God's Little Acre by Erskine Caldwell
**Overview of "God's Little Acre" by Erskine Caldwell**
"God's Little Acre," published in 1933 by Erskine Caldwell, is a novel that delves into themes of greed, desperation, and the human condition amidst the backdrop of rural Georgia. The story centers on Ty Ty Walden and his sons, who have spent fifteen years fruitlessly searching for gold on their farmland, reflecting an obsession that overshadows their familial and ethical responsibilities. Ty Ty's pursuit of wealth leads him to dismiss the needs of those around him, including the black laborers who work his land. The narrative intertwines various characters, such as Pluto Swint and Darling Jill, who grapple with personal conflicts and societal expectations, highlighting complex relationships fraught with tension and desire.
As the plot unfolds, the characters confront issues of loyalty, betrayal, and death, particularly as they navigate the challenges posed by labor strikes and family dynamics. The novel's title references a symbolic piece of land that Ty Ty intends to dedicate to the church, yet his greed continually shifts this intention, illustrating the moral dilemmas faced by individuals driven by ambition. Caldwell's portrayal of southern life is rich with cultural nuances, inviting readers to reflect on the balance between aspiration and ethical living in a world marked by social and economic struggles. "God's Little Acre" serves as both a critical examination of human nature and a poignant commentary on the socio-economic conditions of the time.
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God's Little Acre by Erskine Caldwell
First published: 1933
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Naturalism
Time of plot: Late 1920’s
Locale: Georgia and South Carolina
Principal characters
Ty Ty Walden , patriarch of the familyBuck , ,Jim Leslie , andShaw , his sonsDarling Jill andRosamond , his daughtersWill Thompson , Rosamond’s husbandGriselda , Buck’s wife
The Story:
Ty Ty Walden and his sons, Shaw and Buck, have been digging holes on their Georgia farm for fifteen years in search of gold, without success. Ty Ty decides to bring back an albino to find the gold, ignoring a plea for food from the two black men who farm his land. Ty Ty is a man with gold fever and does not have time for anything else. The father has set aside “God’s little acre” to give the church whatever money it produces, but he moves the acre with each new hole to avoid giving the gold to a preacher. Pluto Swint, a sheriff’s candidate, and Darling Jill, who rejects his offers of marriage, go to Carolina to bring her sister Rosamond and her millworker husband, Will Thompson, back to help dig, because he is out on strike.
At Rosamond’s, her husband Will, drunk, announces he is going to have Buck’s wife, Griselda, whom Ty Ty has said is a perfect female. Will tells his protesting wife it is all in the family. Rosamond apologizes for her husband and forgives his remark. Later, Will says he will soon turn on the power at the mill and the workers will run it. In the morning, with Rosamond gone, Darling Jill gets in bed with Will. Rosamond catches them and blisters both with a hair brush. Rosamond grabs a pistol and fires between Will’s legs. He jumps out the window and runs naked down the street. Rosamond and Darling Jill weep and console each other. Back in borrowed pants, Will, forgiven by his wife, agrees to go dig.
They pass through the city where Jim Leslie, Ty Ty’s son, gone from home fifteen years, lives in luxury with his society wife. Ty Ty takes his dying wife to see the son, and he turns them away. Back at the farm, Ty Ty shows Dave Dawson, the albino forced to be the gold diviner, off to the others. Ty Ty and Will catch Darling Jill and Dave together on the ground that night. Rosamond and Griselda make the men leave the lovers alone. Buck and Shaw have a fight with Will because he calls them “clodhoppers,” and Buck accuses the “lint-head” of looking at Griselda. Ty Ty stops the fight and asks for family peace. At Will’s suggestion, Ty Ty and his entire family drive to see Jim Leslie in the city to borrow money. Ty Ty, Darling Jill, and Griselda slip into Jim’s house and surprise him. Jim stares at Griselda as Ty Ty ridicules him for marrying a less pretty wife who has gonorrhea. Jim protests that his money is tied up in real estate, and his evicted tenants’ furniture is still unsold, but he finally gives his father some money and tells him to start raising crops instead of searching for gold. Jim follows them to the car and jumps on the running board. Darling Jill has to swerve the car and hurl him off as he tears at Griselda’s dress. He is not badly hurt.
At the farm, Ty Ty decides that Dave wants to stay, even though Darling Jill is through with him. No longer guarded, the albino is put in the hole to help dig. Ty Ty asks Will, who understands the secrets of the mind and body as he does, to stay and manage the crops, but he refuses. Will agrees with Darling Jill that she should be worried about their brief affair, because when he drives a nail, it stays nailed. Darling Jill decides she loves Pluto and agrees to marry him later. Griselda rides with Pluto and Darling Jill to take Rosamond and Will back home. Buck is angry, but Ty Ty leads him off to dig. When the group reaches the mill town, Will disappears. He returns later and says he is “strong as God Almighty Himself” and will turn the power on the next morning. In front of the others, Will tells Griselda to stand up, it is time. Rosamond and Darling Jill warn him that Buck will kill him, but Will is not scared. Will tears Griselda’s clothes into shreds and lint. He drags her, unprotesting, to another part of the house. Rosamond and Darling Jill gather the lint from the floor. The next morning the three women serve Will’s breakfast. At the mill, the three women join a crowd watching Will and the other workers occupy the structure. Will turns on the power, but then gunfire is heard. A man tells them Will has been killed by company guards waiting inside. With their leader gone, the workers give in. At the farm, Ty Ty feels guilty about Will’s death and wishes God’s little acre were closer to the house. Griselda says Ty Ty and Will are the only two real men she has known. If Will had lived, she would have stayed with him. Jill says Will was a real man, because he felt things inside, but Buck cannot. Ty Ty interrupts Buck’s accusation of Griselda and talks of having not the God heard about in churches but the God inside who helps a man live. For that reason he has set aside God’s little acre, even though the Lord has not gotten a penny yet.
Ty Ty concludes it is best that Will is dead; the three women could not have stayed with him, because it would have made a mess the law did not allow. Jim drives up and says he has come for Griselda. Called from digging, Buck twists Jim’s arm, but Jim gets away and runs into the house. He orders Griselda into his car. Buck grabs a shotgun and chases his brother outside. Jim turns at the car and shakes his fist. Buck shoots him twice. He dies shortly after. Ty Ty sends Shaw for the sheriff. The three women hug Buck. Then Buck walks away across the fields, carrying the shotgun. Ty Ty wills that God’s little acre will follow and be with Buck. Then Ty Ty crawls in the hole and begins shoveling, wondering when Shaw will be back to help.
Bibliography
Burke, Kenneth. The Philosophy of Literary Form. 3d ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974. Contains an article by the author that investigates the symbolic landscape, sexual taboos, fertility rites, caricatures, and grotesques in Caldwell’s two major novels.
Cantwell, Robert, ed. The Humorous Side of Erskine Caldwell. New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1951. An introduction to Caldwell’s humorous imagination, which makes the works more impressive and entertaining.
Devlin, James. Erskine Caldwell. Boston: Twayne, 1984. Contains a chapter on the major themes in God’s Little Acre. Includes an extensive annotated list of criticism.
Klevar, Harvey L. Erskine Caldwell: A Biography. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1993. A detailed biography. Includes discussion of the Caldwell canon, including background, notoriety, dramatization, and key reviews of God’s Little Acre.
Korges, James. Erskine Caldwell. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1969. An excellent and concise discussion of Caldwell’s works.
McDonald, Robert L., ed. The Critical Response to Erskine Caldwell. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1997. Includes reviews of Caldwell’s major works, including God’s Little Acre, scholarly discussions of his themes and techniques, and academic analyses of the image of the South presented in his fiction.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Reading Erskine Caldwell: New Essays. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2006. Collection of twelve essays examining Caldwell as a novelist, humorist, antilynching advocate, and modernist. Two of the essays offer interpretations of God’s Little Acre.
Miller, Dan B. Erskine Caldwell: The Journey from Tobacco Road, a Biography. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995. A biography of Caldwell, focusing on his first forty years; details Caldwell’s life and his growing up within the context of southern culture.
Stevens, C. J. Storyteller: A Life of Erskine Caldwell. Phillips, Maine: John Wade, 2000. Comprehensive biography, focusing on Erskine’s life and “complicated personality.” Describes how he wrote his novels and other works, summarizes their contents, and traces their receptions.