Lay That Trumpet in Our Hands

An overarching theme of the novel concerns the conflict between good and evil. This conflict manifests primarily through the interactions between the Klansmen who commit racist acts and the people in the community who fear and detest the Klan. The tendency of the Ku Klux Klan to commit evil is established at the outset of the novel when Marvin, a Black teenager, is brutally murdered. The Klansmen’s potential for evil is reinforced when Reesa, her brothers, and her grandmother overhear a group of Klansmen discussing their murder of Reesa’s friend in coarse and cruel language. As killings, beatings, and bombings take place with terrifying regularity, the presence of evil in the McMahon’s community begins to take an emotional and psychological toll on the people.

In contrast to the evil personified by the members of the Ku Klux Klan is the heroism of Warren McMahon and other members of the community who oppose discrimination of any form. Warren and his supporters like Luther and Robert risk their own lives to seek justice for Marvin and for others who are unjustly killed or mistreated in some way. The Christian undercurrents of the novel emphasize that God is on the side of the people who try to live as ethically and generously to others.