In Ron Rash’s The Trusty, Sinkler, a former bank teller and conman, goes to prison and becomes a member of a chain gang. He is entrusted with the task of getting water for the gang. This task requires him to go to the only well in the area, which is owned by a farmer named Chet and his wife, Lucy. After meeting and talking for a while, Sinkler and Lucy plot to run away together. While on the run, Sinkler, who is used to big city life, often misinterprets, and even underestimates the mountains and those who live in the region. By the time he is able to understand this new environment, it is too late. He realizes too late that he has been tricked, and is eventually killed and buried in the woods. Sinkler’s inability to adapt and react to the …show more content…
Sinkler feels that he has picked up enough knowledge of navigating the terrain from all of his hikes to get water that he will be able to get by until they reach the city. Obviously, he is way off on this assumption. This suggests the idea that no amount of experience in the mountains can compare to a lifetime of experience. One would think that aover a year and a half of daily hikes through the mountains would be enough to get to know the terrain, but we can see that Sinkler’s year and a half does not compare to Lucy’s …show more content…
When somebody you hardly know is taking you deep into the woods to run away, but they pack nothing, red flags start flying up to the average person. Sinkler is so desperate to get laid, he is blind to these facts. He even notices she isn’t wearing her silver necklace. He just assumes it is in her pocket. It is a wonder he was able to make a living as a conman because he is way too easily mislead and sort of oblivious to the world around him. He is immediately shut up when Lucy says she doesn’t own another dress. Perhaps this is true, but perhaps it isn’t. Either way, most would be skeptical in this situation. Sinkler’s lack of skepticism reflects an understanding of the stereotype that the people of the rural parts of the region are very poor. Of course she wouldn’t pack anything, she is so poor, she has nothing to