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A John F. Blair, Publisher,
The Cock's Spur First printing, |
A Note from Charles F.
Price: In writing The Cock's Spur, I wanted to tell a story about life in the Southern Appalachians in the 1880s, when truly hard times were settling on the highlands. We often imagine that the region, isolated behind its mountain walls, has always suffered more than its share of woes. But the truth is that much of the poverty, ignorance, and lawlessness popularly associated with Appalachia actually took root in the dislocations of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Before the terrible 1860s, much of the region flourished. Thus, in the period I chose to write about, memories of better days are lingering on as if to mock the characters' bleak struggle for life. Secondly, I wanted to explore the theme of duty--duty amid hardship. What is it ? What does it require of us? Is it the measure of our worth as human beings? To whom, or what, is duty owed? Is one's duty to oneself perhaps a higher value than one's duty to others? Or, as we are usually taught, is the reverse true? In my first two novels, Hiwassee and Freedom's Altar, I wrote about the trials of two families, the Curtises and the Prices, in the wartime and immediate postwar years. (The characters in both works were fictionalized versions of my own ancestors). So when I came to write The Cock's Spur it seemed logical to follow the same course. Consequently, many of the people in The Cock's Spur also appear in the earlier books. However, The Cock's Spur is not technically a "threequel;" it was designed to stand on its own. The Curtises were formerly one of the most influential of the planter clans in Clay County in western North Carolina. But war and emancipation of their slaves have ruined them. Now, they strive to hack a mean existence from the unforgiving soil. The elders, Madison and Sarah Curtis, are gone. Madness is overtaking Andy, the oldest son. Other children live elsewhere or have died. Youngest daughter Rebecca, the last of the line, shoulders the burden of providing. Fears plague her--fears that she might fail in her duty, or that she might succeed and so condemn herself to an eternity of selfless toil in others' behalf. She cannot see how to escape the dilemma. Caring for Andy and two orphaned nephews--and the farm, too--saps her spirit. On the verge of spinsterhood, she is wooed by a last persistent suitor, neighboring farmer Tom Carter. But she thinks Tom a dullard and resists him, partly because he bores her and partly because she believes the stewardship of the Curtises is rightly hers. Also longing to fly from hardship is Hamby McFee, formerly a Curtis slave and now manager of the Curtis farm in all but name. For Hamby, duty to the Curtises is both a trap he resents and an obligation he cannot shirk. A mulatto, he is a stranger in both the white world and the black. He gives to beasts the affection he dare not offer men of either hue. Tough and cynical, he is a renowned fighter of gamecocks. He hopes to win a stake in the cockpit so he can put aside his loyalty to the Curtises, leave the valley, and finally do his duty to himself as a free man. Sylvester--or Ves, as he prefers to be called-- scoundrel son of Hayesville cobbler Oliver Price, is untroubled by ambiguous thoughts about loyalty. Ves's duty is to himself alone. Like Rebecca and Hamby, he nurses a wish to put the present behind him and venture forth into the great world. He dreams of making a fortune without toil. His one virtue is an unrequited love for Rebecca. To this alone he holds true. Bigoted, selfish, more sly than smart, a perpetual schemer, he agrees with a Revenue agent to spy on local moonshiners for pay. The decision puts his life at risk and surprisingly intertwines his fate with Hamby's in such a way that each must act as his own notion of duty compels. Informing on local stillers, Ves incurs the wrath of Webb Darling, murderous moonshiner chief of the region. Darling conceives of duty as a pyramid, atop which he sits in majesty. Stillers pay him tribute and give him absolute loyalty. Those who resist or--like Ves--spy on his vast operations, die. Yet like a monarch of old, the self-styled king believes himself obligated to give fair rule to his subjects. He provides for families of jailed moonshiners, does justice in disputes, offers minions his protection. He preaches a duty that is reciprocal but practices one that is self-serving. A Ku Klux Klansman, by turns violent and whimsical, Darling has a penchant for cockfighting, which draws Hamby McFee into his deadly orbit and ends by setting Ves Price's life in the balance. Questions to Consider: 1. Of the characters in The Cock's Spur, who best exemplifies your idea of duty? Rebecca? Tom Carter? Hamby? Ves? Anyone else? Explain. 2. In the book, Andy Curtis has striven all his adult life to do his duty to his family and dependents. Discuss how he defines his duty. Discuss the cost he paid. 3. Discuss the relationship between Andy and Rebecca. Between Rebecca and Hamby McFee. Between Hamby and the Cherokee Longrunner. What does each signify? 4. Evaluate Ves Price from a moral point of view. What has Ves learned by the end of the book? 5. Discuss the significance of Hamby's love for animals, as opposed to his impatience with animals. 6. Who is the "hero" of the book? Explain. 7. What is Webb Darling's feeling for his wife and children? Theirs for him? Discuss. 8. What lingering effects of the Civil War and Reconstruction can you identify in the book? 9. Discuss the role race plays in The Cock's Spur. 10. Discuss the significance of Hamby's actions with regard to Ves at the climatic cockfight. 11. What does the book say about love?
Hate? Faith? Revenge? Explain your thoughts. |
