Essay Questions

How does William Faulkner appeal the sense of smell to the readers?

Lucius is enthusiastic to ride a horse for the initial point in time but he realizes something unique about the horse. He also observes Ned pulling a particular substance out of the mouth of the stallion. There comes out a sharp scent, which Lucius does not recognize instantly because he is anxious to ride the horse. He later learns that Ned uses that trick of giving sardine to the stallion to make it run faster. This imagery helps the reader to have a feeling of how the sardine smells like.

How does Lucius play the character of losing childhood innocence while growing up?

Lucius is the central character in The Reivers and he is 11 years of age. He is surpassed by enticement and inquisitiveness to embark on a road-trip with his friend Boom. He makes up his mind to aid Boom to steal his granddad's car. This is not an easy decision to make as a child but he finds himself acting like a grown-up by losing his incorruptibility. He finds himself in an astonishing situation where he has to make own decisions as he grows-up. As an 11-year-old kid, he finds himself learning unsuitable things at his age such as prostitution and betting. Therefore, the reader can see that Lucius has lost his innocence at an early age and he makes decisions that are inappropriate at his age

How does the metaphor of spilling the beans manifest itself in The Reivers by William Faulkner?

Spilling the beans is a phrase that the author uses metaphorically to mean that Boom let out the secret that was is supposed to be kept to himself. Boom and Mr. Buffaloe are supposed to keep the secret of the car to themselves. The two want to join parts to make up a car. However, when Boom disagrees with Mr. Buffaloe on some issues, he gets overexcited and lets the cat out of the bag and almost everyone knew of the secret.