Unnamed Negro Porter 1

Character Key Number: 
630
Display Name: 
Unnamed Negro Porter 1
Sort Name: 
Unnamed Negro Porter 1
Ever Present in Yoknapatawpha?: 
Yes
Biography: 

According to Bayard's narrative in "Skirmish at Sartoris" and again in the chapter with that title in The Unvanquished, this Negro porter at the Holston House is "too old even to be free" (71, 207). Bayard's meaning seems to be that while this man is a newly emancipated slave, he has no interest in joining the group of blacks who do want to vote. The man takes one look at the white men who have assembled in the Square on election day, says "Gret Gawd," and retreats into the hotel.