Character Analysis
In "The Fire and the Hearth," George Wilkins is an African American man who wants to marry Lucas Beauchamp's daughter Nat. Well, actually, George and Nat are secretly married, but they're looking for a way to get Lucas to endorse their marriage and give them some money to get started.
Lucas might think George is a "jimber-jawed clown," but he actually seems to look up to Lucas. George emulates Lucas in setting up a still to manufacture moonshine. When Lucas finds out about this, he tries to report George to the police. But George gets Lucas into trouble instead by dumping his still in Lucas's backyard. The result? Lucas has to "let" George and Nat marry so they can't testify against him. Clever, right?
George wastes his marriage money from Lucas on building a new still. His wife's not happy.