What do crosses represent in the novel, The Trees?

Crosses symbolize the historical legacy of white supremacy in the United States, and they appear in Everett’s novel as a reminder of that legacy. During the course of the novel, the Ku Klux Klan chapter in Money plans and carries out a cross burning. Cross burnings are derived from the Klan’s Christian identity and have traditionally been used as a racist intimidation tactic. This symbol of white supremacy is subverted in the novel through the appearance of crosses at the scenes of the murders of Junior Junior Milam and Wheat Bryant. The murdered men’s wives’ casual assessment that they are “pretty little crosses” (132), and their decision to keep those crosses, hints at both their own ingrained white supremacist attitudes as well as their tacit approval of their husbands’ murders