Haley Newlin > Recent Status Updates

Warden Haddock disguises threats as favors

Haddock wants to recruit Robert to hunt haints but excuses the spirit of his baby sister, who he might have killed

“I am a man of God and duty” - what a load of bs

Haddock “wasn’t satisfied with beating and hunting boys who were alive: he hunted dead ones too.”

Boone turns their souls to ash and Haddock collects them in a jar. Haddock squeezes every ounce of hurt out of these children, even in death

Boone says finding the haints at the Reformatory was part of his job

Blue warns Robert about Haddock. Says there are worse things than the Funhouse. Things Haddock does that makes you want to curl up and die

The NCAAP lawyer says Robert’s sentence makes sense to white people.

“To sentence a child to six months over a schoolyard kick is to willfully ignore that child’s humanity. To rebuke it.”

Gloria’s faith is broken. She doesn’t think that the same Jesus “who had forsaken Mama might help them get Robbie back.”

There’s so much bad. So much fear. It makes sense that Gloria thinks God has turned his back on her and everyone else suffering. She thinks all God’s love goes to the McCormacks of the world

Papa tells Gloria that he had to walk by a hanging tree every morning on his way to school and sometimes there was still a man hanging from it

Horrific

The first time Robert ever wanted to kill anyone, even thinks it would be worth his own life, too

“If Robert were a conjurer, Haddock would be dead already. The entire shed would be burning, even if he were still inside to burn with it.”

“The dead boys were called every name except Murdered.”

It’s been awhile since a book has made me this emotional. God, this hurts and it’s so powerful

“White men talking about r*pe always led to rope.”

“Stories are dangerous. They can hurt you bad. Get you killed.”

Made me think of banned books

Ms. Lottie says there’s a sickness in Gracetown, a blood sickness, and it’s the worst at The Reformatory

The Funhouse is where they whup you. Boot Hill is where they bury you.

“There’s worse things to worry about than haints.”

If Gloria were white, she’d “walk on air just to see if she could. What was the point of white skin if you couldn’t do whatever you put your mind to.”

Miss Anne hesitates to help Robert

“Don’t listen to them haints. Or you’ll be a haint too.”

Robert stands frozen in Superintendent Haddock’s office, “facing off against a creature that could mail him.”

“Summertime was when the haints came out.”

“Sometimes the only justice was a hot meal and a bed to sleep in.”

“evil isn’t plain to the eye”

Rumor says there are haints only children can hear at the Reformatory

Papa always drove slow so no one had an excuse to pull him over

Another rule of survival

A Jewish man, Mr. Loehmann, drives Robert to the Reformatory. He witnesses the deputy’s antisemitism toward Loehmann

Gloria told Robert that it was best to sound dumb when talking to white men. If he was dumb enough, a white man might leave him be the way he might walk past a dog


There are so many rules of survival

Papa told a young Gloria about the Reformatory

“That’s the first place they start killing us.”

“I can hardly think of all the sorrow that will rain on us if we stay here.”

The Klan burned down the house Papa was building and then ran him out of town

“…the unholy things that happen when God blinks”