The Pecan Man

“Blanche grunted. ‘Especially not callin’ the police.’

‘You can’t believe that, Blanche.’

‘It ain’t the same for you, Miz Ora. You jes go’n have to trust me on this one.’

Part of me knew she was dead right, but it wasn’t something I wanted to admit. Not to her anyway.

‘Surely we’re not still living in that kind of world…’ I trailed off helplessly.”

Having experienced it firsthand, Blanche is aware of racial injustice in a way that Ora is not. Initially, Ora is certain that Blanche’s perception is wrong, but she soon understands that it is she who is naïve. Blanche is certain that the police would blame Grace, a Black child, for her rape instead of recognizing her as a victim.

“Gracie squealed and covered her ears, then craned her neck to see the source of the commotion. There, waving from the front seat of his father’s squad car, sat Skipper Kornegay, his white hair gleaming in the low pitch of the afternoon sun.

Gracie flattened herself against the porch column, hands reaching back to grip its wide round girth, her face a mask of terror and her feet back pedaling as if she could push the column out of the way with her body.”

Though Blanche and Ora have worked to help Grace believe that the rape was merely a bad dream, she cannot forget the terror of the experience. Though she may be too young to comprehend what happened to her, Grace’s trauma is visceral.

“‘Back then, it was important to be a good hostess. Wives played a big role in their husbands’ success in the business world.’

‘How come?’

I thought about this a minute. It was a perfectly reasonable question and it had a perfectly reasonable answer. I was sure of it.

‘Well, it’s important to meet the right people if you want to increase your business.’”

Ora’s conversation with Blanche’s daughters regarding her expensive flatware reveals Ora’s failure to realize that not everyone lives a life of privilege as she does. At times, she unintentionally takes her lifestyle for granted. Blanche’s daughters help her recognize the futility of such elaborate possessions, as well as the ways Ora worked to advance her husband rather than reaching her own goals and dreams.