A Thousand Never Evers

“Sure [Adams’s lawyer] probably heard the Negroes are dirt-dog-poor—maybe he even drove past our houses—but I reckon seeing close-up that a whole family lives in a home the size of his garden shed can be a bit of a surprise.”

Addie Ann’s analysis of the lawyer’s reaction to her home is reflective of many characters throughout the text and many people throughout the South at the time of the novel. It is easy for them to ignore prejudice and racism and the poverty that they force Black people into because they rarely have to see it directly. Although they know that it exists, it is easier to ignore when it does not directly impact them.

“Today white magnolia petals litter the path. Springtime fills up my lungs. I see one blossom still on the branch. Through that flower, Old Man Adams sends me a message: life keeps blooming, things keep on.”

This metaphor—comparing life’s resilience to the resilience of the last bud on a tree—also becomes a metaphor for Addie Ann’s family and their resilience in the text. Even after her father is killed, her brother is chased from town, and her home is burned down, they still fight for Uncle Bump’s freedom and the larger goal of equality.

“I want to yell what I know is true: This land, it’s ours too! But the words are stuck inside me. I’m afraid we’re all going to die. And I wonder if it’s worth it, for the land.”

These thoughts from Addie Ann are a reaction to the inciting incident of the novel: the moment when the mayor and sheriff refuse to listen to Adams’s will and give the garden to the entire community. Her thoughts of whether the fight for the garden is “worth it” lead to an important question throughout the novel: When is the risk of death worth standing up for what is right?