The Sport of the Gods · Chapter
VI: Outcasts explained
After Berry Hamilton's conviction, his family faces social ostracism and economic hardship.
What happens
After Berry Hamilton's conviction, his family faces social ostracism and economic hardship. Fannie Hamilton struggles to find a new home, while Joe Hamilton is rejected from jobs due to his father's crime. The family decides to leave their Southern town and move to New York, seeking a fresh start.
Themes in this chapter
Racial Injustice
The Hamiltons are collectively punished for Berry's alleged crime, facing discrimination and exclusion from employment and housing despite their innocence.
False Ideals and Ambition
Joe's past pride in being a 'white man's barber' and his condescension toward black barbershops backfires, leaving him humiliated and jobless.
Cycle of Suffering and Fate
The family's fall from grace and forced migration illustrate how a single event can set off a chain of suffering, with little hope of escape.
Characters to notice
- Joe Hamilton
Joe attempts to find work but is rejected due to his father's conviction and his own past arrogance. He proposes moving to New York and takes charge of the family's departure.
- Fannie Hamilton
Fannie struggles to find a new home and is overwhelmed by the family's disgrace. She ultimately agrees to move north, showing resilience despite her despair.
- Kitty Hamilton
Kitty tries to comfort her brother and mother, maintaining hope. She is distressed by the family's situation but supports the decision to leave.
- Maurice Oakley
Maurice Oakley observes the Hamiltons' departure with satisfaction, having pressured Fannie to move after Berry's conviction.
Key passages
“What particularly irritated Maurice Oakley was that Berry should to the very last keep up his claim of innocence.”
Maurice Oakley was especially annoyed that Berry continued to insist he was innocent until the very moment he was taken away.
Highlights Oakley's resentment and Berry's steadfast denial.
“It is strange how all the foolish little vaunting things that a man says in days of prosperity wax a giant crop around him in the days of his adversity.”
The boastful things Joe said in better times now come back to haunt him during his misfortune.
Reflects on the consequences of past arrogance.
“New York. It had an alluring sound. Who would know them there? Who would look down upon them?”
New York seemed like a place of freedom and anonymity where they could escape their shame.
Captures the family's hope for a fresh start in the North.