‘You couldn’t have holp it,’ I say.
I don’t mind the folks falling. It’s the cotton and corn I mind.
Neither does Peabody mind the folks falling. How ‘bout it, Doc?” (90)
This passage is interesting because as Tull describes his conversation with Cash, he interrupts his narration with his unspoken inner thoughts. These thoughts reveal much about his character that is not seen through his usual narration. On the surface, Tull is trying to make Cash feel better about his fall, but inside he reveals that he doesn’t care how the stormy weather hurts other people, as long as his crops are okay. He also implies that Peabody won’t mind if anyone gets hurt because it’ll bring him more business. Together, these two statements characterize Tull as being selfish, insincere, and cynical. Additionally, Tull’s constant repetition of the same words (“mind,” “folks,” “falling”) along with his short, simple syntax shows that he is uneducated because his language is so poor. When you compare his dull, repetitive speech to Darl’s more vivid, colorful language, you can tell that there’s a huge difference in the intelligence and education of the two men.
In this passage, Tull reminds me of the character of Lori Trager from the show Kyle XY. Like Tull, Lori’s character is generous and caring, but can be very selfish at times. Lori is there for her family and friends even though she often hates people, which is similar to the way Tull is willing to help out the Bundrens despite his apparent dislike for them. Lori is also very cynical and expects everyone to have selfish or negative intentions, which is much like Tull’s very cynical statement in the passage above. Despite their similarities, however, the two characters are almost complete opposites. Lori appears to be selfish and cynical on the outside but is really caring and well intentioned, while Tull appears more generous on the outside but is secretly quite selfish and cynical.
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