It won't get you into heaven, but sometimes being bad is necessary. Granny will tell you all about it. She's a prim and proper Southern belle, but she is reduced to mule-theft and all sorts of trickery when the Civil War reaches her plantation.
In The Unvanquished, sin is ever-present, but Bayard treats it with a tongue-in-cheek attitude. Granny's sins are committed out of necessity, and her insistence on kneeling down and praying for forgiveness after every lie, theft, or curse word is kind of a silly ritual for him. However, it's serious business for her; she's completely frank with God about her reasons for doing what she does, and while she doesn't expect forgiveness, she does hope for it.
Questions About Sin
- Do you think that Granny really feels sorry for stealing Yankee mules, or is she just saying that because she is supposed to? How can you tell?
- What is the worst sin committed in the novel, and why did you select the one you did?
- What is the significance of church for the different characters in the novel?
Chew on This
When Granny asks God for forgiveness, her real intention is to show the boys that what they are doing is wrong, but necessary.
Granny always asks forgiveness for her own sins, but doesn't seem to expect others, like Ab Snopes, to do so.