De turkey and de law — Reading Companion

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In Category - Science Fiction Utopias

Authors: Hurston, Zora Neale, 1891-1960 Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2007 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: American drama; African Americans -- Drama Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 25,597

Reading time 112 min

Text sections 3

The catalog record for De turkey and de law — Reading Companion provides practical reading context through 25,597 words, 1 hr 52 min estimated reading time, and 3 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 12.4 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “American drama,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #22146

This editorial note examines how Zora Neale Hurston's play 'De turkey and de law' uses its opening, middle, and later excerpts to guide a first reading, focusing on the comedy's dialect, stage directions, and community dynamics.

Editorial Edition Score 4.5/5

★★★★★ ★★★★★

Calculated from edition completeness, EPUB availability, text structure and catalogue metadata. Not a user rating.

How this score is calculated

Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg22146

Read the Text

Sho was skinny now. You could use his ribs for a washboard and hang de clothes up on his hips to dry. (all laugh)

HAMBO Lige, you kin lie [Note: "like" crossed out] lak cross ties [Note inserted text: from Jacksonville to Key West.]. But layin all sides to jokes, when they told me dat mule was dead, uh just took and knocked off from work to see him drug out lak all de rest of de folks, and folkses dat mule wuz too contrary to lay down on his side and die. He laid on his raw-boney back wid his foots stickin straight up in de air lak he wuz fightin something.

LINDSAY He wuz--bet he fought ole death lak a natural man. Ah seen his bones yistiddy, out dere on de edge of de cypress swamp. De buzzards done picked em clean and de elements done bleached em.

LIGE Everybody went to dat draggin out. Even Joe Clarke shet up his store dat mornin and went (turns his head and calls into the store) didn't you, Mr. Clarke?

CLARKE'S VOICE Didn't I whut? (enters and stands in door)

LIGE Shet up yo' store and go to de draggin out of Brazzle's ole mule.

CLARKE I, God, Yeah. It was worth it. (sees Hambo) I didn't know you was out here. Lemme beat you uh game of checkers.

HAMBO Lissen at de ole tush hawg! Well, go git de board, and lemme beat you a pair of games befo' de mail gits in.

CLARKE (to the others) Beat old me! (to Hambo) Come on here, youse my fish. (calls into store) Mattie bring me dat checker-board and de checkers! (to men on porch) You got to talk to wimmen-folks lak dat--tell 'em every lil' thing-do she'd come rackin out here wid de board by itself.

(Enter Mrs. Clarke with homemade checker-board and coffee can containing the much-used checkers. Clarke sits on a keg and faces Hambo. They put the board on their knees and pour out the checkers)

HAMBO You want black or red?

CLARKE Oh, I don't keer which--I'm gointer beat you anyhow. You take de black. (they arrange them. The others get near to look on. Hambo sits looking at the board without moving.)

HAMBO Who's first move?

CLARKE Black folks always go to work first. Move! (Hambo moves and the same proceeds with the spectators very interested. Enter Lum Boger [Note: Handwritten correction: Bailey] right and joins the spectators. A woman enters left with a market basket and goes on in the store. The checkers click on the board. A girl about twelve enters right and goes into the store and comes out with a stick of peppermint candy.

WALTER Naw you don't Hambo!--Don't you go in dere! Dats a trap--(pointing) come right here and you got him.

LIGE Back dat man up (pointing) Hambo do he'll git et up.

(there is the noise of the checkers for a half minute then a general shout of triumph)

SPECTATORS You got him now, Hambo! Clarke, he's sho got you.

CLARKE (Chagrined) Aw, he aint done nothin! Jes' watch ME.

HAMBO (Jeering) Yeah, gwan move! Ha! Ha! go head and move.

SPECTATORS Aw, he got you, Bro. Mayor--might as well give up. He got you in de Louisville loop.

CLARKE Give up what? He can't beat me? (peeved) de rest of y'all git from over me, whoopin and hollerin! I God, a man can't hear his ears.

(The men fall back revealing the players clearly)

HAMBO Aw, neb mind bout them, Joe, go head and move. You aint got but one move to make nohow--go head on and take it.

CLARKE (moving a checker) Aw, here.

HAMBO (triumphant) Now! watch me boys whut Ahm gonna do to him. Ahm gonna laff in notes, while Ah work on him. (he lifts a checker high in the air preparatory to the jump, laughing to the scale and counting each checker he jumps out loud) Do, sol, fa, me, la! One! (jumps a checker) la, sol, fa, me, do! Two! (jumps another) Do, re, fa, me, do, Three! Me, re, la, so, fa! Four! (the crowd is roaring with laughter) Sol, fa, me, la, sol, do! Five! Ha! Ha! boys I got [Note: "the" x-ed out] de ole tush hawg! I got him in de go-long. (He slaps his leg and accidently knocks the board off his knee and spills the checkers.)

CLARKE Too bad you done dat, Hambo, cause Ah was gointer beat you at dat (he rises and starts towards the door of the store as the crowd roars in laughter)

HAMBO You mean you was gointer beat me to de door, not a game Of checkers. Ah done run de ole coon in his hole.

Continue Reading →

The play opens with children's voices organizing a game of 'chick mah chick mah craney crow,' immediately immersing the reader in the rhythms of a Florida Negro village. The stage directions specify a frame building with a false front, a low porch, and benches, establishing a communal space where much of the action unfolds. The cast list divides villagers by denomination (Methodist or Baptist), hinting at a central source of conflict. The first act's setting—a Saturday afternoon in summer—suggests a time of leisure and potential trouble.

Dialect as Character and Conflict

The dialogue is rendered in a thick dialect that serves both character and comedy. Sister Taylor threatens to 'turn her every way but loose,' while Sister Lewis vows to 'ride her just like Jesus rode a jackass.' These lines are not merely colorful; they reveal the women's verbal dexterity and the escalating tension. The dialect also marks social boundaries: the Mayor speaks more standard English, contrasting with the villagers' vernacular. This linguistic divide underscores the power dynamics at play, as Clarke struggles to maintain order over a congregation that refuses to be silenced.

The Store Porch as Stage

Hurston's stage directions are precise and evocative. The store porch is described with 'axhandles, hoes and shovels, etc. displayed leaning against the wall,' grounding the comedy in material culture. The street is 'unpaved' with 'grass and weeds growing all over,' a detail that roots the play in a specific time and place. The porch functions as a theater within the theater: a public arena where gossip, flirtation, and confrontation occur. The bench on each side provides seating for observers, making the audience complicit in the village's scrutiny.

Comic Insults and Ritualized Aggression

The middle excerpt features a church scene where insults fly with rhythmic precision. Sister Lewis calls Sister Taylor a 'ole twist mouth 'oman,' while Taylor retorts that Lewis 'looks lak de Devil before day.' The men join in: Joe Lindsay mocks Taylor's missing teeth, and she fires back about his 'raw-boned horse.' These exchanges are not random; they follow a pattern of call-and-response, almost like a verbal duel. The characters' threats—'I'll beat you on everything you got but yo' tongue'—are hyperbolic and theatrical, suggesting that the conflict is as much performance as genuine anger.

The Gavel and the Mule Bone: Symbols of Authority

Mayor Clarke's search for the gavel is a running gag that undercuts his authority. When Lum returns with both the gavel and a mule bone, the juxtaposition is absurd. The bone, a relic from Hurston's earlier work 'Mule Bone,' hints at the play's folkloric roots. Clarke's frustration—'I God, Lum, you gointer stand there like a bump on a log'—shows his impotence. The women ignore his commands, and Lum is easily cowed by Sister Taylor's reminder that she 'pinned on' his diapers. Authority is constantly challenged, making the play a comedy of social disorder.

Readers should pay attention to how Hurston uses the stage directions to create a vivid sense of place, and how the dialect demands careful reading aloud to catch the rhythms. The play's structure—three acts, with the trial as a centerpiece—suggests a farcical examination of justice and community. The excerpts offer a taste of Hurston's ear for speech and her ability to turn everyday conflict into comedy.

Reading this companion, I remembered sitting on my grandmother’s porch while she laughed at the turkey’s scheming. That communal sound—her knowing chuckle, the neighbors’ murmurs—echoed when I later found Plays — Reading Notes. Both felt less like instruction and more like someone pulling up a chair, letting the dialect’s music wash over us before explaining why it mattered.