Blog 4: If He Hollers Let Him Go - Catharsis

Catharsis occurs in the scene where Bob's is trapped inside the cabin due to the lovely Madge. This scene seemed to be obvious to me because I had a feeling that something surely was coming his way and this was it. The audience starts to feel emotions of pity and fear. It indicates a build up of suspense of what Madge's next step would be and what card she going to throw. So Madge gets her way to lock Bob up in the room and takes this advantage to accuse him of raping her. Bob says, "I let out my breath, gave Madge a last warning look, then said aloud, "okay, I'll open up, just a minute" (Hines 179). In other words, the accusation that Madge sets on Bob gets the crowd (white men) outside the door against him. According to them Madge is considered to be a measly helpless bait that is being lacerated by a "black monster." This is where Madge shows that she has the power in her hands because those people will never side with Bob regardless if he's innocent or not. Whatever the outcome may be, it won't discard the fact that Bob is a "black monster." The fact that his presence inside with a white woman locked inside a room with a black person whose screaming rape, the automatic assumption is that Bob is guilty and his comeuppance therefore will lead to lynching.

Mrs. Hall

One of the characters in Ruth Hall, I found Mrs. Hall the most interesting of them all. We know that she is the antagonist and holds the power like all mother-in-laws in this world. As we call in reality, "monsters" rather than mothers just by their actions. Even though the book is set in the 1850's and from that time women have always been looked down at as property or just a measly old slave. This mentality still in fact stands out today in some countries. For example, in the country India, it is widely significant. But anyways, concerning Mrs. Hall, I believe she is insecure of her feelings with Ruth because she believes that once her son gets married to her, she has the insecurity that she will lose her son. Ruth, being his wife, now will have full control over her son. So she tries to keep control and have power over Ruth so that she stays within her limits. I believe all mother-in-laws like Mrs. Hall fail to understand the fact that once their son gets married, his love gets divided: one is his mother and the other is his wife. If this was understood by all mothers, I believe they'll be less likely to have rifts between the relationship of a daughter-in-law and a mother-in-law.