Chapters 1-3 Summary

Lov Bensey is Jeeter Lester's son-in-law. Lov is a hard working man who is employed by the railroad, but Jeeter Lester is a sharecropper who no longer farms because the land's owner no longer sees profit in it.

In chapter 1, Lov Bensey is walking home from Fuller where he bought a bag of turnips. Lov can see the Lester family in their yard and knows they will try to steal his turnips, but he needs to stop and talk to Jeeter Lester about Lov's wife, Pearl. Pearl is Jeeter's twelve-year-old daughter and Lov is hoping Jeeter will talk her into sleeping in Lov's bed where she belongs. Lov is also concerned because Pearl refuses to talk to him. Jeeter is not interested in helping him, however; Jeeter is more interested in getting his hands on some of those turnips. The Lester...