Dry September

As the antagonist of “Dry September,” John McLendon is a former commander who served overseas in France during World War I and is considered a local war hero. He is a heavy-set man wearing a felt hat as he crashes into the barber shop in a fit of anger at the end of Part 1. He is the first of the men in the shop to use the word “rape,” inciting the already agitated male townsfolk toward mob mentality: “Well, are you going to sit there and let a black son rape a white woman on the streets of Jefferson?” (171). When Hawkshaw questions if the attack took place or if the accusation was the desperate attempt of an aging, lonely, and sexually frustrated woman to get attention, McLendon displays an outright disregard for truth by insisting the men hunt Will Mayes down and make an example out of him.

As the leader of the mob, John McLendon appeals to the notion of Southern pride to entice the men to join him: He believes any good Southern white man is honor-bound to protect white Southern women, regardless of their social stature. In this manner, McLendon’s character exposes the racial inequity precipitated by white supremacy; even though the accusations of rape are based purely upon speculation and gossip, the intended victim’s whiteness makes her inherently more credible than a Black man. Not only is Miss Minnie to be believed over Will Mayes, but the mere thought of her violation justifies abandoning due process under the law by virtue of white supremacy.

Minnie Cooper is a single woman in her late thirties rumored to have been in some way attacked by Will Mayes, a Black man. She lives in Jefferson with her aging mother and aunt and is the frequent subject of gossip among the aristocratic women in the town. Born to a middle-class family, Minnie garnered a significant amount of attention from her friends as well as potential suitors when she was young. However, age has taken its toll, and even though “she was still on the slender side of ordinary looking, with a bright, faintly haggard manner and dress,” Minnie is still single (174).

As the stereotypical representation of the single, aging white female in American society during the 1920s, Minnie is likened to both a spinster and an adulterer by the townsfolk. Still, she lives a leisurely life, waking each morning at 10 o’clock before swinging on the porch, napping, then dressing up and going downtown with her friends. Often referred to as “aunty” or “cousin” by the growing offspring of her successfully betrothed friends, Minnie neither affirms nor denies the allegations of rape at any point in the narrative. Rather, she momentarily delights in the newfound attention from the young men and female townsfolk.