Bright and Morning Star

Bright and Morning Star Summary | Part 1 Summary

It is raining and has been for quite some time. As Sue looks out her window into the dark, miserable night, her thoughts turn to Johnny-Boy, who has been out in this weather all day. She briefly wonders why he didn't send someone else out in the rain, before reminding herself that he doesn't trust very many people.

Sue then turns her attention to the pile of clothing in the zinc washtub that needs to be ironed. She irons in silence for quite some time, but when a gust of wind causes the rain to pelt her window, she again wishes for Johnny-Boy to come home. The cold and rain also make her long for her other son, Sug and she imagines how wonderful it would be if the three of them could once again spend an evening together; however, since Sug is in jail, this is not possible.

Sue acknowledges that she is overly anxious and has been ever since she learned that another Communist party meeting was being planned. She knows that Johnny-Boy is out notifying his comrades about this meeting and now that he is over an hour late in arriving home, she becomes fearful that something has happened to him. She tries to ignore the nagging feeling she has by consuming herself in her work. However, she cannot stop worrying about her son, particularly since it was just a year ago that Sug was out notifying fellow Communists about a meeting when he was arrested, beaten and thrown into jail because he would not identify his comrades.

Sue recalls the day she learned of Sug's arrest. She earned her living by washing and ironing other people's laundry and was returning home with a bundle of clothes when Bob, Johnny-Boy's friend, called her from across the field to tell her that Sug had been taken away by the sheriff. From that point on, it seemed as though everything in her life was more difficult; the bundles of laundry were harder to lift, as were the tubs of water in which the clothes were washed and the iron that was used to press them. In an effort to help ease her fear, Sue begins to softly sing a song she learned from her mother. Like Sue, her mother spent long hours doing hard labor for only a few cents' wages. And her mother instilled in her a strong faith in Jesus. As Sue grew into adulthood and had to learn to live in a world where white people and their laws took precedence over her life, she found her faith continually tested. The death of her mother, her difficult marriage to a man who died young and left her with two boys and her boys growing up and joining the Communist Party, were all events that Sue handled with grace and strength. Over time, as she began to learn about Communism from her sons, she started to believe that the party's beginnings were quite similar to Jesus' Resurrection. Before long, she became so strong in her convictions that she began to harbor hatred for those who sought to destroy the party. Even so, she often finds comfort in the spiritual songs of her youth.

Sue's thoughts are interrupted by a knock at the door. It is Reva, a white girl who is in love with Johnny-Boy. As she enters the house, Reva asks if Johnny-Boy has arrived home yet. Sue says that he hasn't and tells her to take off her wet shoes. As Reva gets out of her wet clothes, Sue wonders to herself if Reva's father has any idea of her feelings for Johnny-Boy. When Reva has finished removing her shoes, she tells Sue that the sheriff had been at her home earlier that evening to see her father. Apparently, the sheriff had somehow gotten word of the planned party meeting, but Reva assures Sue that Johnny-Boy's name was not mentioned. Even so, she thinks it would be best that the meeting be cancelled.

As Sue listens to Reva, she is overcome with a feeling that something terrible has already happened to Johnny-Boy. She implores Reva to tell her the truth, but Reva insists that, to her knowledge, he is fine. The two women wonder aloud who it was who alerted the sheriff to the meeting and both agree that it was probably one of the party's newest members.

As she ponders all that Reva has told her, Sue realizes that her feelings are mixed. While she loves her son deeply, she also recognizes that he is happiest when he is doing the work of the party. As a result, she realizes that he has to continue this work, even if it means that he will eventually meet the same fate as Sug. Before Reva leaves to return home, she reminds Sue to tell Johnny-Boy to tell his comrades to stay away from her house. Sue assures her that she will and then stands in the doorway to watch Reva disappear into the dark, rainy night.