Po' Sandy

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1899

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Summary

Background

Story Analysis

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Important Quotes

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Discussion Questions

Literary Devices

Dialect

The use of heavily affected Southern dialect reinforces the difference between Anglo American and African American characters in the story. Historically, this literary device was used to illustrate the illiterate and unteachable nature of African Americans. Chesnutt employs the dialect to show that the use of standard English does not always correlate with one’s level of knowledge or intellect.

The dialect illustrates that although Julius has no formal education, he knows how to tell a story. He presents a hero, a plot that causes Sandy to encounter a conflict, a setting that allows the audience of John and Annie to learn more about their own history (as landowners), tragedy, and denouement that brings the story to a clear ending that allows the audience to experience catharsis and a new or deeper understanding of themselves. John uses big words in perfectly constructed English sentences, but Julius tells the story that touches Annie’s heart.

Colloquialism

A colloquialism is an informal use of language that is specific to a time, place, or group of people. John prefaces Julius’s story with the phrase “Julius observed, in a lugubrious tone, and with a perceptible shudder.” John is a successful businessman and, it is implied, a well-educated person. He uses the terms “lugubrious” and “perceptible shudder” to describe Julius’s demeanor. Julius describes his response in this colloquial language: “Ugh! But dat des do cuddle my blood!” (40) Julius’s blood is not actually curdled. It is a colloquial phrase to describe his feelings.

Imagery

Imagery takes many forms in a literary work. It could appear in a description of something or in the use of figurative language like “cuddle my blood” in the above entry (40). This language can produce an image of blood that forms curds that impede the smooth flow necessary for life. The language used to describe the old schoolhouse covered with ivy and the pieces of the building lying in “rank grass and jimson weeds” (37) can produce the image of a building that is old and in disrepair.

Irony

Irony occurs when something’s real meaning is the opposite of its apparent meaning. Situational irony is a subset of cases in which events bring about their opposite, such as if a person’s quest for immortality leads to their death. “Po’ Sandy” employs irony at several levels. Julius appears to be helping John and Annie build a new kitchen. But his goal is (arguably) to delay the construction of the kitchen by preventing them from tearing down the schoolhouse. In any case, by the end of the story, Julius has found a use for the schoolhouse that John could not expect. John believed the building to be derelict and beyond saving. But it suits Julius’s religious congregation perfectly. Moreover, Julius’s congregation needs a place to meet because it has split from the main church. Julius has some of the rights of a citizen because the South was stopped from seceding from the US, and he uses those rights to secede from his church.