son, is juxtaposed against her overjoyed reaction to meeting Jailbait. These two scenes emphasize Hester’s desire to immediately categorize people as either pure good or pure evil and foreshadows the shattering of this worldview when Monster is revealed to Hester as her long-lost son. Scene 12 also marks the point at which Hester swears vengeance against...