Linden Hills

Luther Nedeed is the last in a long line of Luther Nedeeds who have lived at 999 Tupelo Drive at the very base of Linden Hills. Nedeed is extremely old-fashioned in both how he dresses and how he speaks, often seeming as though he is from a different era entirely. He is cruel to his wife and child, and to his neighbors. He is also the head of the Tupelo Realty Corporation, which provides mortgages for the houses on Linden Hills; thus, Nedeed decides which applicants are granted a mortgage. Luther Nedeed believes that his ancestor’s vision for the Linden Hills neighborhood hasn’t been fulfilled and that something has gone wrong along the way; “Luther often wondered why none of the applicants ever questioned the fact that there was always space in Linden Hills,” as families never stayed very long (18). Believing that his own “white son” is a source of this chaos, and thinking that his wife must have cheated on him to produce such a child, he locks them in the basement, hoping to teach his wife a lesson (18).