StrothersInRAI

Loosh and Philadelphy are only mentioned in this story, and Joby and Louvinia only appear at the beginning and end; Louvinia's desire for Granny to bring Loosh back, however, even though it includes the request for Granny to "whup him" first, is the genuine expression of motherly concern (38). Most of the tale takes place away from Sartoris, as Granny and the two boys - the white Bayard and the black Ringo - follow the Union army in pursuit of their lost property (which includes Loosh and Philadelphy). It is in this story, while these three move across the burned out ruins of the Old South, that Ringo, and the representation of Ringo, begin to challenge the conventional limits of the role of the 'house slave': on the journey out he tells Bayard to "tote this pairsawl a while" (i.e. hold the umbrella over the white mistress) to give his own arm a rest - and Bayard does (39), and on the journey back it is Ringo who displays the most intelligence and takes the initiative when by quick thinking he manages to con an additional 47 mules out of a group of Yankees.