Shades of Gray

While Will is the protagonist of the novel, Uncle Jed could be considered the novel’s hero. According to most of the town and Will, Uncle Jed is a coward because he refused to fight in the Civil War. Even though some of the men who fought and look down on him only did so because they were forced, they still see Uncle Jed’s refusal to fight as a sign of cowardice. While everybody but Uncle Jed’s immediate family sees Jed as a coward, he demonstrates throughout the novel that he is actually quite courageous. He demonstrates his courage through his willingness to stand up for his beliefs and avoid war, even though the whole town scorns him, even after the war is over.

Uncle Jed believes strongly in a person’s need to fight his own battles and only his battles, as demonstrated by his reasons for not fighting in the Civil War. He does not own enslaved people, and he does not believe it is right for him to fight and kill people so others can enslave people. In his mind, the issue does not involve him. Had the reasons for the war affected him directly, he maintains that he would have readily fought for his freedoms, but the issue of slavery does not affect his freedoms, so he will not fight in favor of it. He demonstrates a similar view when Aunt Ella wants Uncle Jed to interfere on behalf of Will when Hank beats him. Uncle Jed sticks to his belief that a person has to fight their own battles or else no good will come of it, so he refuses to intervene. He tells his wife that he would actually be doing more harm than good for the boy by interfering, and in doing so, he teaches Will the value of only engaging in battles when necessary.

Uncle Jed believes firmly in The Value of Hard Work. He owns a farm, and his family lost much of what they had during the Civil War. He fixes up the barn despite not currently having any livestock to reside in it because he believes he will one day again own livestock. He spends much time fixing his fence, and he goes out and checks trap lines, even though there is not much to catch at that time of year. At home, Will’s family had enslaved people do their manual labor, but through Uncle Jed and his family, Will learns the value of working hard to take care of oneself and one’s family.

Hank could be considered Will’s primary antagonist in the novel, but his status as antagonist is not always clear because, at times, it is Will who acts inappropriately rather than Hank. From their first encounter, Hank acts antagonistically toward Will. Hank tries to goad the boy into a fight and tries to take his fish. He is not overly aggressive, however, and he allows himself to be thwarted from a physical encounter through Will’s wit. When Hank disparages and threatens Will and tries to steal from him, he is clearly in the wrong, while Will is in the right.

Hank does allow himself to briefly befriend Will. Will shows the boy his uniform buttons, and Hank is impressed by all that Will knows. It appears the two will become friends, but this proves not to be the case when Will’s pride and condescension provoke Hank. Because Hank’s pride is hurt by Will’s accusations against Ted, Hank’s brother, Hank goes back on the offensive and taunts Will again. This taunting comes to a head at Hank’s father’s store when he antagonizes Will, and Will implies to Mr. Riley that it was Hank who tripped him, leading Hank to get a beating.

Despite Will’s harmful actions toward Hank, Hank redeems himself at the end of the novel and shows he is not a tyrant, just a boy trying to find his way, the same as Will. While he wants Will to be whipped for his lies, he and Will act almost friendly to one another as they walk to Uncle Jed’s house. When it comes time for Will to get whipped, Hank stops it and offers the boy mercy. Hank maintains his pride when Will asks the boy to teach him how to throw better, and he shows his willingness to be friends when he agrees to help Will. Throughout much of the novel, Hank functions as an antagonist, but in the book, where there is very little black and white, he is also shown to have redeeming traits. The developing friendship between him and Will is fraught with difficulties because both boys are imperfect people, but Hank, like Will, demonstrates an ability to grow.