The Unsung Hero of Birdsong, USA

“My name is Gabriel, like the angel, but I’m sure not ready for heaven. I don’t have any brothers or sisters, and at times I wish I did. And we aren’t rich, but we’re a ways from being poor, and being a ways from being poor is how I got the bicycle, and having the bicycle is how I met Meriwether, and meeting Meriwether is how I learned that seeing life through more eyes than just the two on my face can make some things a lot easier to understand.”

Woods adds vibrancy to Gabriel’s narration and evokes the novel’s setting of rural South Carolina during the 1940s by employing dialect and colloquialisms, such as Gabriel’s use of “sure” and “a ways.” Additionally, the passage’s third sentence starts with a coordinating conjunction and rolls on and on with several linked clauses to create a sense of rhythm. These grammatical informalities give the novel a conversational tone that reflects Gabriel’s youthful voice and Southern roots. In addition, the repetition of Meriwether’s name emphasizes his importance to the protagonist, foreshadowing his prominent role in the novel.

“Soon, I was flying downhill, soaring like a swallow-tailed kite bird, speeding so fast I didn’t even have to pedal. I glanced up, wondering if this was anything close to what my uncle Earl felt like when he was in his P-51 Mustang way up there in the sky. Now and then, I pictured myself becoming a pilot just like him.”

This passage helps to establish Gabriel’s sheltered mindset at the beginning of the novel. The simile comparing his speedy progress to “a swallow-tailed kite bird” uses a regional comparison to express the joy he takes in riding his new bike. The boy’s daydream about “becoming a pilot just like” his uncle also demonstrates his childhood innocence because he is still too young to grasp the horrors that Earl experienced as a fighter pilot during World War II. However, the events of the coming-of-age narrative will soon shift Gabriel away from this initial carefree innocence and toward a more mature and somber understanding of the world.

“Then suddenly, from the corner of your eye, you catch a glimpse of a car in the intersection heading straight at you—the yellow Buick Roadmaster Mr. Babcock bought from Daddy for his wife, Betty, just the other day. And suddenly you realize you don’t have time to swerve out of its way—so for an instant you figure you’re definitely about to enter the pearly gates of heaven. And the only words that come out of your mouth are ‘Holy moly!’”

In this passage, Gabriel uses second-person narration while describing something that happened to him. The shift in perspective creates distance and gives him a sense of narrative control over his near-death experience, which frightened him deeply. Woods uses punctuation to create a choppy tone and support the scene’s suspense. The dashes accentuate the way that time seems to slow down as the Roadmaster nears Gabriel; he has time to recognize the car as one that his father recently sold but not enough time to move himself to safety.

“Finally the kitchen door swung open, and in no time flat, the table was loaded with steaming food. Roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans, corn that had been shaved from the cob, biscuits dripping with butter and honey, and a pitcher full of lemonade crowded the table.”

The author’s description of the meal that Gabriel’s relatives prepare for his birthday offers a wealth of gustatory imagery, such as “biscuits dripping with butter and honey.” The food serves as an expression of the Haberlins’ and Waldrops’ love and care for the protagonist, illustrating the family’s closeness as a whole and creating a contented mood. Several staples of Southern cuisine are mentioned in this passage, further developing the novel’s setting and the characters’ culture.

“‘Yes, my boy with the old soul…you most surely have a special destiny.’ ‘Special destiny?’ I asked. ‘Perhaps you’ll have a lifetime fulla exceptional good works or achieve something of remarkable significance during your earthly time. A special destiny should never be interfered with by no one, no way, no how.’ Suddenly, I felt as if I’d stepped into a moonlit swamp. I shivered.”

The repetition of the words “special destiny” calls attention to Auntie Rita’s prediction and foreshadows the climactic moment when Gabriel later “achieve[s] something remarkable” by preventing Meriwether from committing murder. Woods underlines the significance of this scene and creates a mysterious mood through the simile in which Gabriel compares the eeriness he feels to stepping into “a moonlit swamp.”

“A single room with a blackboard and a few rows of desks was all I saw. Right then, I’d wondered why my school has so many classrooms plus a library and a playground and a cafeteria too, when all the colored kids have is this one room.”

In literature, polysyndeton refers to the stylistic addition of coordinating conjunctions where none are grammatically necessary. The repetition of the word “and” in the phrase “a library and a playground and a cafeteria” emphasizes how many more resources Birdsong’s white students have compared to the town’s Black students. The passage develops the theme of privilege because it highlights a moment in which the young protagonist becomes more fully aware of the injustice of segregation.

“‘Just imagine if those signs, instead of saying No Colored Allowed, said No Whites Allowed. How’d that make you feel?’ I’d pictured a sign like that in my mind, and the feeling it had given me was different from any feeling I’d ever had before. I didn’t know what to call it, but if feelings carried smells with them, the one I was having would stink about as bad as the time I’d been sprayed by a skunk.”

Woods uses the simile “as bad as the time [he’d] been sprayed by a skunk” to convey Gabriel’s negative feelings as he thinks about segregation. Jake’s aim in this passage is to increase his son’s compassion for Black people, and the character serves as a vehicle for Woods’s broader goal of instilling empathy in her readers. At the same time, this passage about the hypothetical “No Whites Allowed” sign centers a white perspective in an examination of racism.

“To me, right then, the Hunters stopped feeling like new clothes and instead they felt like clothes I’d had awhile—comfortable, like I’d known them a spell.”

The simile comparing the Hunters to “comfortable” “clothes [that Gabriel has] had awhile” illustrates the almost immediate bond that the protagonist develops with Meriwether’s family. This closeness supports the theme of friendship and guides much of the novel’s action.

“I asked how he’d learned about fixing engines. As if he were searching for just the right answer, he took a while to reply. ‘Picked it up here and there. Was told I have something called mechanical aptitude.’ ‘Where’s here and there?’ I continued. ‘Round and about,’ he replied.”

Meriwether’s careful, evasive responses to Gabriel’s questions foreshadow the revelation that he fought in World War II but feels compelled to conceal this fact in order to shield his family from racist threats. Meriwether’s service and other characters’ responses to the revelation that he is a veteran are central to the novel’s focus on The Erasure of Black Contributions Versus the Fight for Recognition.

“‘And the more eyes you look through, the better you see things—understand now?’ ‘Kinda. Like if there are ten people with cameras and they’re standing around at ten different spots and they all click a picture of the same mountain at the same time, all the photographs are bound to be different. And afterward, lookin’ at all ten pictures instead of just one is gonna show you what that mountain really looks like.’”

In this passage, Meriwether invokes the image of eyes to reflect on the dynamics of differing perspectives and the complexity of reality. Gabriel demonstrates his understanding of this lesson by creating the analogy of “ten people with cameras” capturing more of a mountain than a single photograph ever could. This moment connects to The Power of Mentorship and Intergenerational Friendship by showing that Gabriel is becoming closer to Meriwether and learning from him.

“I knew we were close to the shore when the salty-air smell hit me, followed by the sounds of seagulls. Soon, the Atlantic Ocean came into view and I gazed out to the horizon where the dark blue of the water and the lighter blue of the sky meet.”

Woods makes the Haberlins’ arrival in Charleston more vivid by using imagery that appeals to multiple senses. For example, the phrases “dark blue” and “lighter blue” provide visual imagery, while “the sounds of seagulls” provide auditory imagery, and the “salty-air smell” provides olfactory imagery. These sensory details distinguish the oceanside city from the small, landlocked town of Birdsong and reflect Gabriel’s joy and anticipation for the parade.

“Standing beside him, with his arm resting on my shoulder, I proudly listened along with the rest of his admirers to his war stories. Earl Haberlin was just about as entertaining as any radio show as he told us the number of Nazi planes he and his squadron had shot down. He spun riveting tales of the Battle of the Bulge and how cold and snowy it was, and how it was actually called the Ardennes Counteroffensive until the newspapers changed the name.”

The author’s diction, such as “proudly” and “riveting,” shows the young protagonist’s admiration for his uncle. The tactile imagery of the battle’s “cold and snowy” conditions makes Earl’s war stories more immersive, and the simile “as entertaining as any radio show” reflects Gabriel’s hero-worship of his uncle and his youthful ignorance of war’s horrors.

“‘Why’d you say that stuff about the Battle of the Bulge? You made it sound like you were there too.’ ‘I was. And so were other colored men. And I’m tired of keepin’ it bottled up inside me when y’all’s soldiers get to brag and have fancy parades and all I have is a uniform, a Good Conduct Medal, an honorable discharge, and my memories.’”

Woods’s sentence structure vividly conveys the frustrated tone of Meriwether’s spontaneous admission. The short sentences at the start of Meriwether’s dialogue reflect his hesitation to share something that he promised not to discuss with white people, but the long, flowing sentence that follows lets loose his pent-up exasperation over keeping his silence amid the threat of racist retaliation. His decision to confide in Gabriel is also a testament to the trust he has in the boy’s friendship.

“Meriwether stared off into the beyond and started talking. ‘Ever since we got back from overseas, me and my army buddies have been hearin’ tales about colored soldiers who’d survived the war only to come home to the South and be murdered because of it. Wearin’ a uniform made ’em sittin’ ducks, and displayin’ medals was much the same as wearin’ a bull’s-eye.’”

The figurative language of “sittin’ ducks” and “wearin’ a bull’s-eye” supports the theme of the erasure of Black contributions versus the fight for recognition. The passage appeals to the readers’ consciences by contrasting the valor and love of their country that the Black veterans demonstrated with the cruelty and hatred that they faced upon their return to the United States.

“‘It was him! I know it! Tried to kill my girl,’ he hollered. ‘Tried to kill my girl!’”

This scene marks a tone shift and an escalation of the story’s suspense as Lucas’s hostility toward Meriwether reaches new and deadly levels. The repetition of “Tried to kill my girl” underscores Meriwether’s horror and rage. Significantly, he omits the subject of the sentence because the mistreatment of Black people has conditioned him to be cautious in accusing white people, even in moments of distress.

“It ain’t right and it ain’t fair, and don’t tell me it’s just the ways of the South. Y’all ever figure the ways of the South are wrong? Y’all ever figure the ways of the South need changin’? Y’all ever figure—”

Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of consecutive phrases or sentences. The repetition of “Y’all ever figure” at the start of the second, third, and fourth sentences conveys the protagonist’s righteous anger, and the repetition of “the ways of the South” underscores the conflict between the protagonist and his society.

“One day I’m gonna write my very own book about Birdsong, includin’ y’all and everything that happened, but mostly it’s gonna be ’bout my daddy drivin’ a tank durin’ the war so that way it won’t be a secret anymore, and even though he didn’t get a parade, everyone’ll still know how brave he was.”

The entire excerpt is one sentence, a stylistic choice that reflects Abigail’s youthful excitement and determination as she shares her aspirations. The book that she plans to write so that “everyone’ll still know how brave [Meriwether] was” situates storytelling as a powerful weapon in the fight for recognition of Black contributions. In addition, creating a book about “everything that happened” in Birdsong offers a way for Abigail to gain a measure of control over her own dangerous experiences in the town, including Lucas’s attempt on her life.

“‘Where’s Meriwether now?’ The pastor responded, ‘Don’t know. He drove off just b’fore you got here. Said he’d be back shortly. Claimed he had to talk to someone about an important matter. I assumed he was referring to you.’”

The diction in this passage, such as “someone” and “an important matter,” are purposely ambiguous. The vague language creates an ominous mood and foreshadows the fact that Meriwether has gone to confront Lucas for his racist attacks against the Hunter family.

“The first time you meet someone, it’s the beginning of a brand-new unmapped trail, so there’s no way of knowing if that path is going to be a short one, a long one, or somewhere in between, or maybe one that takes you in a circle and therefore never ends. Not much time had passed since the day I’d met Meriwether, but because he was so interesting and kind, I didn’t want our friendship to be over yet. But like it or not, it appeared we were close to the end of our road.”

In this scene, Woods uses pathways as an extended metaphor for relationships. This comparison highlights the narrator’s reflective personality and the ways that his brief friendship with Meriwether have impacted him and his worldview. The diction and positioning of the phrase “the end of our road” at the passage’s conclusion fosters an ominous mood that enhances the suspense as the protagonist races toward the garage, where Meriwether’s climactic confrontation with Lucas occurs.

“For a few seconds, everything was calm. Then Lucas suddenly howled out, sounding like a sick hound. We watched as he clutched his chest and slumped to the garage floor. Daddy went to check him. ‘Lucas?’ He shook his shoulder. ‘Lucas?’ But Lucas wouldn’t budge. His eyes were wide open, staring, lifeless.”

The author utilizes a variety of literary techniques to build suspense in this passage. The “calm” of the first sentence temporarily releases the tension, only for it to return a moment later. The simile “like a sick hound” captures the alarming sound that Lucas makes, and the repetition of the man’s name adds to the tense mood. In the last sentence, Woods uses asyndeton in the phrase “wide open, staring, lifeless” for emphasis as the realization that the man is dead sinks in.

“I was filling a tank with gas when an odd thought popped into my mind. The same way a car stops when it’s out of fuel or something goes haywire in the engine, Lucas had come to his end. But unlike cars and other machines, once our light goes out, there’s no way to ever start us up again.”

This passage reflects the novel’s position as a coming-of-age story, or bildungsroman, as the reflective protagonist ponders mortality after his first experience seeing a dead person. Gabriel compares and contrasts a dead body to a stopped car, an analogy that shows how his environment influences his perspective.

“Mama closed her eyes and shook her head. ‘Horrible thing for y’all boys to witness.’ Because so many things that summer seemed to be pushing me to the finish line of childhood, I wanted to say, I’m not a boy anymore. But because it didn’t seem to be the right time for that, I didn’t.”

The metaphorical language of “the finish line of childhood” also supports the novel’s status as a bildungsroman. The protagonist demonstrates his growing maturity by recognizing that this isn’t “the right time” to tell his mother that he’s “not a boy anymore.”

“That night, our house was mostly quiet. Mama didn’t even offer up her usual dinnertime small talk. The windows were open and the radio was off, but outside, crickets were creating music and lightning bugs were making their nightly summertime appearance. The tick of the grandfather clock seemed louder than usual.”

In this passage, Woods’s focus on sound builds up anticipation. The crickets’ “music” reflects the summertime setting, and the onomatopoetic “tick” calls attention to the slow passage of time. The narrator’s observation that the clock “seem[s] louder than usual” also demonstrates his sense of disquiet as he waits to see Meriwether.