It’s always a special thing when words on the pages of a book are able to elicit powerful, raw emotion from the reader. For me, this is exactly what Mudbound did. There were definitely times while reading I was swooning at the sweetness, heartbroken by the sadness, or more often than not filled with red hot anger. The backdrop of rural 1940’s Mississippi and it’s rampant racism, discrimination, and backwards thinking were upsetting to say the least. However, the absolute realness of the story and the truths it revealed about life were what made me love it just as much as I hated it.
A defining characteristic of Mudbound is the puzzle piece like perspectives of the members of the two families. We intimately learn about each member and how they are all, intentionally or unintentinally, “bound” together. Every character’s actions deliberately effect others in the story, in an almost domino effect. On page 13 of Mudbound, Laura speaks of how one event can lead to consequences in the future you never saw coming. I noticed this theme a lot throughout the whole book. Everyone’s actions were not without consequences and repercussions. If Jamie hadn’t given Ronsel a ride, he would still have a tongue. If Eboline’s husband hadn’t killed himself, Laura wouldn’t have to live on the farm. If Henry wasn’t so stubborn, Laura wouldn’t be pregnant with Jamie’s child. If Ronsel hadn’t slept with the German girl, pappy wouldn’t be dead. The endless chain of cause and effect reveals how interconnected everyone’s actions truly are. The lack of one all seeing narrator gives the reader special insight into the specific consequences that effected each character. I think these consequences contribute greatly to not only the title of the book, but the meaning of the title and what it represents.
At first I wasn’t sure what the title of the book meant. Of course it’s what Laura jokingly names the farm, however I think it represents so much more than that. I think it represents a trapped family, muddied by sin and secrets. As the stay on the farm continues, every member of the family is made filthier. At the climax of the story there is adultery, mutilation, and murder. The members of each family have been “muddied” by their experiences on the farm and “bound” by their own selfish decisions. The mud and struggle breaks them down and covers them from head to toe until their past selves are unrecognizable. The raw, realistic presentation of human selfishness and error was part of what made the story so emotional for me to read.
One specific cause and effect type relationship I would like to explore more is Pappy’s contribution to the story. I find it fascinating that Hillary Jordan chose to leave Pappy voiceless, yet make him the cause for so much of the “mud” in the story. Pappy is probably one of the most awful people ever. His horrible actions and words are much of the cause for Jamie’s problems, his participation in the Klan contribute to the mutilation of Ronsel, and if not for him selling the old farm after the flood, the McAllan family wouldn’t even be at Mudbound. I think that leaving Pappy’s side of the story out of the book spoke louder than including it. His evil words and actions drove his own son to murder and I have to say I was quite happy to see him buried in a slave grave at a funeral preached by a black man.
Although this story brought out some of the worst traits in people possible, I think it does present an interesting lesson we can learn from. While we are all separate individual people with our own stories, how we choose to live out our story can greatly effect how someone else’s is told. When we only think abut ourselves, we can “muddy” another life. It’s important to remember we’re not the only characters in our story. Mudbound showed the very best and worst of humanity. Hard times can certainly make a person feel “bound” in mud, but just as in the end of the book, it’s important to remember the rains will come and wash away all the mud you were once bound by.