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Muley Graves serves as an echo of all the tenant farmers who were kicked off their land in the wake of the cotton planting. He describes himself as a ghost, and his behavior does perform the same role as a haunting. He refuses to leave his land, a constant reminder to the landowners and those who work for them of the human consequences of their economic actions. Additionally, Muley Graves allows us to see the dehumanization inherent in evicting the tenant farmers. In order to stay behind, Muley Graves must eat and sleep outside. He spends his days and nights constantly hunted by the police and other enforcers for the landowners. He powerfully describes the way this life has changed him by comparing himself to a weasel saying, “You ain’t strong; maybe you’re fierce, but you ain’t strong.” In other words, he has been placed in a position where he can only lash out in retaliation instead of fighting with dignity and strength. This change prefigures the anger seen in many of the migrant laborers in California.
