Sugar

The end of harvest is cause for celebration at River Road. The workers receive their pay and, while it won’t last once bills are paid, “tonight, everyone is proud. Tonight is like Christmas” (9). All around, people are playing music and rejoicing that they can sleep in tomorrow. Sugar smiles at her surrogate grandfather, Mister Beale, hoping he’ll tell her one of his tales about Br’er Rabbit and Hyena.

Sugar finds her only friend, Lizzie, and sits with her. They are the only children left on the plantation, but Lizzie has recently started to outgrow many of the things the pair used to do together, like climbing trees and pulling pranks. Sugar asks Lizzie if they can play together in the morning, but she declines. Looking for companionship elsewhere, Sugar scans the rest of her surroundings. Far to her right, she sees the large house that is home to the Wills family, the owners of the plantation. Inside, they, too, are celebrating the end of harvest. Despite the festive atmosphere, Sugar feels more alone than ever.

As Sugar sits, she recalls how the younger people who left River Road were ecstatic at the chance to go north. Mister and Missus Beale’s daughter and son were among them, and “begged their parents to go with them” (13), but Mister Beale insisted they were too old and slow to move. Sugar laments that she isn’t too young or old to move but is stuck nonetheless because no one will take her with them.

Missus Thornton, the preacher’s wife, stirs Sugar from her daydream. She offers the girl a plate of sweets, but the latter gags and runs away. Missus Thornton calls after her, and the girl cries at the word—her name, Sugar.

The next morning, Sugar wakes earlier than everyone else, throws on her shoes and shawl, and races to the Mississippi River. The river is “[m]uddy and tangy from algae, marsh grasses, and sedge. Nothing like sugar!” (16). When she reaches the bank, she is greeted by wildlife and sailors alike. The sailors are aboard a barge, taking sugar away from River Road so it can be transported to other cities. Sugar waves at the sailors, shouting at them to take the sugar far away.

Sugar runs along the riverbank until she finds a place that isn’t too deep. Shivering from the cold, she reaches down to touch a turtle that swims past. She has been told that turtles are supposed to bring good luck. As Sugar reaches for the turtle, it moves far away enough that it causes her to fall in. As she stands, she hears a whistle in the trees.

The whistle came from the plantation owners’ son, Billy Wills, who emerges from the woods. His face and clothes are filthy from playing in the marsh. Sugar glances down at his thick socks and shoes, much warmer than her own thin-soled shoes. Unlike her, Billy “never has to work” (19). He tells Sugar that he’s been trying to catch rabbits but was unsuccessful. Sugar scoffs, comparing him to a dumb Hyena like that of Mister Beale’s stories. Billy doesn’t know what hyenas are, but Sugar doesn’t elaborate. The two are already breaking the rules, as they aren’t allowed to play together.

However, Sugar soon forgets this rule when Billy shows off his handstands. The two begin a round of gymnastics, each trying to outperform the other. Billy then shows Sugar a new toy that his father brought back from New Orleans—“a tube, woven red and yellow” (22). Billy instructs Sugar to put one index finger in each end of the tube, but when she does, the tube tightens around her fingers, trapping her. Sugar yanks the toy, but it won’t budge—until Billy tells her to push her fingers together instead of pulling. At last, the tube pops off. The toy is a Chinese finger trap, and Billy enjoys using it on adults.

Sugar and Billy walk the two miles back to River Road together. For the first time, they start to get to know each other and play together. Sugar asks Billy about his life in the house, where they have beds and pillows in contrast to her hay-filled sack. As they walk, Sugar realizes that even though she and Billy have grown up together, they don’t truly know each other. They were never allowed the chance to get to know each other: Mister Wills always told Billy that “God didn’t intend for races to mix,” while Sugar’s Ma would warn her to “Stay away from the big house. Trouble follows where you’re not wanted. And [B]lack folks are never wanted” (25). These warnings fill Sugar’s head as the pair approach home.

As the pair begin to part ways, Billy whistles. Sugar tries to copy him, but her whistles aren’t as good as his. Billy teaches her, and the two whistle together all the way home. They say goodnight, and are about to go their separate ways again, when Billy turns around. He tells Sugar a secret: His father is sending for Chinese workers. With that, Billy disappears into the night, leaving Sugar to wonder what the secret means, and what danger it might hold.

Sugar and Billy continue their adventures for four days in a row. Neither of them cares that they are breaking the rules, as they are happy. Missus and Mister Beale have raised Sugar since Ma died. Each night, Missus Beale quizzes Sugar on where she’s been, while Mister Beale tells his wife to leave her alone. Missus Beale feels responsible for keeping Sugar, so the two of them consistently butt heads.

Sugar escapes Missus Beale’s shouts and rushes to the river, where Billy is waiting for her. Billy reveals that his parents, too, are unhappy with him playing in the woods. However, Mister Wills believes in moderation, which Billy takes to mean that “he thinks [Billy] shouldn’t study all the time” (32). Both children’s guardians struggle with striking a balance between raising them to be responsible, and giving them room to play while they are still young.

Billy leads Sugar to a raft that he and his brother, Anthony, built together before Anthony left for school in New Orleans. The raft is “the sorriest thing [Sugar] ever saw. Mismatched pieces of gray crackling logs strapped with moldy rope” (33). Sugar tells Billy that she won’t get on it, but he tells her she has to if she wants to play pirates with him. She boards reluctantly, not telling Billy the truth: She can’t swim. They argue over who gets to be captain before Sugar suggests they be co-captains. With this settled, they set off on an adventure.

On the river, Sugar is able to forget her chores and everything about her life she wishes she could change. Sugar takes in her surroundings, the fish in the water and the birds in the air. She “think[s] this must be what freedom feels like” (35). As the pair approach the cresting waves of the river, Sugar can’t help but think about the workers from China who must be on their way to Louisiana by now.

When the children return to shore, they are greeted by Sugar’s angry friend, Lizzie. However, she buries her anger and helps Sugar and Billy hide the raft. Once the raft is out of sight, Sugar asks Lizzie if she wants to play, but Lizzie refuses to play with Billy. For Billy, the feeling is mutual. Sugar breaks the two up before they start fighting, and Billy marches off.

When Sugar asks Lizzie not to tell anyone about her and Billy, she replies with, “He can’t be your friend. White folks are different. They have their place. We have ours” (38). Sugar follows Lizzie home, remembering her time with Billy on the raft. On the river, they didn’t have to worry about what Lizzie said. When they were adventuring together, the differences between them disappeared.