35 pages • 1 hour read
Chris CroweMississippi Trial, 1955
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2002A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 10-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 10 Summary
Hiram has an intense, emotional dream of he and his father. They were silently fishing together and “Dad looked content and happy, not just with life but with me” (108). But he walks away in the dream and when he returns, his father is gone, and Hiram is filled with complete and utter sadness. Once he is up and awake, he continues to worry about Emmett’s safety and tries to speak to Ruthanne about it, but she brushes it off as him being nonsensical in his actions towards the white woman up in Money and does not seem concerned that his safety is at risk.
That night at dinner, Hiram and Grampa go to a restaurant in town, where many come by their table to briefly chat and remark on everything Grampa and his council is doing to “save the South” (110). After dinner, they are home reading and listening to the radio when someone comes to the door looking to speak to Grampa, and he tells Hiram to go up to his room while they discuss council business. Hiram recalls that Grampa must have returned quite late, because he did not even here him come back inside the house. They spend the following day, Sunday, lazy and tired. The next day they go for a drive to the river and they start to discuss the relationship between Grampa and Hiram’s father, and Grampa admits that in order for two people to connect, “you’ve both got to reach out, you’ve both got to be willing to give a little. My problem always was I wouldn’t give an inch” (113). He considers stubbornness a Hillburn family trait, one he wishes was not something passed on. Back at the house, there is a message from Ruthanne explaining her absence due to a family emergency. Hiram later sees a headline in the newspaper that makes his stomach turn: “Chicago Negro Youth Abducted by Three White Men at Money” (115). He receives a call from the Sheriff notifying him he needs to stay put in Greenwood, should there be a trial.
Chapter 11 Summary
Grampa is not as concerned as Hiram is about the matter. When they let Hiram’s parents know he needs to stay longer than planned, they are worried. His mother tells him “Just remember who you are, Hiram Hillburn, and be sure you do what is right no matter what” (120). Emmett’s status goes from missing to being found dead in the Tallahatchie River. Hiram wonders if R.C. was somehow involved in the murder, his gut instinct telling him that is the case. Hiram is especially bothered by Grampa’s reaction, which is not one of shock and sadness, but anger about what this will do for the South, as far as segregation, and how the North will try to intervene even more. Emmett’s murder drums up a ton of press and argument in the town, with many saying he deserved what happened to him. Editorials in the paper come out against the NAACP and the North. The papers report that they are still in search of the third man involved, and Grampa assures Hiram that the law will eventually catch up with R.C.
Chapter 12 Summary
Hiram wakes up the next day feeling anxious and fearful. That night, a deputy arrives to the house giving Hiram papers that require him to show up in court for the trial. Hiram worries abouthow what he will say in court will affect him if R.C. finds out about it. Grampa discourages him from saying what he knows and tells Hiram that he does not owe Emmett anything, which Hiram strongly disagrees with. He feels a sense of guilt that he should have done more to make sure nothing happened to Emmett in the first place. Later, at dinner, Ruthanne remarks on how this is the first time in Mississippi’s history that white men will be put to trial for something that happened to a black man. Hiram meets Naomi after dinner and continues to discuss his debate about his involvement in the trial. Naomi also discourages him from sharing what he knows, saying that even if Hiram made it back to Arizona safely, his Grampa would not be safe. All of this leaves Hiram in distress.
Chapters 10-12 Analysis
With Emmett reported missing and already having the information from R.C. that some sort of business would be happening based on the event at Money, Hiram is extremely anxious and feels he must do something to try to prevent any further potential harm. His unsuccessful call to the deputy and his dissatisfying conversations with Grampa do not leave him with many productive outlets, but the initial shame from what happened to Emmett down by the river makes him continue to try to do something useful. He realizes that these prejudicial sentiments span a much greater swath than just his old Grampa and the foolish R.C.; men in power and rank also operate under this debased mentality.
