The Sheriff's Children

In “The Sheriff’s Children,” Charles W. Chesnutt employs the imagery of railroads and highways to represent progress, juxtaposing the stagnant nature of Branson County with the advancement of the outside world. He contrasts the “staid” and “sequestered district […] remote from railroads” with the “enterprise” of towns touched by modernity (131). Chesnutt illuminates the ways in which railroads bring the “fresh blood of civilization” to the “social corpse” (132), thus revitalizing a State, supporting industry, promoting social change, and providing economic stimulation. In this way, railroads and highways symbolize the benefit of outside influences, Branson County’s lack of them reflecting its relative bloodlessness. As railroads and highways were repaired during Reconstruction, they allude to associated governmental efforts to correct racial persecution and support integration. These modes of travel and the potential enlightenment are emblematic of the freedom and escape denied to Black people in the South. Chesnutt highlights the advantages of humanmade machines, spurned during the Romantic Period in favor of the natural world, juxtaposing these with the “rich growth of moss” upon “weather-beaten houses, innocent of paint” now tied to decay (131). The town, in its “innocence,” has missed out on the animating influence of progress.