The Eatonville Anthology

The Eatonville Anthology Summary | Detailed Summary

I - The Pleading Woman

As the story begins, the reader is introduced to Mrs. Tony Roberts who is known as the "pleading woman." She asks her husband and neighbors for various items. She begs Mr. Clarke, one of the neighbors, for a piece of meat to season a pot of greens. Mrs. Roberts claims that her husband doesn't provide for her and her children, but Mr. Clarke knows differently. Still, he relents and gives her the meat and Mrs. Roberts venerates him, telling him that God will bless him for doing so because he loves those who give. When Mrs. Roberts follows Mr. Clarke to get the meat, she even asks for more than what he's cutting off the bone. She leaves, but not without chastising Mr. Clarke. Clearly disappointed in him, she feels that he should have given her more meat. After she's gone, Mr. Clarke adds the charge for the meat to the Tony Roberts' account.

On her way home, Mrs. Roberts visits several other neighbors, gathering more items for the day. She takes greens from Mrs. Pierson's place and bemoans Tony for not providing for the family. She also accuses Mrs. Pierson of being stingy with the greens. Mrs. Pierson gives Mrs. Roberts a bit more. The next day, Mrs. Roberts will repeat her actions.

II - Turpentine Love

Jim Merchant is a jovial, married man who fell in love with his wife at first sight. At present, his wife has no teeth, having had them all pulled. Jim married her even though she suffered from fits when they first met. Her mother gave her turpentine to try and stop the fits. The turpentine got into her eye and, strangely enough, cured her.

III - (no title)

Becky Moore has never married, but she has eleven children. Other mothers won't allow their children to play with her children, because they are fearful that Becky's lifestyle will rub off on their own children.

IV - Tippy

The Jones' families are crapshooters. Tippy is Sykes Jones' dog. The dog is skinny and goes into the neighbors' houses and steals meat. As a result, the townspeople try repeatedly to kill Tippy to no avail. Now, they tolerate him and Tippy gets along with whomever he comes across.

V - The Way of a Man with a Train

Old Man Anderson lives in the countryside outside of town. He purchases food for months at a time so that he doesn't have to come into town. He is also chided for not having ever seen a train. Many people tell him that he should see a train, and after much pestering, he decides to get up early and drive to Jacksonville in order to see one. While waiting for the train, he remembers people talking about fire and smoke coming from the engine, so he decides that he needs to be further away from the tracks. While moving his cart, the train roars by, scaring him so badly that he races off into the woods, never seeing the train.

VI - Coon Taylor

Coon Taylor is a petty thief, stealing small items like melons. People are aware that he is stealing from them, but are unable to prove it or catch him. After taking a bunch of melons from Joe Clarke, Joe loads a shotgun with rock salt and waits up to catch Coon. Joe falls asleep and doesn't wake up and see Coon until it is too late. The next time that Joe waits up for Coon is during the sugarcane season. Joe catches him and makes him eat all of the sugarcane he steals right then. Joe then banishes Coon from the town for three months.

VII - Village Fiction

There is some debate over who has the largest business in the state. Lum Boger insists that Joe Lindsay has the biggest, while Brazzle claims to own the largest himself. Brazzle also asserts that his wife is "the biggest liar in the world" (pg. 63). This is evidenced by a tale regarding a doctor's removal of a woman's organs and then replacing them so that she could go back to work.

VIII - (no title)

Sewell is a man who moves around frequently and lives by himself. He is also bald.

IX - (no title)

Mrs. Clarke is married to Joe Clarke. When they are first married, Joe beats her, but doesn't any longer. On Sundays, she shakes every hand in the congregation except Joe's.

X - (no title)

Every Sunday Mrs. McDuffy goes to church and when she gets home her husband beats her. He beats her because she shouts during the church service. Elijah asks Mrs. McDuffy why she won't quit shouting so that he won't beat her; she replies that she can't because she is so filled with the spirit of God. Elijah then asks her husband to quit beating her, but he informs him that the routine is done out of spite and that he plans to keep it up as long as his wife.

XI - Double-Shuffle

Before the World War, the town of Eatonville held dances during which younger residents do the two-step and waltz. The older residents perform a grand march. The grand march is described and compared to the way it is performed in other locations. Without an orchestra playing, the dancers count out a beat and people shout and clap. When the boys' dance is over, it is the girls' turn. Afterwards, Mr. Clarke announces that refreshments are available.

Since the war, the boys and girls now dance the fox trot and there is a new piano.

XII - The Head of the Nail

Despite being unattractive, Daisy Taylor is regarded as "the town vamp." (pg. 67). She goes to Clarke's store to see if any mail has come for her, but it is very rare that anyone writes to her. The two single men in town aren't interested in her at all, so she flirts with married men.

Many of the wives complain about Daisy, but it is her affair with Crooms, a fruit-picker, that causes the most trouble. The affair goes on for some time and Crooms even purchases Daisy a pair of shoes. Mrs. Crooms cries about the affair and most other things, but ultimately leaves it up to God to handle.

One Saturday evening, Daisy approaches the men who are gathered around the storefront playing games and telling stories. When none of the men offer to buy her a soda or candy, she declares that she doesn't need anything from them, because Crooms will buy her anything she wants. Mrs. Crooms is approaching, but Daisy doesn't seem to care. In fact, Daisy quite likes rubbing the affair in Mrs. Crooms' face. Mrs. Crooms strikes Daisy with an ax-handle and continues to do so every time that Daisy tries to get to her feet. The following week, Daisy relocates to Orlando.

XIII - Pants and Cal'line

A quiet woman, Cal'line Potts may keep to herself, but she's apt to do whatever she pleases. Though she is not regarded as a jealous woman, she does certain things to the women that her husband fooled around with. Mitch Potts, her husband, becomes irritated with Cal'line and tells her off. He later comes home with a rectangular box. Cal'line stands barefoot while she irons. Mitch takes the box into the woods. A short time after, Cal'line follows Mitch, but before leaving the house, she picks up the axe.

XIV - (no title)

A tale about how animals used to be able to talk like people, this section details Miss Nancy Coon being approached by Mr. Dog. They flirt and play and Miss Coon tells the dog that she likes the sound of his voice. A short while later, Mr. Rabbit comes along and asks Miss Coon to marry him.

Having been proposed to by both Mr. Dog and Mr. Rabbit, Miss Coon explains that she needs to think the proposals over and asks them both to come back the next day. Before they leave, Miss Coon tells them that she likes the way Mr. Dog sings, but she also likes the way Mr. Rabbit dances.

Mr. Rabbit and Mr. Dog both leave. On their way home, Mr. Rabbit tells Mr. Dog that he would like to help Mr. Dog improve his singing voice. He tells Mr. Dog to meet him at the huckleberry patch in the next day and Mr. Dog agrees excitedly.

The next day, Mr. Dog meets Mr. Rabbit. Mr. Rabbit slices the dog's tongue with a knife and runs like crazy. Dogs have been mad at rabbits ever since and the proof is in a dog's tongue and the thin line that runs along it.