Beetlecreek: Analysis of Major Characters
"Beetlecreek: Analysis of Major Characters" explores the intricate relationships and conflicts among a diverse cast of characters in a rural West Virginia town. Central to the narrative is Johnny Johnson, a Black teenager who moves to Beetlecreek to live with his uncle, David Diggs, while grappling with his mother's illness. Johnny's journey is marked by his association with the Nightriders, a youth gang that coerces him into acts of vandalism against a lonely white hermit, Bill Trapp, who initially befriends him. Trapp, who has lived a reclusive life filled with regret, becomes a victim of community backlash when false accusations arise against him, leading to tragic consequences.
David Diggs, Johnny's uncle, reflects the struggles of ambition and identity, as he navigates his discontentment and a complicated past while rekindling a relationship with Edith Johnson, a city girl returning to Beetlecreek. The story also delves into the perspectives of characters like Mary Phillips Diggs, David's wife, who is deeply involved in her church and community, and the enigmatic Leader of the Nightriders, whose ruthless initiation rituals highlight the pressures of youth and peer dynamics. The character dynamics in "Beetlecreek" underscore themes of friendship, betrayal, and the complexities of race relations within a small town, inviting readers to reflect on the consequences of societal judgments and personal choices.
Beetlecreek: Analysis of Major Characters
Author: William Demby
First published: 1950
Genre: Novel
Locale: Beetlecreek, West Virginia
Plot: Social realism
Time: The American Depression era
Johnny Johnson, a black teenager. Johnny goes to Beetlecreek, West Virginia, from Pittsburgh to live with his uncle, David Diggs. His mother is severely ill and has been placed in the county home and cannot care for him. Johnny arrives too late in the year to enter school, so he lounges around his aunt and uncle's house until school is dismissed; he then associates with the Nightriders, a group of four other black youths his age. As the story opens, a white hermit, Bill Trapp, chases the gang from his property because they are stealing apples. Johnny is trapped in a tree, but Trapp invites him down and into the house for cider. Johnny becomes friends with the old man, and they pass many interesting times together. Later, as part of his initiation into the Nightriders and as part of their retaliation against Trapp for a crime that he did not commit, Johnny burns the old man's house to the ground.
Bill Trapp, a white recluse. Having grown up as an adopted child, along with his sister, Hilda, Trapp always has been melancholy and withdrawn. To attain the kind of respectable life that his sister always wanted for him, he worked a variety of jobs in a blacksmith shop, in a garage, and as a handyman for a traveling carnival, the Harry Simcoe Continental Show. After tiring from the rigors of the traveling show, Trapp purchased the May farm on the outskirts of Beetlecreek. He keeps to himself, venturing into town only to buy supplies and drinking heavily to ease the pain of loneliness. Trapp comes to life again after becoming friends with Johnny Johnson and his uncle, David Diggs. Trapp gives a cartload of pumpkins to the two Tolley sisters for the fall carnival, and he gives a party to which he invites the young black and white girls in order to encourage friendship between the races. At this party, one white girl, who was not invited, tears a picture from one of Trapp's anatomy books and fabricates a story that portrays him as a child molester. This rumor turns both the black and white communities against him. Trapp collapses at the sight of his burning house.
David Diggs, a sign painter. A tall, slender man, at thirty-two years of age he is frustrated, having dropped out of college to marry a young woman whom he had gotten pregnant while on a visit to Beetlecreek in pursuit of Edith Johnson (who is no relation to Johnny). He has no drive, no ambition, and no job, except for occasional work painting signs. When he goes to rescue his nephew from Trapp, he finds the old man to be an interesting and genuinely likable person, and they become friends. When Edith returns to Beetlecreek to attend her adopted mother's funeral, David is renewed. At her invitation, he leaves Beetlecreek for Detroit with Edith on the night of the fire and the fall carnival.
Mary Phillips Diggs, a maid, David's wife. Mary became a pious woman after her child was born dead. She wraps herself in her job as maid for the Pinkertons, a prominent white family, and in her church activities, principally with the Women's Missionary Guild, of which she aspires to be president. Although a passionate young girl when she first met David, she has become unkempt, uninteresting, and unattractive. She has a successful night selling gingerbread at the fall carnival, completely unaware that her husband has left town with another woman and that his nephew has set fire to Bill Trapp's house.
Edith Johnson, a city girl. A former resident of Beetlecreek and a college classmate of David Diggs, Edith returns to Beetlecreek to attend the funeral of her adopted mother, whom she hated. At the age of twenty-seven, she is attractive, well-dressed, and schooled in the ways of the city. the people of Beetlecreek assume that she is a prostitute, and Edith has nothing but the deepest contempt for them. After settling her mother's affairs, she returns to Detroit with David Diggs, whom she encourages to leave Beetlecreek.
The Leader, a Beetlecreek teenager. He is the callous, insensitive leader of a youth gang called the Nightriders. the gang meets in a secret hideaway to smoke, tell dirty jokes, look at pornography, and masturbate, all of which Johnny Johnson finds disgusting. When the Leader offers to make him a member, however, he jumps at the chance. the Leader issues the condition for membership on the night of Johnny's initiation: Johnny must burn Trapp's house as an act of reprisal for Trapp's alleged molestation of the Tolley girls.
Pokey, a white girl who was not invited to Trapp's party. She tears a picture from one of his anatomy books and fabricates the story that Trapp molested the girls at the party.
Telrico, a café owner. As an Italian, Telrico tries to stay out of the comings and goings of Beetlecreek because he is keenly aware that he is an outsider. His café serves as a meeting place for the men of the town. David Diggs takes Trapp to Telrico's for a drink on the night he first meets him, and Edith and David also meet regularly there.
Sarah Tolley and Mary Ellen Tolley, two young Beetlecreek sisters. They ask Trapp for pumpkins for the fall carnival. Later, they are invited to Trapp's party, where the molestation is alleged to have occurred. the girls know that Trapp is innocent but are not allowed by their mother to tell the truth.
Mr. Tolley, a barber, Sarah and Mary Ellen's father. His barbershop is the gathering place for the town and the center for discussion of all the important business in Beetlecreek.