Fire in the Community

'"Grab a bucket and come on!" Gus screamed.
Within minutes, the house was totally engulfed in flames. Paul drew water from the well as the others dashed it onto the burning structure. His arms ached from the constant lowering and pulling of the chain, but as long as they were trying, he knew he couldn't quit. There were at least twenty men present, and all of them moved as if the house were their own. They knew their efforts were useless; anyone could see that. The blaze was simply too hot to battle. Those at the end of the line were tossing more water on the ground than on the fire, but they had to try' (Black 283).

This passage is at the start of chapter 31 on page 283. It is the passage in which Eva Mae burns down the house of the kids who attacked and raped Paul that night in the woods. The men in this passage are trying to save the burning building and those in it, vigorously pouring as much water as they can onto the house, in a losing battle against the flames engulfing it. The sentence, "There were at least twenty men present, and all of them moved as if the house were their own," provides a look at the community of Swamp Creek. The people in the house weren't exactly well-liked by the community, but they were a part of it nonetheless, and the fact that their house is on fire is enough to bring the rest of the community out to help. Each man putting out the fire put all their strength into smothering the flames with water, even though they knew, ultimately, it was no use. These men "moved as if the house were their own," demonstrating a camaraderie between the community members that runs deep. This passage demonstrates a community willing to provide strong aid to anyone within that unit, a display of strength and loyalty essential in keeping together and protecting a large group of people.

Whilst on the one hand this passage demonstrates an incredibly proactive and helpful community, on the other it provides us with insight to the harmful individuals who choose to attack, and hurt other members of the community. The people inside the house were the group who attacked Paul in the woods and raped and beat him almost to death. These community individuals were not the same kind as those who came out to try and help them in their desperate time of need. Instead of providing aid to other members of the community in an effort to keep it intact, they do the opposite and strive to deteriorate the strength of the community by instigating fear.

Eva Mae was also part of this community, and it was she who set fire to the house in the first place, causing this outbreak of community kindness as well as illustrating yet another side of the community complex, that of personal revenge for another's crimes.

We see when looking at all the characters involved in this passage, that our concept of community changes with every new lens of perspective we put on while assessing each characters' situation.