Analyse af Lydia Peelles 'Mule Killers'

The Narrator of the story is a son whose father is telling about his youth. Therefore the father is the main character.

The setting of the story’s in the south of the USA in a farming area around the time the modern machineries reached the farms in Nashville. The use of mules indicates the agricultural side of America as well as the slaughtering of the mules indicates the start of the modern machinery.

In this story the father is eighteen. He loves Orphan (one of the mules), books and the smell of books, music, sun-warm stones and Eula.

Eula is the girl of the main characters dreams. She has thick purple-black hair and “is a slippery and mysterious girl [..]. Like the day he walked her home from church and she allowed him to hold her cool hand, but would not let him see her to the door, or the times when she catches him looking at her, and drops her eyes and laughs.” She won’t let him come too close.

He is very confused about growing up and, like many other boys at that age, has difficulties expressing his feelings

It becomes evident when he tries to make Eula Parker jealous; instead of telling her his feelings he kisses another girl;