The Reformatory: A Novel

Boone pulls Robbie, Redbone, and Blue out of the bunk room on suspicion that they planned an escape over dinner. Redbone explains that he was telling Robbie about the school graveyard. Blue excuses himself while Redbone pleads for himself and Robbie to work longer the following day. Boone decides to punish Redbone and Robbie by taking them to the Funhouse.

Redbone and Robbie are loaded onto a truck, along with an older boy bound in chains. Redbone explains that he wanted to protect Blue. They arrive at a small wooden structure. The older boy is carried out first, fighting back before pleading with them to let him go. Robbie and Redbone wait outside. Crutcher encourages Robbie to learn from the experience before mentioning that he is aware of Robbie’s father’s reputation.

The older boy gets 35 lashes. Redbone volunteers to go next. The sound of his lashing causes Robbie to whisper to his mother’s spirit. He hears a pinging noise, followed by his mother’s voice reassuring him of much more in the time to come.

Robbie enters the Funhouse, observing details like the cheerful radio, the men playing cards, and the sink where Warden Haddock cleans the leather strap. Haddock reiterates the accusation that Robbie was planning to escape. Robbie explains that he just wanted to know more about the Reformatory. Haddock discourages his curiosity and then orders Robbie to remove his shirt. Crutcher and Haddock talk about Robbie’s father, making bets on whether he really raped a white woman before leaving town. Robbie’s denial satisfies Haddock. He claims that Robert’s real crime was “[thinking] he’s good as a white man” (159).

Robbie repeats his mother’s reassurance to calm himself. Haddock begins lashing him, and Robbie recoils from the pain so much that he perceives the spirits of those who died at the Reformatory. Haddock ends at 15 lashes because of a headache. Robbie believes that his mother forced Haddock to stop. He resolves to stay alive, kill the warden, and free himself.

Robbie struggles to sleep through his anger and pain in the infirmary. The next morning, he thinks about Gloria and his father trying to free him. Robbie sees a floating haint and decides to let him stay. The haint tells Robbie that he died of pneumonia, but when Robbie offers a sympathetic reply, the haint vanishes.

The nurse tells Robbie and Redbone that they will be reassigned to work in the fields. Redbone promises to cover for Robbie now that they’ve experienced the Funhouse together. Robbie tells Redbone how many haints he’s seen. Redbone remarks that some people naturally attract them.

A new woman comes to the infirmary, bringing a cart full of musical instruments to the boys. She introduces herself as Marian Crutcher Hamilton, the new director of the Black marching band at the Reformatory. She is also Crutcher’s sister. Recognizing Robbie’s natural talent, she teaches him to play the trumpet. She invites Redbone and Robbie to join practice the next day so that they can participate in the Gracetown Christmas Parade. After Marian leaves, Robbie signals his approval of her. Redbone is skeptical.

Returning to the dormitory, the boys pass the dog kennel, which scares Robbie. Redbone angrily reminds Robbie to be more careful about what he says. Redbone gets them to skip their bath that evening so that their wounds won’t sting. Robbie goes back to the locker to check on his boots and finds some fresh cornbread. Blue approaches to apologize, and Robbie thanks him for the snack. They reconcile, but then Blue leaves him alone.

Gloria returns to the Powell residence but is frustrated by the lack of progress on Robbie’s case. Miss Anne offers to drive Gloria home but tells her that they are instead going to meet with Channing Holt.

Gloria and Miss Anne meet Channing at the swamp so that they can talk while fishing. Channing, who wears masculine clothing, declares Loehmann a dead end. She then talks about Gloria’s father, affirming his innocence against the statements of Lorraine, the woman he allegedly raped. Town officials are using Robbie’s incarceration to lure Robert back to Gracetown. They will likely try to extend Robbie’s sentence for as long as it takes to apprehend Robert. It is difficult to hire a lawyer to represent Robbie since merely talking to Gloria in public could have Channing blacklisted from law school. Channing offers to let Gloria stay in her and Anne’s house closer to Orlando so that she can safely pursue legal assistance.

Gloria asks Channing for help with her father. Lorraine’s testimony matters most, however, but she is too scared of the consequences to speak up. Channing tries to reassure Gloria, but Gloria is not convinced.

Before heading back, Miss Anne promises to help pay for a lawyer’s services. She and Gloria debate giving Gloria cash to pay at her discretion. Gloria confronts Anne for never speaking up for her father in front of others and relates her silence to Anne’s implied romantic relationship with Channing. Anne relents.

They reach Miz Lottie’s house, but because the door has been left open, Gloria senses that something is wrong. Two neighbors tell her that they have been looking for Gloria because Robert has called from Chicago.

Robert admonishes Gloria over Robbie’s arrest and conviction. He tells her about John Dorsey, a Black lawyer with the NAACP willing to work on Robbie’s case. Robert wants to travel to Live Oak to meet with John, but because the authorities will be looking for him, Gloria resolves to meet with the lawyer instead.

Gloria has a nightmare that Lyle and Red McCormack are in her room. Miz Lottie wakes her up for the early morning drive to Live Oak, which they will justify with the pretense that they are delivering laundry. They are briefly followed by the sheriff’s car, but the car eventually leaves them alone. Gloria asks Miz Lottie how she maintains her faith despite so much unfairness in the world.

They stop at the house of Miz Lottie’s friend Ruby McCollum, a wealthy Black woman. Gloria has a premonition that Ruby will experience great suffering and rage in the days to come because she will kill a white man. Ruby reminds Gloria and Miz Lottie to protect themselves on their journey.

Gloria and Miz Lottie find John Dorsey in a boardinghouse kitchen, talking to several men about the lynching of Willie James Howard. John disappoints the men by saying that the NAACP cannot do anything for Willie, but they will try to force legislation in Lake County to prevent others from being lynched. Miz Lottie chimes in on the discussion and then segues into introducing Gloria to John’s companion, the state NAACP president, Harry T. Moore.

Gloria has a premonition that Harry and his wife will be assassinated by a bomb, but Harry does not seem to take her warning seriously. Gloria tries to tell John about Robbie, but Harry dismisses her, promising to find other ways to help her brother. When John learns that they are related to Robert Stephens, he asks to speak elsewhere.

John talks about the difficulty of convincing a racist jury to acquit Robbie. One issue is Robbie’s relation to Robert, which creates a stronger bias with the judge. The other issue is Warden Haddock, who often keeps boys at the Reformatory for as long as he likes. After Harry and John discuss how to engage with the judge, John agrees to visit the Gracetown courthouse.

A hopeful Gloria and Miz Lottie are on their way to meet with John Dorsey when the sheriff stops them. The deputies ask them where they’ve been, so Miz Lottie uses her cover story about hauling laundry for Ruby McCollum. The deputies ask them about Robert Stephens and then inspect the truck to make sure they aren’t hiding him. One of the deputies harasses Gloria when he identifies her as Robert’s daughter. Miz Lottie discreetly wards him off at gunpoint, causing the deputy to send them away.

Gloria and Miz Lottie wait for John outside the courthouse. Gloria sees Miss Anne driving by, so she approaches to share the news. Anne gives her the money as promised and reminds her to be discreet. Finally, Harry and John arrive.

Robbie works on the cornfield, pulling ragweed with Redbone and Cleo under Boone’s supervision. Redbone and Cleo get into a brief argument, but it dies down before Redbone can get into trouble. Blue crawls through the stalks and grabs Robbie’s ankle, scaring him. Blue tells Robbie that he misses him and Redbone in the kitchen. Robbie urges Blue to go back before Cleo catches them. Blue tells him, however, that he came to warn him about being alone with Haddock, who will pay closer attention now that Robbie’s in the marching band.

Blue leaves just as Boone arrives. Robbie pretends that he was singing to distract himself at work. Boone tells him to inform on anyone who isn’t supposed to be there. He shows Robbie a pouch full of dust, which he uses to trap the haints. Robbie tells him about the haint he saw in the kitchen. The prospect of dealing with this haint excites Boone since he hunts haints for Haddock.

Gloria, Miz Lottie, Harry, and John meet with Judge Morris, who is enticed by the chicken they bring him for lunch. After some small talk, John appeals to reduce Robbie’s sentence, citing the lack of charges from Lyle McCormack. He argues that it would be worse for Lyle’s reputation to validate Robbie’s harmfulness through incarceration. He also promises that Robbie’s family will ensure that he behaves better than the Reformatory will.

When the judge rebuts that he had been merciful to Robbie by giving him half of the usual sentence, Gloria calls out Lyle’s harassment and Red’s knowledge of his behavior. Judge Morris rebukes her for sharing the private business of the McCormack family in his chambers. He furthermore accuses her of a double standard since her own father has been accused of rape.

Tensions arise between the judge and the lawyers. John finds an opportunity to segue back into Robbie’s case, citing his father’s fugitive status as a cause for concern over Robbie’s safety at the Reformatory. When Judge Morris argues that Gracetown and Jackson County have moved forward from their racist past, Miz Lottie brings up the lynching of Claude Neal in the 1930s.

At that point, the judge thanks the lawyers, Gloria, and Miz Lottie for visiting and promises to reconsider Robbie’s sentence. As they leave the courthouse, white people heckle them, and they hurry out. Harry warns Gloria to stay at Miz Lottie’s and wait for his call. John reassures Gloria, calling her “Glow Bug,” which endears him to her.