Pantaloon in Black Reflection

Pantaloon in Black by William Faulkner follows the twisting and turning downward spiral of a broken man. Rider, a black mill worker, goes through the intense emotions of grief after losing his wife Mannie. I found it interesting how as Rider becomes even more distraught the writing becomes harder to follow. This represents Riders loss of control and sanity. Also, throughout the story Rider finds that he is forgetting things like where his dog is and where he put down his jug of whiskey. It all culminates in Rider finally slitting the throat of a white mill worker,  a Birdsong, who scams the black workers out of their money. I also found it interesting how it is never determined how Mannie died. However, it is obvious through the writing that Rider truly loved his wife.

I also noticed the use of symbolism throughout the story. First, his overalls, which were pristine from Mannie’s cleaning, became increasingly dirty as he walked miles around the woods. This as well as the motif of his “bloodshot eyes… in which no white showed at all” (69) represent grief overtaking Rider. Religion also plays a role as Rider argues with God against the wishes of his aunt and uncle who believe God is the only one who can save him. He also uses alcohol to cope with his sadness, but it only seems to make him angrier and even less in control.

Part 2 comes from the perspective of a police officer on the murder case of Birdsong. This helps the reader to fully understand what Rider did from an outside perspective. He does not have any sympathy for Rider and does not try to understand his actions. In fact, he is angry that he showed up to work after the funeral of his wife. In the end, we find out that Rider has been lynched most likely by the members of the Birdsong family. However, Rider himself asked not to be locked up which shows that he intended to die. It is possible that killing Birdsong was an intentional way of indirectly committing suicide. But is hard to know considering Rider’s manic mental state at the time.

Questions

What is the role of the dog in this story?

Why does Rider kill the mill worker specifically?

How does race play into this story?