Book Analysis Essay on The Tilted World

Introduction

The Tilted World was authored by Ann Fennelly and Tom Franklin to tell the story depicting the witty and dangerous game involving federal agents and bootleggers. At the core, there exists muddy water which falls from the sky and flowing from the river causing great destruction along the banks. The story is set on the wake of the historic Mississippi Flood in the year 1927. The paper aims to bring out characterization as a literary element in the book. The Tilted World is built around some characters who had different traits and this helps in bringing out the diversity in peoples' personalities and behaviors. Also, the paper intends to illustrate how these revenue agents interacted with other characters in the novel and the implication of their behaviors in enriching various themes.

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The setting of the story is in the fictitious town of Hobnob where fictional characters in Ted Ingersoll and Dixie Clay and Jesse Holliver are vividly highlighted in The Tilted World. Dixie Clay was a bootlegger working in Hobnob, Mississippi. It is her husband, Jesse, who introduced her in the bootlegging business. Jesse himself was doing the selling (Hornbeck et al. 77). Notably, Dixie is distressed, and memories of the death of her infant son denied her peace and she could not enjoy her life as before. Additionally, she was not enjoying her marriage. The combination of the two made her more distraught. Ted Ingersoll was sent to Hobnob to establish the disappearance of his colleagues, and that is where he met Dixie. Ingersoll and Ham were on the mission to find out what had happened to their fellow agents, and they headed to the general store where there was a massive exchange of gunfire between the store owners and looters (Hornbeck et al. 76). At this horrible scene, they stumbled on an orphaned infant. Ingersoll's decision to take the infant and provide necessary care revealed that he was so caring and considerate. These are values entrenched in him as he grew up as an orphan himself.

The growing up of Ingersoll as orphan set the stage for his soulfulness when he rescued the orphaned baby from the violence scene. He reflected on his personal life and offered to find the innocent orphan a home. His orphaned life also enabled him to act more independently. As the novel begins, Jesse is involved in an altercation with the revenue agents, and it is Dixie Clay, his wife, who came to defend him (Hornbeck et al. 65). The dishonesty and infidelity of Jesse later in the book reveals that Dixie is struggling to enjoy her marriage life. Additionally, there is an instance of deviation from the core responsibility as a result of special circumstances. Ingersoll is tasked with apprehending the bootleggers but finds himself taking a soft stance towards Dixie Clay because he was growing closer to her (Hornbeck et al. 72).

Instructively, Ingersoll was directed to a known woman in the locality, Dixie Clay, who had lost her infant son. Despite not formally educated, Dixie was intelligent. She was taken aback when she saw a stranger right in front of her do. She was hesitant to take up the baby in the beginning, but she later consents to take care of the orphaned infant. After presenting the infant to Dixie, Ingersoll resumed his mission of unearthing the whereabouts of the missing revenue agents under the disguise of levee engineer (Hornbeck et al. 66). Ingersoll and his colleague Ham later learned that Jesse was the seller of whiskey in Hobnob and it was likely that he will meet Dixie again. Jesse also realized that it was Ingersoll who had given his wife the baby. It is imperative to note that, Dixie displayed unmatched love to her adopted son by providing him with the utmost care. It was not unusual to see her carrying the baby to her place of work and also guarding him against her explosive husband.

Moreover, Dixie's husband, Jesse was openly against his wife and Ingersoll in most circumstances. His disloyalty to Dixie is an open secret, and his faithfulness was in doubt. They have had issues with Dixie as he could not explain clearly the reason behind his regular visit to homes of ill status (Hornbeck et al. 81). His antagonism is further brought to the fore when she confronts Dixie after she suspected him of unfaithfulness. The novel sheds light on the disloyalty of Jesse when he betrayed his fellow residents in Hobnob and causing devastating loss of lives to hundreds in the area. He placed his interest first by agreeing to be bribed by New Orleans to destroy the levee. By sabotaging levee, he opened the floodgates which wreaked havoc in Hobnob (Hornbeck et al. 70).

Symbolism is illustrated by the actions of different characters in the book. Jesse is disloyal to his wife, and he accepted to be bribed with the promise that he would be made governor and given much money only if he agreed to sabotage the levee. This symbolizes that the wishes of a man can be difficult to control the same way a river can burst its banks and cause floods (Hornbeck et al. 67). Another instance of symbolism is the adoption of the orphaned baby rescued by Ingersoll shows that despite the difficult times one goes through, there can always be hope. Dixie had just lost her infant son, but she ended up having adopted son who she showered with much love. Moreover, the storm symbolizes the characters. The storm is often destructive and forcefully wipes anything on the way. The character of Jesse borders on the destruction especially after he took the bribe to sabotage the levee. Additionally, the demeanor of Jesse of unfaithfulness and disloyalty foreshadowed the catastrophe that hit the Hobnob.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the book The Tilted World depicts great work as it makes the reader relive the historical events. The flood that caused great destruction to life and properties in Mississippi in 1927 is vividly told by Fennelly and Franklin and gives the reader an insight into the fear that gripped the people who experienced the catastrophe (Hornbeck et al. 63). The theme of love which was built around Dixie Clay reveals that we should always take care of other people when they are in unfavorable situations. Jesse's disloyalty and selfishness proved to be unhelpful have his actions led to the loss of many lives.

Works Cited

Hornbeck, Richard, and Suresh Naidu. "When the levee breaks: black migration and economic development in the American South." American Economic Review 104.3 (2014): 63-90.