Perfect Peace

Emma Jean recovers in three weeks; she can no longer walk with her usual “grace” and feels old, but she accepts these changes and is grateful to be alive. One evening while Emma Jean is still recovering, Paul meets Eva Mae in the clover field next to the Jordan River. Eva Mae performs oral sex on Paul. The pair soon go their separate ways, and Paul is interrogated by Gus upon his arrival home. After Paul admits that he has been spending time with Eve Mae, Gus violently attacks him. Woody and Authorly break up the altercation, and Sol, Mister, and Bartimaeus take Paul to the barn to care for him. They treat Paul’s injuries, and Woody tries to tell Paul that Gus didn’t mean to hurt him, while Sol yells that Gus never should have hit Paul. Woody makes excuses for Gus, infuriating Sol, who argues that everything that is happening is hardest on Paul, not Gus. Sol and Mister take Paul to lie down inside the house, and Bartimaeus tells Authorly and Woody that he had known for a while that Paul has the physical traits of a boy. Gus is silent for the rest of the night, shocked by his own actions.

When Gus enters his bedroom in the evening, Emma Jean tells him that Paul cannot change overnight and that no child deserves what Gus did to Paul. Gus asks God to forgive him. He silently goes to the living room and stands over Paul, thinking about his inability to love his son the same way that he loved his daughter. Gus runs to the front lawn and begins to cry, yelling and punching wildly at the sky. Paul watches through the window while Gus demands that God explain everything to him. When Gus returns inside, he tells Emma Jean that she can sleep in their bed again, deciding that he carries as much blame as she does. Emma Jean quietly tells Gus that she thinks Paul should go to school, but Gus says that for Paul to go to school, Sol would have to drop out, as the family can only afford to place one child in school at a time. Sol, who thrives in school and loves to learn, would be heartbroken, but Emma Jean insists that Sol will eventually understand their decision.

Early the next morning, Gus instructs Mister and Paul to go to the store to buy a bag of cow feed. From a distance, a group of men whisper maliciously about Paul. As Mister and Paul pass the men, Paul smiles at them, leading them to exclaim that Paul is too sweet to be a “normal” boy. The boys enter the store, and Paul stands just inside to secretly listen to the men’s conversation. They use derogatory terms to explain that Paul will never fit into their understanding of masculinity. They laugh about Paul having sex with a woman to “straighten him out” and joke about their own sexual experiences (182). Inside the store, Miss Mamie greets Paul warmly as he walks away from the front door; she gives him a comforting hug after noticing his tears. She tells him to “stick with the Lord” (183), and Paul leaves, confused by her words.

On Authorly’s 20th birthday—when Paul is nine years old—Authorly announces that he is getting married to a girl he has been secretly dating. James Earl, with whom Authorly is closest, asks whether Authorly will leave him behind. Authorly reassures James Earl that he will take him to live together with his new wife. Gus is happy to have two less mouths to feed, and Emma Jean is grateful to Authorly for taking James Earl with him and for being the “measure of manhood” in their household (186).

Eula Faye, Authorly’s fiancée, readily accepts that James Earl will be part of her household. The narrative reveals that after she and Authorly marry, Eula Faye will come to realize that she loves James Earl—whom she refers to as her second husband—more than she loves Authorly. However, she will be happy to have them both, and she will have 10 children with the pair of them. At the wedding, Paul listens to the men speak about Eula Faye in sexualizing terms. He wonders if he is expected to behave like the men around him.

Sol angrily watches Paul leave for his first day of school and claims that he will never forgive Emma Jean for taking his education from him. At school, Paul cannot keep himself from staring at a young man named Johnny Ray Youngblood, whom Eva Mae says is the cutest boy in town. Paul finds himself agreeing with her assessment and wants to be Johnny Ray’s friend. Miss Erma welcomes Paul to her class and scolds the other children for whispering amongst themselves.

One day in early November, one of the Redfield boys approaches Paul and asks if he is a girl. Eva Mae stands up for Paul, who is too timid to respond. Later, the Redfield boy passes Paul a derogatory note in class that features a drawing of a person with a penis who is also wearing a dress. Paul runs from the classroom in tears. As Miss Erma calls after him, Eva Mae looks at the note and shows it to her. Miss Erma yells for the Redfield children to leave her classroom, and they exit shamelessly. Miss Erma finds Paul crying near the back door of the classroom and tries to comfort him, telling him that he needs to “learn to ignore ignorance” because of his situation (194). Paul returns to the classroom, but he wonders how he will ever overcome the life given to him. Eva Mae begins to plot revenge on the Redfield boys.

Sol is sitting in the living room when Miss Erma enters the house with Paul. Emma Jean welcomes Miss Erma, who tells her what happened with the Redfield boys. When Miss Erma tells Emma Jean that she should speak with Gus about what happened, Emma Jean coldly insists that Paul is fine, and she refuses to involve Gus. Surprised by Emma Jean’s outburst, Miss Erma approaches Sol and asks what he is reading. Sol tells his former teacher that he has been reading and writing in his spare time, and Miss Erma tells him that she wishes he would return to school. Emma Jean overhears this and tells Miss Erma that Sol has to help his father on the farm. Miss Erma begs Emma Jean to allow Sol to go to school since he is so academically gifted, and Paul, who hates school, tries to tell his mother that he can help on the farm instead. Emma Jean yells that Miss Erma should respect her decision. Miss Erma leaves to pay a visit to the Redfields.

The narrative offers a snapshot of Sol’s future. Sol is enraged by his mother’s decision to deprive him of schooling and exclaims that he will go to school somewhere eventually. Sol does all of Paul’s reading and homework to keep up with his studies. When Sol is 12, he finds an old copy of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in the garbage behind the general store. The owner, Old Man Morrison, tells Sol that he must pay for the book and any other books that he wants to read. Sol begins to sweep in exchange for some of the books that Old Man Morrison plans to throw away. One day, a few wealthy white couples come into the general store and notice Sol’s passion for reading. They begin to give him books from their own personal libraries. Word about Sol’s reading spreads through the white community, and soon, piles of books are deposited on the front lawn of the Peace house.

The narrative returns to the present moment. Now, Emma Jean chooses not to tell Gus about what happened to Paul at school. Paul thinks about how he misses being a girl. He thinks about Johnny Ray Youngblood and wonders why it is so hard not to think about him. As his father and brothers tease him about getting a girlfriend, Paul realizes that his love for women is strictly platonic; he dislikes the idea of using a woman for sexual purposes. Paul realizes that he has romantic feelings for Johnny Ray, but when he reveals his attraction, Mister reminds him that Johnny Ray is a boy. Paul pushes down his feelings, believing that no one will ever love him because of the time he spent as Perfect. He cannot see himself becoming a “refined, polished, [and] masculine product” (203,) and he tells himself that he will be alone forever. However, he is grateful to have Eva Mae by his side.

By the age of 12, Paul claims that his “girlhood [has] faded into memory” (204), but people still gossip about him. Eva Mae asks Paul if she can still call him Perfect sometimes. He tells her that he doesn’t care if she calls him that in the clover field, but she is not allowed to call him Perfect anywhere else. The pair decide to look for four-leaf clovers. Paul finds a four-leaf clover and wonders if this means that someone will love him forever, but Eva Mae says that she is unsure. The two quickly separate and return home.

Gus asks Paul where he has been, and Paul hesitates, not wanting to anger his father again. Gus dismisses Paul to the barn to get his chores done. In the barn, Paul finds some of Emma Jean’s old clothes and puts them on; he states that he needs “a reminder that he is still special” (208). Wearing the dress, he begins to dance, feeling like he has become Perfect again. Suddenly, the barn door bursts open, and Gus forcefully removes the dress from Paul’s body, threatening to kill Paul if he does this again. Gus orders Paul to clean up the mess and silently walks away, leaving Paul to wonder why his father has not beaten him; he is unaware that after beating Paul the first time, Gus promised God never to beat Paul again.

By the time that Paul is 13, he takes on a “masculine aura” that is noticed by the people in Swamps Creek. In the spring of 1954, Paul contracts a fever that makes him deathly ill. Gus is at a loss for what to do. Emma Jean prays to God to save Paul. At some point during the night, Gus sits by Paul’s side and begins to talk to him, fearing that Paul is going to die. Gus acknowledges that he has been too hard on Paul and explains that he was taught that nothing is worse than a man who exhibits traits and behaviors associated with women. He tells Paul that he understands what it is like to feel alone in the world, and he promises to treat him better.

The next morning, Gus wakes up to find Paul staring at him. Paul says that he is strong, and Gus thanks God for answering his prayers. When the rains come, Gus makes his way to the Jordan River and screams his thanks to God, praising him. Bartimaeus follows his father and begins to happily scream to the heavens. After the two return home, Gus decides that he loves Paul simply because the boy is his son. He decides that he doesn’t care what other people think of his son anymore and that he genuinely likes him.

In August of 1953, Sol decides to leave to attend school. Everyone hugs him and wishes him well; Emma Jean watches everything silently because she doesn’t feel that she has the right to say anything to him about his education. Paul asks Sol to sing one more time. As the pair sing and cry, Sol forgives Paul for taking his place at school. Sol takes a bus to Howard University. He enters the administration building and approaches a friendly-looking young man asking who he needs to talk to in order to be admitted to the school. Confused, Walter—the young man—tells Sol that he needs to apply first. Sol begs Walter to help him find another way, and Walter walks him to the admissions office. There, Sol faces rejection from the admissions office and the dean. Walter tells Sol that the university’s president is “a legend, but he’s pretty down-to-earth, too” (224), and tells him to speak with the president.

At first, President Johnson is unwilling to admit Sol to the university, but later, he takes Sol into a dining hall on campus and tells him that he can work there to pay his tuition and board. President Johnson shows him a list of classes that he must pass without earning any credit toward his degree before he can be admitted into Howard University. Sol happily agrees. At dinner, Walter is surprised to see Sol mopping the floor, and Sol gleefully shares the news. Within a week, the pair become roommates, and Walter explains some of the topics in class that Sol doesn’t understand. At the end of the semester, Sol is admitted into Howard University and is offered a scholarship that will cover his expenses. Sol and Walter remain roommates until Walter graduates three years later. Sol graduates the year after Walter with a degree in psychology and decides to pursue a graduate degree; he wants to understand the actions of people like Emma Jean. Gus is unable to attend Sol’s graduation, and Emma Jean decides to send Authorly instead of going herself. At the graduation ceremony, Authorly cheers loudly for Sol, who leaps into his brother’s arms and cries until he feels like his soul is “made whole again” (226).