Ecology of a Cracker Childhood

Ray’s father Franklin, referred to as Daddy throughout the book, occupies a central role in the memoir’s narrative. The portrait Ray draws of Daddy is a complicated one, simultaneously portraying him as a caring father and as a strict disciplinarian. Daddy first starts the junkyard business with his father Charlie, but soon takes the business over due to his ambitions to grow the business. Ray describes Daddy as possessing a “native genius” that provides him with a natural knack for fixing and selling cars: “Daddy’s was an amazing triad of traits–frugality, creativity, and mechanical ingenuity–so that as I grew, our estate grew” (89). Though lacking a formal education, Daddy is obsessed with improving his mind; he constantly reads encyclopedias to improve his intelligence. However, Daddy also suffers from a mental illness which runs in the family, occasionally succumbing to paranoia and mental delusions. His mental illness reaches his worst point while attending a gun show with a friend, after which he remains in a delusional state for three years. As a child, Ray is terrified by her father’s mental illness, as she fears she will inherit it.

Daddy possesses an alternately caring and curt personality. He’s a Christian fundamentalist, and he forces his family to follow the strict dictates of the Apostolic sect of Christianity. Ray and her siblings are often forbidden from partaking in common children’s activities, such as playing sports, swimming, or watching television. However, Ray also believes that underneath Daddy’s “brusqueness” is “a heart […] big enough for all of us and a world besides” (159). Ray illustrates her Daddy’s deep care for others through descriptions of him giving food to poor people, or bringing in hurt animals and helping them heal. 

Ray defines her mother, Lee Ada, or Mama, through her intense devotion to her husband and children: Her children “were her existence” (198). Mama meets Daddy when both attend a business school in Baxley, after which the two elope. Mama and Daddy’s love is model of a good marriage for Ray, as the two are intensely loyal to each other. However, marriage also requires much from Mama. She spends countless hours doing the housework and cooking for the family, often working “herself to exhaustion” (197).

Charlie is Ray’s paternal grandfather, the son of a local wrestler who dies when Charlie is young. Shortly after, Charlie’s mother also dies, leaving him an orphan. Rather than live with his uncle, Charlie runs away and lives for some time on his own in the forest. While Charlie’s time living in the forest teaches him excellent hunting and woodland skills, he also develops a gruff and difficult personality from his excessive time spent alone. Charlie becomes known for his violent outbursts, often fighting customers at the cafe that he runs in Baxley. Ray believes that Charlie suffers from an undiagnosed mental illness and that he might be “bipolar, an imbalance defined by flamboyant highs and pitch-black lows” (41). After accusing his wife of cheating, Ray’s grandma has Charlie committed to the state mental institution. However, Charlie escapes, and returns home. Ray’s grandma gives Charlie all the money she has and asks him to leave. Charlie obliges and moves to Florida, though he occasionally returns to the Baxley area throughout the rest of his life. Charlie enjoys spending time with Ray and his other grandchildren, often playing games with them, and sharing some of his “unwrought knowledge” (64) of the wilderness.