Francesco Timeline and Summary

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• When Cirone and Calogero come home for pranking about town, Francesco is arguing with Willy Rogers in front of the house; he is quite angry.
• The next morning, Francesco takes his gun and intends to go scare Willy straight by sitting on the train tracks where the boy walks.
• He tells Carlo that even though he might get killed, he can't just sit around and do nothing while this white kid ruins his good name all over town, and then out the door he goes.
• Later on, after nothing happens, Francesco arrives home late, confused but calm. The family enjoys a great dinner together.
• Then Joe Evans comes in and gives Francesco a message that Dr. Hodge, their neighbor, wants him to keep his goats tied up so that they won't tromp around on his porch at night anymore. Francesco doesn't really care and doesn't believe that he should have to keep them in.
• Francesco decides to try to impress the doc and commands the boys to build a wood porch the next day; he tells them to paint it white.
• Calogero says that is a dumb idea because it will just get all dirty, but Francesco tells him to do it anyway and then to paint it black the next day.
• Francesco meets with the doctor and it goes fine.
• After Cirone and Calogero sneak off to the swamp and come home all wet and muddy and mossy, Francesco takes charge of their punishment and puts the boys to work: hard manual labor all day and night.
• Francesco has Calo help Charles drive a wagon full of food to Charles's church for a party—Francesco is grateful to Calo for making them all friends.
• After Calo disappears for a day to get Patricia a gift and visit with Joseph, Francesco and the rest of the family are waiting for him when he returns, mad that he didn't ask permission to take the horse and bounce.
• But Francesco doesn't punish Calo this time because he is so happy to be going to a party.
• At the party Francesco is nervous about being the only Sicilians there, but finds some bravery and walks off alone to chat with people and mingle.
• Calogero and Cirone get jumped by some mean white boys one day, and Francesco—along with the other uncles—explains the terrible lynching of Sicilians that happened eight years earlier in New Orleans.
• They all agree not to get revenge.
• The following morning, Francesco tells the boys to sell watermelons in the wagon all over town, and tells Calo to be sure to remind people that his homemade limoncello is in the grocery.
• Later that day, Francesco argues with a white man who has tampered with a shipment, and John Wilson from the saloon blocks the entrance to the market, saying he will block Francesco's store since he is blocking the saloon's business by selling unpermitted alcohol.
• Stubborn Francesco argues that he isn't selling whiskey, so it's all good. John Wilson doesn't agree, though, so Francesco shoos him off.
• Dr. Hodge bangs on the door one night because Francesco's goats have bothered him again. He demands that they keep the goats tied up, so Francesco keeps Bedda inside, and gives Calo the job of tying her legs together at night so that she can't walk away.
• The next night, Francesco enjoys dinner with Father May and Frank Raymond.
• The following day, Francesco and Calogero search for Bedda, though Francesco suspects she is dead. When he walks over to the doctor's house and sees his two best goats shot, he gets really sad. Francesco goes into mourning, and won't really talk to anyone.
• His state is so sad that Carlo feels awful enough about it to yell at Dr. Hodge, who responds by beating him up.
• When Calo gets Francesco and tells him the horrible situation, Francesco goes running to town, where he is arrested.
• At the end, he gets hung in the slaughterhouse.