A Painted House Analysis

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When we see little kids running around and playing or sound asleep, most of us think of them as angels sent from heaven. We, as parents and future parents, love to see our children grow to become handsome sons and beautiful daughters. We do everything in our hands to keep them in the right tracks to become respectful human beings. We would want to be with them every second of their lives, but at some point we have to let them go and set them free. At one point in life, everyone hold secrets, including our own children. Luke Chandler is the protagonist in the novel A Painted House by John Grisham. He was the youngest Chandler in the family. He lived with his grandfather Eli, his grandmother Ruth, his father Jesse and his mother Kathleen in …show more content…

In the afternoons, everyone met in town. This was a way to relax after a very long week of picking cotton. Here, people talked to each other about the latest news. Not only was news something big on Saturdays, but so were the usual fights. Everyone knows that kids should not watch anything so drastic like a fight and Luke knew it because he states “My mother had warned me against watching fights behind the Co-op” (Grisham, 86). But one particular Saturday was the exception. Luke had witness his first fight. The fight took place behind the Co-op, where it was usual for other kids to hang out. It all started when a lot of people gathered around to see what the commotion was all about. The Sisco brothers were picking fights like always. They were teasing a kid and Hank Spruill decided to go in and defend the kid. Hank taught the Siscos a good lesson to not bully anyone. This fight was so brutal that days later, the town knew that one of the brothers, Jerry, had died. Stick Powers, sheriff of the town was looking for witnesses to take Hank to jail, but no one would say anything. Luke did not say anything because he thought that by saying it was Hank who killed one of the brothers, then the crop would be at risk if the whole family decided to leave their …show more content…

It was a late night when Hank Spruill decided to leave town for the incident earlier in the story. That same night, Cowboy went after Hank to confront him because we knew that Hank was always getting into trouble. Luke had witness everything. This fight was not like the first one, it was so much worse. It started with just rock throwing to get each other’s attention. Cowboy had a switchblade in his pocket with the intentions of using it to harm. When things were getting at a max point where things were getting thrown at, Cowboy decided to bring out the switchblade out to the public to be seen. When Hank lease expected, Cowboy “drove the blade up through Hank’s stomach and chest… Then Cowboy yanked it out and thrust is in again and again” (Grisham, 330). The body was thrown down the river for the water to take away. As Luke was going back home, in shock, Cowboy catches him and threatens him to not say anything. Cowboy remarks “you speak one word about tonight and I will kill your mother” (Grisham, 334). Luke having witness this horrible deed and being warned about not saying anything brought Luke to stay quiet

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