Hoke's is "a sawmill and a few stores" (188), apparently populated almost entirely by men. In "Lion" and again in Go Down, Moses most of these "wear muddy boots and khaki," indicating their status as mill workers (188, 218). The next day some "people from Hoke's" (189), called "sawmill men from Hoke's" in the novel (224), show up at the hunting camp, to participate in the hunt for Old Ben. Afterwards, they also bear witness to Lion's passing.
The waitress at the counter in the Memphis station tells Boon "he couldn't drink [whiskey] there" (188). When this episode recurs in Go Down, Moses, the waitress is replaced by a "negro waiter," and it's a woman "manager" who speaks the line originally given to the waitress (222).
In "Lion" and again in Go Down, Moses this "man in uniform" (the story, 188) or "man in a uniform cap" (the novel, 222) approaches Boon in the washroom at the station in Memphis to tell him he he can't drink there, but in both texts, after looking "at Boon's face," he decides to say nothing. The cap suggests he may be a porter, in which case he'd be a Negro, but that isn't made explicit.
In "Lion" Quentin invokes the mystical powers of nameless Aztec chiefs in pre-Columbian Mexico (who were looked upon as being "both more and less than men," 186) to show how Lion ruled the other dogs in the hunting camp.
Born John Joseph Killion in Greenpoint, New York, he took the professional name of "Jake Kilrain" to protect his parents from the embarrassment of his questionable career. He lost the heavy-weight championship contest to John L. Sullivan in a bare-knuckle fight that went 75 rounds in Richbourg, Mississippi, on August 7, 1889. His name is mentioned in the novel as a way to help describe how the hunters in Yoknapatawpha feel about their sport: "Boon and the conductor and the brakeman talked about Lion and Old Ben as people talked about Sullivan and Kilrain or Dempsey and Tunney" (218).
John L. Sullivan was the last heavyweight American prizefighter to win his championship without wearing gloves ('bare knuckle'). He won by defeating Jake Kilrain at Richburg, Mississippi on August 7, 1889. His name appears in the novel as a way to describe how the hunters in Yoknapatawpha feel about their sport: "Boon and the conductor and the brakeman talked about Lion and Old Ben as people talked about Sullivan and Kilrain or Dempsey and Tunney" (218).
Born James Joseph Tunney, "Gene" Tunney was an American professional boxer who became heavyweight champion by defeating Jack Dempsey on points in 1926, successfully defended his championship against his famous rival in the "Long Count" fight in 1927. Later he married a wealthy socialite and became an executive in manufacturing, banking, insurance, and journalism. Quentin invokes the names of Tunney and Dempsey to show that the dog Lion and the bear Old Ben are the champion competitors of the Mississippi wilderness (218).
Born John Joseph Killion in Greenpoint, New York, he took the professional name of "Jake Kilrain" to protect his parents from the embarrassment of his questionable career. He lost the heavy-weight championship contest to John L. Sullivan in a bare-knuckle fight that went 75 rounds in Richbourg, Mississippi, on August 7, 1889. His name is mentioned as a way to describe how the hunters in Yoknapatawpha feel about their sport: "Boon and the conductor and the brakeman talked about Lion and Old Ben as people talked about Sullivan and Kilrain or Dempsey and Tunney" (218).
Born William Harrison Dempsey, "Jack" Dempsey was World Heavyweight boxing champion form 1921 to 1926 when he lost his title to Gene Tunney. His name is used in "Lion" and again in Go Down, Moses along with three other famous heavyweight boxers to measure how highly the hunters of Yoknapatawpha regard the dog Lion and the bear Old Ben as heavyweights and champions too.
Born James Joseph Tunney, "Gene" Tunney was an American professional boxer who became heavyweight champion by defeating Jack Dempsey in 1926, and again in 1927. In "Lion" and again in Go Down, Moses, his name is used along with three other famous heavyweight boxers to measure how highly the hunters of Yoknapatawpha regard the dog Lion and the bear Old Ben as heavyweights and champions too.
