Character Analysis
In "Go Down, Moses," the sheriff's deputy is a callous man. He only appears in the short last section of the story. He sits in his kitchen as his wife prepares dinner, and he recounts what happened to Rider. The deputy is extremely racist, calls African Americans animals, and makes it very clear in his account of Rider's last days that he's absolutely clueless about the whole episode. He's meant to represent a common attitude toward the black community by white law enforcement.