Perkins is an associate professor of English at Prince George's Community College. In this essay, she considers how the structure of "Stones in My Passway, Hellhound on My Trail" reinforces the story's theme.

Traditionally, literary works focus on a main character who is presented with a problem to solve. This problem centers on one or more conflicts that occur between the main character and another person, an act of nature, a social institution, or the character him/herself. Authors typically subject their characters to experiences in which they gain knowledge about themselves and the world around them and then, in turn, use that information to resolve the conflicts in their lives. Often a character will gain this knowledge through an epiphany, a moment of revelation when a certain truth is immediately understood. The epiphany may come too late to save the protagonist, but he or she will...