Thursday, November 8, 2018

What is the full summary of "Hot-Foot Hannibal" from Charles Chesnutt's The Conjure Woman?

"Hot-Foot Hannibal" opens with John being roused from a nap due to Mabel, Annie's younger sister, fighting with the local boy she fell in love with. Annie claims that their relationship is irreparable and they shall never get back together.
Ten days after the fight, John, Mabel, and Annie embark on a trip to a neighbor's vineyard. While driving them, Julius encounters two different roads to follow, a long road and a short road. Despite Julius's attempts to take the long road, Annie insists that they take the short road so she can pick flowers. Partway down the road, the horse stops in its tracks and refuses to go on any further. Julius claims this is because the horse has seen the ghost of Chloe, and he launches into the tale of a young slave girl who died of a broken heart.
Chloe was in love with Jeff, but her master chose Hannibal, another slave, to stay with them in the house instead. Jeff sought the help of Aunt Peggy and her conjuring, and she gave him a voodoo doll to control Hannibal. The goopher appears to work, as Hannibal continually messes up and is eventually banished back to the field, after which Jeff takes his place with Chloe in the house. Scorned, Hannibal tells Chloe that he saw Jeff meet up with another woman down by the swamp. Hannibal dresses as a woman and tricks Jeff into embracing him as Chloe watches. She is heartbroken and convinces her master to sell Jeff down South. After all is revealed, the master attempts to buy Jeff back but finds out he jumped off of the boat and drowned. Chloe died of a broken heart, knowing she sent Jeff to his death, and haunts the very spot where the horse is stopped.
Shifting back to the present, Annie and Mabel are clearly taken by the story, as they have tears in their eyes. Since the horse is not budging, they decide to go back and take the long road to their destination. On the long road they happen to run into Mabel's lover. He and Mabel embrace and forgive each other for their argument, eventually getting married. John is left to speculate why Julius was so adamant about taking the long road that day and how the horse never stopped along the short road again.

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