Lay That Trumpet In Our Hands, by Susan McCarthy, tells the tale of a race-motivated murder of a family friend of the main character (Reesa) by the Klan. The novel’s setting, being 1950s Central Florida, is rife with violence, much of it racially predicated. The Klan is an oppressive, ever-present force for Reesa and her family, as their influence is great and they will stop at nothing to exert their prejudice through violence. The presence of these violent scenes (the aftermath of Marvin’s murder, the bombing campaign operated by the Klan) solidifies the pervasive evil in what they do, as well as establishes the difficulty inherent in doing what is right.
The world of Central Florida in the 1950s is one beset by struggle; southern racism is in full force, and racially charged crimes are rampant thanks to the influence of the KKK. Their acts of violence start out small, but quickly escalate; the first one we really hear of is the death of Marvin, an act which shakes the foundation of Reesa and her family, but this soon escalates to bombings of black housing projects and Catholic churches, vandalism, and even a kidnapping attempt of Thurgood Marshall, the attorney for the NAACP. All of these acts lead to an oppressive and pervasive culture of violence that makes it feel very unsafe to be a minority or a supporter of one in Mayflower. The KKK is shown to be absolutely reprehensible in its philosophies: “It is founded on the worst instincts of mankind. At its best, it is intolerant and bigoted. At its worst, it is sadistic and brutal” (McCarthy 239). The use of violence to achieve their means of racial purity firmly establish them as the villains of the piece.
The violence in the novel is often swept under the rug, or ignored after the fact – people want to maintain a peaceful life in Mayflower. However, the violence remains, showing a seedy underbelly to the town no one wants to talk about: “On its surface, the cove’s as peaceful as a prayer. But nothing is truly as it seems, I know. Not me, not Mayflower, not the whole entire world. And especially not old Miss Maybelle two doors down the road” (McCarthy 99). The use of Reesa as a protagonist shows the use of violence as a means to lose one’s innocence; being exposed to these terrible things changes her forever: “I saw what the Klan did to Marvin, same as youIt’s not fair for you to treat me like a baby. I’m not one – not anymore!” (McCarthy 181). Before this, the South always seemed to her a charming, peaceful place – however, the prejudice and ignorance underneath is slowly revealed with the presence of the Klan.
The violence in Lay That Trumpet is swift, merciless and unpredictable, allowing the reader to feel the sheer discomfort that is present for minorities and allies in 1950s Jim Crow Florida. The KKK establish themselves as an immoral, heartless band of thugs due to their violence, and it is only through the efforts of Reesa’s father Warren and support from the other members of the community that they can make a difference in their small town. By peppering the already simmering racial conflict in the book with these outbursts of violence, the reader is permitted to see the eventual consequences of such hatred.
Works Cited
McCarthy, Susan. Lay That Trumpet In Our Hands. Bantam, 2003. Print.
