Mudbound

Henry takes out his anger on Laura by ignoring her in their bed: “I hadn’t always enjoyed Henry’s lovemaking, but it made me feel like a true wife. I never realized how much I needed that until he turned away from me” (135). One afternoon the family is in town at Tricklebank’s when a tall black soldier enters. It is Ronsel. His uniform is bedecked with medals and sergeant’s stripes. Laura remembers Florence saying: “Ronsel’s got a shine to him, you’ll see it the minute you lay eyes on him” (136). Laura understands what she meant. She introduces herself and tells Ronsel about the situation on the farm: “His jaw tightened and his eyes turned cold” (138). He leaves to go home, but Pappy, Doc Turpin, Henry, and Orris come in. Orris says, “Well looky here. A jig in uniform” (139). They tell him he can’t use the front door but has to go out the back. Hap tells them that in the war, they put him in the front, where he could kill his enemies face to face, but then he leaves through the back door. Henry says that he will talk to Hap about Ronsel’s attitude.