Father Comes Home From the Wars

Content Warning: The source text and the guide discuss enslavement and racism.

A musician sings a song called “Misplaced Myself,” about an enslaved person who has “skipped town” to find freedom (167).

It is Fall 1863—more than a year after the events of Part 2. In west Texas, three fugitives from slavery called only “First Runaway,” “Second Runaway,” and “Third Runaway” gather in an abandoned cabin near midnight. They talk about Penny, who made them meals, and Homer, who is secretly stealing crops from the fields to give to them before they leave. They say that when Penny sleeps, she dreams about her husband Hero and calls his name, waking in a panic until Homer calms her. The three went to Homer, thinking he’d join them, but he refused because Penny is “rooted” in west Texas. They hope Homer changes his mind; he has maps from his first attempt to leave and can “read” the land and sky. They think their escape is hopeless without him.

When Homer arrives with a sack of vegetables, they try to persuade him to leave with them. He finally relents. He has fallen in love with Penny but knows she is “a true wife to Hero if there ever was one” and doesn’t love Homer (116).